You'll notice it from rising prices, products with increasingly long delivery times, and sometimes even empty shelves: raw material shortages and supply chain problems—exacerbated by Corona—are leading to delivery bottlenecks for more and more products. In the electronics sector, this mainly affects devices that require microchips, such as electronic toys, smartphones, digital cameras, tablets, and computers. And there's no relief on the supply front expected in the foreseeable future. But what can you do when electronic devices are becoming more and more expensive? A good alternative is "refurbished"—refurbished and reconditioned second-hand electronics.
We'll tell you what refurbished means and what you need to know about it in this blog post.
1. What is the basic idea behind refurbished?
The battery in the Apple notebook is defective, the display on the Apple iPhone or Apple iPad is cracked, the SIM card in the smartphone is stuck, or it always has to be the latest device/model: the reasons why users or companies part with electronic devices are diverse. But as the chosen examples show, the discarded devices are often still perfectly fine and could be brought back into shape with a few simple steps. They would only need to be professionally repaired by "IT experts."
And that's exactly the idea behind refurbished. Used electronics are checked, overhauled, professionally repaired, and then resold. This is not only inexpensive but also sustainable. It avoids waste, conserves resources, makes deliveries from low-wage countries superfluous, and is good for the environment. It doesn't matter whether it's Apple products or Microsoft computers, iPhone or smartphone, Intel Core processor or AMD Ryzen, 128 or 256 bit, SSD or an optical hard drive with 64GB, 128GB etc.: all items can be restored. Very often, buyers in the online store of the providers have a large selection.
2. Refurbished Vs. Second Hand
For many things today, it's common practice to buy them used, i.e., second-hand. Whether it's clothes, toys, books, or furniture: it no longer has to be the original packaged product. Since eBay and eBay Kleinanzeigen, at the latest, this trend towards inexpensive second-hand has significantly strengthened. But for technical devices, the inhibition threshold to buy something used from an unknown user is still very high. The reason is obvious: while we can see with the naked eye whether the used pants or the old Billy bookshelf are still good enough for us, we cannot tell whether a used smartphone or used PC still works perfectly and is worth the stated price. Here, we prefer to buy the more expensive original.
Especially for electronic devices, refurbished is therefore the better alternative to second-hand. Because unlike second-hand, these devices are reconditioned by IT professionals and work flawlessly. Buyers have a significantly reduced risk of something being wrong with their product.
Warranty and Right of Return
But even if something were wrong: If you buy refurbished, you have a warranty and right of return and will receive a replacement for a defective device or your money back. Refurbished devices come with the same one-year warranty as new products, which customers can also extend if desired—for an additional charge. This is also common practice for new products. In addition, there is a right of return immediately after purchase (after a 30-day trial period). With second-hand and purchases on eBay, flea markets, etc., you do not have these rights.
3. How a Second-Hand Product Becomes a Refurbished Device
Refurbished devices are second-hand devices that are overhauled by the manufacturer or dealer. Good quality and perfect condition are thus guaranteed. The ways in which used devices reach the refurbished seller vary greatly.
Often, the devices have been in companies for a long time. Or it is merchandise that is returned to the seller within the 30-day right of return and can no longer be sold as new. Some dealers also specifically buy used goods and even have several branches for this purpose.
However the second-hand goods come to the seller and regardless of their origin, before any further sale, these devices are:
- Cleaned: freed from dust and dirt, but also data-cleaned (according to certified processes). With refurbished devices, no data from previous owners clutters your hard drive space.
- Reinstalled: The operating system is reinstalled, software is reinstalled, licenses are renewed.
- Updated and prepared: Especially operating system and firmware. A smartphone that, for example, ran on Android 8.0 when new, will then already have a more recent Android version. Refurbished PCs have the latest version of Windows 10, possibly even Windows 11 (if possible – you can read more about this here), even if they had an earlier version of Windows 10 when first sold.
- Repaired / defective parts are replaced: e.g., an outdated battery, a defective display – but also components inside the device are checked and replaced or repaired if necessary. As far as possible, this is done using the manufacturers' original spare parts.
- Checked: The IT experts primarily ensure that the technology works perfectly.
- Photographed and precisely described: Of course, you also get great photos and marketing-strong language in refurbished stores. Unlike conventional devices, reputable dealers for refurbished items also show you pictures of any signs of wear (if present) and provide a note if the device has minimal limitations (e.g., if the battery only lasts a maximum of 4 hours instead of 5 when new, etc.)
4. How good are refurbished devices?
Technically, refurbished products work just as well as new products. The focus of reconditioning is always on function and technical performance; refurbished products are fully functional and are just as good as new products in this respect. The condition is therefore flawless. Any limitations are indicated in the information text in the respective shop.
- One limitation could, for example, be a slightly lower battery performance.
- Also, for certifications for IP protection classes (how waterproof and dust-protected the devices are), there is no guarantee for refurbished devices.
- Furthermore, refurbished PCs have somewhat less software installed than the same new products. In most cases, however, this is an advantage, because honestly; who needs all the pre-installed programs on a new PC? And mostly these are just trial versions and temporary tools that annoy with purchase requests after 2 to 3 months.
- You may not always receive the accessories from the original offer.
Apart from that, refurbished items only have limitations in their external appearance. Buyers may also have to do without original packaging upon delivery.
My own brief experience report
The author of this article also uses a refurbished computer. The price saving was about 30 percent compared to the new price, and the laptop has been running smoothly for over a year. The fact that the computer was delivered without pre-installed software was also a big plus. During the time when I used to have to free a new computer from unnecessary software bloat, I was able to get to know the new laptop and equip it with the desired software. Overall, a good choice.
Conclusion: Refurbished devices are a very good alternative
Especially with regard to the raw materials and resources of our planet, the environment, and the avoidance of unnecessary electronic waste, refurbished is unreservedly recommended. Repairing and reusing a product has always been the much better way than throwing it on the landfill and buying a new one.
With refurbished, you may compromise on optics, but not on function and technology. And in terms of price, refurbished is also cheaper: you often save up to 40% of the costs. And presumably, the price is the main argument for many. Of course, you should compare prices between the original and refurbished before each purchase. But even with only a slightly smaller price advantage, you are still doing something very good for the environment when buying these devices.
Software for refurbished PCs
And another tip for anyone considering buying a refurbished PC or who has already done so:
As already mentioned, refurbished PCs usually have somewhat less software installed. In my opinion, this is more of an advantage—as shown above in the section "how good are refurbished devices." However, this means that users, instead of expensively buying pre-installed trial versions, increasingly have to take care of their tools.
To regularly find out about great offers, simply subscribe to the Engelmann Newsletter. Because very regularly, we also offer top software at a reduced price of up to 50% or more. Then, thanks to refurbished, you not only save on your hardware, but also on helpful software thanks to the newsletter subscription.
