Should I Buy A Refurbished Phone or A New One?

Are you looking for a complete guide to buy a new phone? Are you confused about buying a refurbished or new phone?

We have cleared all misconceptions about refurbished devices in this article by letting you know everything there is. Below is a complete guide for selecting the best phone according to your requirements.

Before digging into the article let's discuss these terms.

What is a Refurbished Phone?

A refurbished phone is not similar to an ordinary second handphone. It is almost in the same condition as a brand-new phone (depending on the relative grading that we will discuss further in our article)

The phone might be returned by a customer within 30 days of buying, probably due to a change of mind, and refurbished by the seller for reselling. Some phones might have minor faults that are repaired by the manufacturer or any phone repairing expert and packed for re-selling at rather low prices.

Refurbished phones may come in original boxes with original equipment. They work as smoothly as new ones. So, they are a good and convenient option to buy if you are thinking to get the same features at a budget-friendly and commendable price.

What is the difference between refurbished and new phones?

If we talk about second hand and new phones the difference is quite visible and it is easy to distinguish the two clearly. But on the other hand, refurbished phones are a bit trickier to identify. The main reason for that is that most of the time, these phones are used for even less than a month and there is no sign of any scratch or dent and no technical faults are found.

Refurbished phones may have been returned due to a minor fault in either the casing, screen, or processors. These are efficiently recovered by professionals and sold in new packaging at really low prices. Overall, the refurbished phones are very reliable and the fault that appeared once, will never show up again if handled expertly.

The slight difference is that the new phones come sealed from the original company itself, have not been activated yet, therefore the Manufacturer's warranty is still intact. While refurbished devices may not come in their original packaging and that they can be some flaws on its physical condition. Manufacturer's warranty may or may not be covered and this is highly dependent on the phone model. If you purchase recently released models, then most likely the warranty will still be covered.

However, overall both devices run smoothly, the screen is flawless, and the running of the operating system is hassle-free.

These are some of the main differences that can help you identify between new, second hand or refurbished phones.

Is A Refurbished Phone as Good as A New One?

Technically, there is a slight difference between a refurbished phone and a new one. There must be an intense quality check and seller’s repute check before investing your hard-earned cash.

Refurbished phones often have grading depending on their physical conditions.  There is no hard and fast rule to assign a grade to these phones but here is a brief description from which you can have an idea of grading of these refurbished phones:

Like New / GRADE A:

These phones are the closest to new phones where the physical condition of the device looks like new (very faint marks or no marks at all), just like how a brand new phone looks like. The only difference is that they have been used or activated already and the customers return these back to the manufacturer or sells it to someone else who then refurbish the devices and sell at a lower prices.

GRADE B:

Grade B refurbished phones have minor scratches on the screen that is not visible but do exist. Some minor marks can also be visible around the body. 

GRADE C:

Grade C refurbished phones come with more than 5 blemishes and scratches and it will be quite visible to judge that these phones are used at arm's length.

GRADE D:

Grade D refurbished phones are more likely to be categorised as faulty as they  have technical faults.

Pros and cons of Refurbished phone:

A large number of people who are interested in buying new phones remain in a constant struggle, asking if it is safe to buy a refurbished phone? Are refurbished phones any good? So here are some pros and cons that you must have in mind before hopping on to a new or refurbished phone:

Save hundreds Of Dollars:

If you are planning to buy a reliable phone and do not want to be hard on your bank account, a refurbished phone is the perfect fit for you. From some retailers and well-reputed brands, you can easily save hundreds of dollars and get your much awaited phone with the same features as a brand new one. Isn’t that highly convenient?

Inserting some figures, it has been observed that a brand new iPhone 11 on Apple’s website costs around $999 which is a tremendous amount of money. But if you check for a refurbished iPhone 11, the price can be as low as $779 and you can save over $200 with no loss of specifications and any features.

The Original packaging:

If you manage to find a direct seller of refurbished mobile phones, you can get a chance to have the original box with the phone. Otherwise, in most cases, the phone retailers use plain or their own branded packaging. Therefore, you don’t get to unbox a brand new phone if you buy a refurbished one.

But someone who is saving a good deal of money by buying a refurbished phone would not care much about the packaging unless he is getting a good as a new phone.

Good Retailers or Selling Brands:

If you are lucky enough to find the best retailer to buy a refurbished phone, you can also get the additional after sale perks, just like buying a brand new phone. Some stores will offer you 30-day free returns, one year warranty, and same day delivery that covers you well in the event you encounter any issues with your phone. 

Frequently asked questions about Refurbished phones:

Do refurbished phones come with a warranty?

This depends on the retailer from which you are buying a refurbished phone and also on the time for which the phone is being used before. If you are buying it from a registered retailer, you might get the warranty with it and in case of any mishap or according to the company’s warranty policy you can utilize your warranty and ask for a repair or an exchange. The guarantee can be up to 12 months or so, depending on the retailer. 

Is it safe to buy a refurbished phone?

There are plenty of retailers and high street sellers who run businesses buying and selling such phones. But in this case, you must always conduct your own research about the brand you are buying from. Read their FAQ’s, product descriptions and most importantly, read the reviews — see if customers are happy with their purchases or if majority of reviews contains receiving faulty products.

According to reports, some of the scammers replace original phone parts such as batteries, cameras, and other detachable chips, etc., and replace them with inexpensive parts that greatly affect the phone’s overall working. This is not good. Look for a seller that goes through rigorous tests that ensure that everything is  100% fully functional.

Where to buy refurbished phones?

There are a lot of sites from where you can buy refurbished or pre-owned phones. However, one note-worthy brand is  OzMobiles. They have been in the business since 2011 and have served thousands of happy customers (mostly rated 5 stars in their Trustpilot account). They offer 30 day free returns and one year warranty for all devices that they sell. Shipping is fairly quick as well! They have same-day shipping offer. 

So now, would you buy a Refurbished or New phone?

With all the facts stated above, it is advised to go for a brand-new phone if you have the budget to do so. On the other hand, if you want to save big and be  sustainable, while still able to get the trendiest phone, then refurbished phones are the budget-friendly option.