I live in germany and bought my N900 from amazon.de. I sent it to their repair service and got a new N900 back, with the original box which also means with a new battery, new cables etc. They told me that I could choose between a new device or the wait for a repair(I think this would never have happened). They also told me that I would get my money back if they would not have it in stock anymore.

So, I think, there you have a good chance to get a new one instead of a N8 or E7.

Good work, amazon.