What you Need to Know About Buying a Refurbished Smartphone
For me, buying a refurbished phone was a great decision. It was cost-effective, the delivery was fast and the phone functions.
But after my experience, there are some handy tips you should know about before you take the plunge and buy a refurbished phone yourself.
If you are looking to buy a refurbished phone or any phone in general, you have come to the right article
As a result, I will sum up the pros and cons of buying a phone refurbished instead of buying brand new.
Ready to get started? Let’s jump in
The pros of buying a refurbished phone
Buying a refurbished phone is environmentally friendly
If this matters to you a lot, it is worth buying a refurbished phone. When you buy a refurb, the phone will have already be used by somebody before you.
This means that there will be no need for a new phone to be made in a factory.
This will reduce greenhouse gases, CO2 production and reduce the number of raw materials that need to be refined and extracted.
It will also save another smartphone from being chucked in a skip. All these benefits add up to a cleaner and greener environment and if you want to contribute to that by buying a refurbished phone, you go ahead.
Be sure that it comes from a reputable supplier.
It can potentially save you a lot of money
This point can be relative as it depends on the exact phone model you are looking at buying.
If you are looking to buy a newer phone refurbished, you can save a lot more money. This is particularly true if you are looking for an iPhone.
For example, the latest iPhone cost anywhere between £699 -£1099 brand new here in the UK.
If you were to look at buying these handsets at a refurbished supplier, you could be looking at paying around £499-£799.
Now, I’m not gonna lie, that is still a lot of money to splash out on a new iPhone.
But, if you consider that the latest iPhone models have around 6 years of support and updates, that is far more valuable than buying an older phone with fewer updates left.
It can be even more cost-effective if you intend to keep the handset right until the last year of support and updates.
If you are the kind of person that uses your gadgets in this way, I would suggest you buy a newer phone. It will save you a lot more hassle and money.
All-in-all, buying refurbished can save you a lot of money. It can be far more cost-effective than buying a new phone or going on contract.
You are not on a contract and the phone is unlocked
This can be very handy and if you are not willing to take on any more debt or credit, going refurbished can be a very smart choice.
You see, when your phone is locked you can only use it with one mobile network.
This is most likely intended to keep you from leaving your network and finding a better alternative.
With the vast majority of phones, your handset will already be unlocked, leaving you with the freedom to choose and switch your network provider as you please.
You will also be off-contract. What this means for you is that you will pay for the entire phone upfront instead of in chunks.
This can be a huge relief for you, particularly if you do not want to take on another line of credit or add on any more debt.
Maybe you are unable to take on debt and you have no other option than to pay for the phone upfront?
In both of these cases going for a refurbished handset will be a smart choice.
But, as with most purchases, you need to be able to take the negatives into account. This is the same when buying a refurbished handset.
The cons of buying a refurbished phone
The supplier could be shady
The vast majority of suppliers and refurbishers are legitimate and trustworthy.
It is a shame that there are always some companies looking to scam you.
When looking at a refurbished phone website, make sure that the website has easy-to-access contact details and decent money-back guarantee.
Also, take a quick look at the reviews and see what they are like. If there are a lot of recent and legitimate negative reviews, steer clear of the website.
If the reviews are positive but they don’t seem to be genuine or offer much detail into their experience with the company, also steer clear.
One final tip I have is to make sure the company accepts a reputable transaction method such as PayPal.
This way, you are protected by Paypal’s guarantee or your bank’s guarantee if anything goes wrong.
The phone could be damaged or worse-for-wear than expected
When buying a refurbished phone it is handy to remember that it has been used by somebody else before you.
So it is reasonable to expect a little wear and tear. Maybe a little scratch here and there, but usually nothing more.
The main exception to this is if the company advertises the handset as looking ‘pristine’ or ‘like new’.
In this case, you have every right to expect a phone with no scratches or blemishes on.
If the phone does end up with these imperfections, send it back and demand a refund or replacement.
While consumer law may vary depending on where you live, here in the UK you are entitled to a full refund or an equal replacement for typically up to 28 days.
After that, you can still have some form of replacement or partial refund for up to 6 months after the purchase.
If however, the phone ends up looking a lot more damaged than was advertised, you should definitely take action.
But if you are willing to do some extra research and comparison, most of the time you will end up with a smooth purchase.
Good luck with finding your next smartphone!
Do you agree with these tips? What was your experience like with your refurbished handset? Feel free to give me a shout in the responses below and I’ll gladly get back to you.
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