Refurbished Smartphones: What They Are and Where to Buy Them

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REFURBISHED SMARTPHONES

Refurbished smartphones aren't second-rate products. They're reliable purchases, offering the chance to get a good deal and save significant money, provided the supplier is certified and well-known on the market. The battery isn't completely dead either, but it usually has a capacity equal to 80 percent of the original. Performance-wise, it's identical to a new smartphone, and refurbished smartphones come with a minimum 12-month warranty.

WHAT IS A REFURBISHED SMARTPHONE?

A refurbished smartphone (or any other electronic device) is a phone returned by a customer to the seller after discovering manufacturing defects or damage during shipping. Manufacturers then remarket the device after fixing the defect, offering a discount of approximately 30 percent off the original price.

WHAT TO KNOW

Refurbished smartphones represent a more than viable alternative to cheaper phones, which, however, don't offer the same performance as those from well-known brands. Furthermore, refurbished smartphones are increasingly replacing new ones. This is because new phones lack the attractive features to encourage consumers to replace their phones frequently. Therefore, people tend to put off purchasing a new phone much longer, and if they must buy one, they opt for a refurbished one, which is much cheaper while still offering excellent performance, because it's a brand-name product. For example, there's not much difference between an iPhone and an iPhone XS Max, a latest-generation phone, so many prefer to buy the former, refurbished, rather than spend €600 on the latter.

REFURBISHED SMARTPHONES

A refurbished phone is one in which the manufacturer fixes the existing problem before putting it back on the market. There are three grades of refurbishment: A, B, and C.

Grade A refurbished smartphone is sold as new but at a higher price. lower cost of the 15 percent compared to the original one.
Grade B refurbishment is that of a smartphone that is in good condition but not 100 percent perfect: it may in fact show scratches and various aesthetic imperfections.
The grade C refurbished smartphone is the one that has large aesthetic imperfections such as visible scratches on the display and which, for this reason, is also discounted over 30 percent.

WHAT TO CHECK IN A REFURBISHED SMARTPHONE

What are the things to check? Here's a list of the main features:

Check your smartphone for scratches, signs of wear, or dents. Also check the packaging.
Verify that your smartphone is working properly by testing it.
Check the IMEI, a 15-digit code that identifies devices on the mobile network and allows you to know their “history”.
Check the battery status.
Check the warranty status using the serial number on the product.

WHERE TO BUY REFURBISHED SMARTPHONES

There are many online retailers where you can buy refurbished cell phones at a great price. Here's an overview of the most popular ones:

Amazon, which links to stores certified by the giant itself. Amazon offers very advantageous deals and delivers extremely quickly.
Ebay, important sales site and online auctions, offers numerous advantageous opportunities and allows purchases both through stores and with the "buy now" formula from private individuals, on used and refurbished iPhones, through online auctions.
Groupon, the world leader in online shopping, where you can find refurbished and new iPhones, from stores that are affiliated with Groupon itself.
Buy different-Tren Device, e-commerce site that allows you to buy iPhone Refurbished devices that have passed 37 functional tests and have a new battery that is more than 24 months old; these devices are free to return if the product does not satisfy the customer, and have a 12-month warranty.
Joojea Italia, the Italian e-commerce site that allows you to purchase refurbished iPhones at very competitive prices, with high quality standards. Joojea subjects its products to specific tests to ensure perfect functioning, checking, among other features, Wi-Fi, battery, microphones, internet browsing, and much more.
Back Market, a popular global marketplace for refurbished devices.

REFURBISHED SMARTPHONE SCAMS

Smartphones advertised as " refurbished " may only appear to have been repaired, with an external cleanup . Fraud, therefore, is truly lurking, and you need to be very careful. When the refurbishment is only fictitious, the smartphone is discounted beyond the expected limits, and this should be a warning sign for the customer. It means that there are still defects that they were unable to detect at the time of purchase. A refurbished phone must be sanitized and reset to factory settings and must be accompanied by a legal warranty , valid from the time of sale. Anyone purchasing a refurbished phone should check whether the battery is removable. Most latest-generation phones do not allow the battery to be removed, thus ensuring that the hardware components are updated. Always be wary of sellers offering products at different conditions. A refurbished phone, therefore, has a shorter lifespan than a new one.

OUR GUIDE TO USING YOUR SMARTPHONE CONSCIOUSLY:

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