Refurbished phones are becoming more popular. Estimates suggest that around 22 million Brits considered buying them last year. Factors driving this trend include the slowing technological advances and tight budgets.

In this post, we explore some of the benefits of buying a refurbished phone instead of splashing out on a full-price new device.

What Is A Refurbished Phone?

A refurbished phone is a phone that had a previous owner. However, unlike a second-hand handset, it is sold by a vendor or retailer who repairs and refreshes it so that it looks and operates like new.

Vendors allocate refurbished phones into grades that reflect their condition.

• Grade A: Grade A phones look almost indistinguishable from new phones. Their chassis and screens do not have any scratches, and they often come with their original accessories in the box.
• Grade B: Grade B phones usually have a couple of scratches and marks but are otherwise in full working order with little or no degradation in performance.
• Grade C: Grade C phones are working handsets that look well-used. These tend to offer the steepest discounts versus new phones.

The Benefits Of Buying A Refurbished Phone

You Can Avoid Costly Contracts

You can buy new handsets outright, but even if you have the budget to do so, why would you? The UK retail price for the iPhone 13 Pro, for example, is £1,449, around four times the average family’s monthly disposable income. Even if you can afford that type of price, it doesn’t really make a lot of sense to buy a phone brand new. You can get virtually the same quality when you buy refurbished, just for a much lower price. In fact, given the advantages of the latter, everyone should consider them, regardless of their financial status. Refurbished phones aren’t just for people on a budget.

The other option is to get the phone on contract. However, these lock you into paying monthly premiums for up to 36 months – not ideal for anyone on a budget.

With refurbished phones, you get the best of both worlds: a low-cost, high-quality handset that avoids contract payments entirely. With these, you can either pay-as-you-go or get a cheap call, minutes and data contract that doesn’t include the handset price.

They Are Better For The Environment

Smartphone manufacturing is intensive from start to finish. Companies must first extract materials from the ground (including rare Earth metals), use energy to assemble them, and then ship them out to markets, often internationally.

Disposal is an issue, too. Electronic waste clogs landfill and can cause dangerous chemicals to leach into the ground over time, particularly from battery packs.

Refurbished phones are better for the environment because they extend handsets’ lifecycle. When phones last longer, the rate of disposal goes down, spreading out waste over a longer time frame.
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You Get Quality Assurance

Second-hand smartphones don’t come with any assurance. Whether they work or not is often a matter of luck. You could get a couple of years of service out of them, or they might fail in a couple of months.

However, the same is not true of refurbished phones. Reputable sellers offer similar quality assurance to buying a brand new handset, just without the high price tag.

How is this possible? Simple: vendors test handsets thoroughly before selling them, carrying out repairs, if necessary. In many cases, you have no idea that they were damaged in the past.

Many Vendors Offer Money-Back Guarantees

When you buy a new handset, you get a manufacturer’s warranty and, sometimes, a money-back guarantee. However, you don’t expect these perks when you buy a handset second-hand. Here, you’re taking your chances.

Here, again refurbished phones are different. Vendors will often guarantee the device will work for up to a year, or you can have your money back.

You should choose your dealer wisely, though. Vendors can sometimes hide unfavourable terms in the small print.

You Can Go To Official Refurbishers

Some large phone brands, such as Apple and Samsung, work with official networks of refurbishers who meet their high internal standards. These optimise the performance of handsets so that they perform similarly to new ones. Phones that don’t meet the grade are discarded.

You Get Big Discounts

Buying a refurbished phone is considerably cheaper than buying a new one. According to research by EE, people save around £240 on average when they purchase a “good as new” device versus a new one. For Apple products, savings could be as high as £350 since its products tend to be more expensive.

If you buy an older phone that has had more time to depreciate, the savings could be even higher. Going back several generations could enable you to save 80 percent or more versus the original asking price and still get something that meets all your needs.

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You Can Still Insure Them

Dealers will often ask you whether you want to insure new phones against loss, accidental damage, and theft. That option isn’t available when you buy second-hand. If you have any coverage at all, it is often through your home insurance policy. And, usually, this is lacking.

You can get insurance on refurbished phones, though. Vendors often offer the same level of cover for these as if you were buying a brand-new handset. You get protection against theft, accidental damage and even loss.

They Come With A Warranty

Refurbished phone vendors want to earn consumers’ trust. Therefore, most offer warranties on handsets, even if they are several years old.

Warranties last around 12 months and protect you against manufacturer and refurbisher defects. If your phone develops a problem by itself, you can return it to the vendor for either a full repair, an identical handset, or a refund. Just remember to keep your receipt.

The Condition Of The Handset If Often Excellent

While there are some refurbished phones in circulation that look heavily used, the vast majority look good. In fact, many look indistinguishable from brand-new handsets.

In some cases, refurbished phones are just a few weeks old. Owners get bored of them or buy a model they like more and sell their phones to specialist vendors. Refurbishers then factory reset the phones, re-box them, and sell them on.

While, technically speaking, they are not new, most people can’t tell the difference between minimally-used refurbished handsets and those that have never been used before. Everything about them, from their performance to their appearance, is the same.

With that said, even Grade C phones can offer decent performance. While there might be scratches on the chassis and screen, the phone’s speed is often within 20 percent of when it was new.

They Are More Sustainable

While some smartphone components come to the end of their lives quickly, many will last for years with the right attention. Quality flagship models can go a decade or more without requiring replacement.

For this reason, refurbished phones are more sustainable. Often, replacing a couple of components, such as the battery and screen cover, yields a handset that operates as new.

Vendors Carry Out Checks And Tests On Refurbished Phones

Second-hand phone sellers rarely carry out extensive checks and tests on handsets. They simply assume that they will continue working as they always did.

Unfortunately, though, that’s not always the case. Second-hand phones often have defects and usability issues that cause them to reach the end of their working life faster than expected.

Refurbished phones, on the other hand, go through extensive checks and testing before hitting the shelves. Vendors ensure both software and hardware are working properly, and that operating systems have the latest updates and security patches.

You Have Protections Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015

When you buy a second-hand phone on the private market, you have few, if any, rights. However, if you purchase a refurbished phone, it falls under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, a piece of legislation that protects consumers from unfair terms. More specifically, the law states that :

• Vendors must sell phones in a satisfactory condition
• Phones must arrive (if posted) as described
• Consumers have up to 30 days to request a refund if they are not happy with the quality of their handsets. (In some cases, you may qualify for a full refund even after 30 days elapses. However, some retailers may offer to extend your refund period.)

Product quality needs to fulfil specific standards set out in the legislation. Phones, for instance, must be fit for purpose. They should be able to make calls, text, and make use of data services just like new phones. They should not have any faults or damage when you purchase them. They should also arrive as described. Vendors must detail the phone’s condition or state its grade classification.

The Bottom Line

In summary, refurbished phones may be better for both your wallet and the environment. They also offer a host of other perks, too, such as warranties, money-back guarantees, and additional protections under the law.