With Black Friday just around the corner, consumers are gearing up to buy big, usually looking to score the newest tech for a good bargain. Purchasing refurbished electronics is often a safer and much more eco-friendly choice, according to experts. Well-known marketplaces including Back Market, MusicMagpie and Refurbed provide excellent routes for selling second-hand goods. They make perfect complements to niche selling platforms such as Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist.
James Rigg, CEO of Trojan Electronics and a passionate advocate for refurbished products. He shines a light on how dependable, affordable and eco-friendly their performance can be. Compared to buying new, choosing refurbished electronics dramatically reduces e-waste and resource usage, he said.
Our research indicates that each choice to purchase refurbished over new cuts e-waste by an impressive 178 grams. It saves 77,000 liters of water and avoids 77 kilograms of carbon emissions. On top of that, this one decision can eliminate the demand to mine 244 kilograms of raw materials. Our refurbishment process includes a rigorous repair and replacement of all faulty components so that consumers know they are getting a quality product.
If you are working with a reputable refurbisher, they should be transparent about the condition of what you are getting. They’ll walk customers through what’s been inspected, what’s been replaced, and how the piece has been rated. Refurbished electronics usually include warranties, providing buyers with an additional layer of security. UK-based Giffgaff, for example, provides a two-year warranty on its ‘like new’ phones.
Back Market changes how you see and buy refurbished. One more wrinkle: customers can STILL elect to have a brand new battery installed in their devices. This practice ensures that users get products that actually perform well. Not only does it establish that everything is working in tip-top shape.
Alan Martin is an experienced technology writer and reviewer, with more than 12 years’ freelance experience under his belt. He notes a increasing demand for refurbished products especially laptops and iPhones. Through the lens of his own experience refurbishing old technology for resale, James Murdock, co-founder of Alchemy, talks about some of these challenges and solutions.
Murdock adds, “Our business has a couple hundred MacBooks, iPhones and other products. As we are an organization of roughly 350 employees none of us—not even me—have ever gotten a new one. His point of view highlights the incredible dependability and quality that refurbished products can provide.
Consumer electronics upcycler Thomas Deehan encourages consumers to first avoid buying new and buy refurbished from established professionals that offer warranties and good customer support. He adds that this localized, curated approach goes a long way toward mitigating scams common with other peer-to-peer marketplaces.
“The best advice I can give for buying refurbished is to go via established retailers such as Back Market, Giffgaff and Vodafone, and if you’re buying through eBay then try to get a device that’s listed as ‘certified refurbished’,” – Thomas Deehan
Katy Medlock, Back Market’s UK general manager, emphasizes the rigorous checks and testing that refurbished electronics undergo before reaching consumers. Her company’s mission is to make the experience of buying refurbished as easy and automatic as buying new.
“Our mission is all about trying to make the process of buying refurbished electronics as good as buying something new,” – Katy Medlock
Eve Williams, general manager at eBay UK, echoes this environmental message, pointing out the positive environmental impact carried by choosing refurbished electronics. She explains that consumers have “no downside” when choosing these products.
Windischhofer points to a changing consumer mindset when it comes to purchasing technology. He states, “If you had asked me that question 10 years ago, I would have said: ‘Yes, because technology is so fast and, you know, the new iPhone is so much better than the last one.’ Now? I don’t think there’s any product that I would buy new. I’d go back a generation always after that. This feeling is representative of a larger trend among consumers as they learn about the benefits of refurbished products.
Murdock is equally adamant about being deliberate about where to go for refurbished technology. He cautions that it’s easy to be tempted by attractive packages with lower prices from some of the newer or smaller vendors.
“Don’t be tempted by the cheapest offshore, interesting-looking eBay seller that looks like it’s been there for five minutes,” – James Murdock
Instead, Murdock suggests buying from certified local affiliates who provide warranties similar to those attached to new products. This is why he argues that when it comes to gizmos, something that breaks in a few months of use has no worthwhile benefit.
“A gadget that fails quickly and can’t be repaired is only cheap for about five minutes.” – James Rigg
Deehan makes a great point about the need to clean up refurbished products before selling them. He suggests that proper tech cleaning should be one of the first steps taken before selling or listing your tech for resale. A device that has been properly cleaned will cast a great impression every time!