What are refurbished devices?
A refurbished phone would have had a previous owner but, unlike a used phone sold by a private individual, it is sold by a network, manufacturer or retailer who will have it repaired, checked and made sure that it has been repaired. acts of a certain standard. Refurbished phones are often put into categories determined by quality when sold, giving you an idea of what to expect.
A refurbished handset may have been returned by a customer who changed their mind within a cooling off period after purchase. It may also have been defective and returned for repair, or sold back to the company prior to an upgrade.
The phone will be erased of all data from its previous owner before it is sent to you, due to data protection law, and will come with a warranty that protects you in the event of any defects appearing.
What are the qualities of refurbished devices?
Although different agencies in different countries may follow their own rating system, most of them follow a common rating system. This is described in detail below.
Grade A
Buying devices in this category is practically equivalent to buying a new phone, as the handset should not have any marks or scratches. In most cases, it will also come with its original box and accessories.
Category B
When purchasing this type of device, you will be able to see that the handset is not new as it may have some marks or scratches. However, it will be in perfect working order and any damage should only be cosmetic.
Grade C
Devices in this category will appear clearly in use but should be in perfect working order. He can do his duties just as well, so don’t hesitate to ignore them.
Phones are sometimes described as “like new”, “perfect” or “near perfect” which means exactly what the name suggests. Some agencies will also sell devices with less than perfect battery life or such issues with lowered prices and qualities, so be sure to look for specific faults.
What makes refurbished devices so attractive?
There are many factors that affect the popularity of refurbished devices. This IDC article will give you an overview: “International Data Corporation (IDC) expects global shipments of used smartphones, including officially refurbished and used smartphones, to reach a total of 206, 7 million units in 2019, which in itself is quite significant. This represents an increase of 17.6% from the 175.8 million units shipped in 2018. A new forecast from IDC projects used smartphone shipments to reach 332.9 million units in 2023 with a rate of compound annual growth, representing a net growth of 13.6% from 2018 to 2023. “Here is a detailed list of why more and more people are choosing to buy refurbished devices.
1. The money you can save
By buying a refurbished device, you can save ridiculous amounts of money. Since the goods are sold at a much lower price than market value, you are likely to get premium products on a not-so-high budget.
You will no longer need to take out personal loans or IMEs to cover your purchase by simply choosing a refurbished device over a brand new one. You can spend that money on other important things instead of splurging on a single product.
According to EE, you can save almost 240 pounds by buying a nearly intact device or up to 350 pounds by buying a refurbished device rather than a new device. In the end, that’s a lot of money saved.
2. Environmental benefits
You’ve always heard that the three Rs are reuse, reduce, and recycle and might even have been actively involved in all three. However, when it comes to your mobile device, are you following it ?. A smartphone is made up of 62 different metals and metalloids, all of which contribute to the essential components of a device. To obtain these precious metals and produce a single device, nearly 34 kg of ore are extracted, 100 liters of water, as well as 20.5 g of cyanide, used.
To put this in context, IDC found that around 1.4 billion smartphones were shipped worldwide in 2018, which means that in 2018 34 billion kg of ore would have been mined, a tenth of a trillion. liters of water and 20.5 million kg. of cyanide, just to produce these devices.
