[Open Discussion] Do you buy refurbished tech?

Refurbished is a great way to buy, however you should give careful consideration to battery life in refurbished items, because the standards do differ from the resellers.  Look at the cost of the battery replacement, and compare that to the new price of the item.  I know Apple guarantee batteries for 2 years, despite the 1 year warranty when you by new, and often that battery is around 90% capacity after 2 years, depending how you use your device, which can mean the saving you make is negated by then cost of that battery replacement much sooner than if you bought it new.  I’ve bought private, little use or unused from private sellers in the past, to make the saving and still benefit from decent battery life.

I have never purchased a refurb handset and never would personally.

When I have looked at refurbs in the past there is very little savings to be made and given the risks involved it's just not worth it to me. After all, refurb to many companies is nothing more than giving it a wipe down with some furniture polish, replacing a broken screen or battery with a cheap Chinese nockoff. I have watched many YouTube teardown videos where for example a refurbished Apple iPhone purchased direct from Apple was shown to be in terrible condition on inside (water damaged, poor soldering etc). 

I'm not saying that re-furbished is a bad idea, after all, it has to be a better way of reducing our consumption of raw materials, BUT...

I recently had to replace my ancient and ailing Samsung and wanted an alternative that didn't require a vast financial outlay.

To cut a long story short, I ended up with a NEW Oppo A94 5g phone for £199. 

I am very impressed; not only is it super-fast with an octo-core processor, it has a beautiful high-resolution screen, a great camera ,(with macro and landscape options) and of course, 5g connectivity.

I've had it for about a month now and my friends and family are very impressed, too.

It's definitely a good alternative to the "big two" suppliers and worth a look. 

P.S. I have no connection with Oppo or any retailers. I'm just a happy consumer willing to help others.

Tl;dr: buying a refurb phone was a waste of money.

I agree with the points made earlier about not knowing how well the previous owner treated the device and difference in price being cancelled by the need to by a replacement battery.

I personally bought a second hand iPhone to replace my old android and from the start the battery only lasted 4-6 hours depending on use; I even had to keep it plugged while using it at one point. Then, the charging cable it came with stopped working and (as I was on holiday) I had no choice but to buy a replacement cable.

After all that, I had to get a new phone anyway and it's served me without issue for years.

So IMO, just buy new if it's something you know you'll need to depend on. Buy things like furniture and jewelry secondhand. 

I have had my present mobile phone for about 4.5 years.  So no contract for a new phone saving me hundreds of pounds and have a great SIM onlynmonthly from Smartly.

Hey  Michael_T

great point and definitely something to think about, I know I notice when my battery starts draining faster. weighing up savings with value is so important  

I've previously ruled out getting a second hand phone because of the battery issue. But they seem to last longer these days so I've got a second hand Pixel 6 Pro on the way. I can't possibly justify a new one! I just go straight for second hand rather than refurb - maximum risk!

I've never bought a new laptop. The one I have now is great for my needs. Cost be about £100 three years ago. Though I do have a fancy work one which I must admit to using most of the time!

My last two phones (iPhone) have been refurbished. I chose Grade A or Excellent condition. They looked like new, had battery health of 98% and 96%. I saved about £150 each. The iPhone 11 I’ve had for about two and a half years. Still has 89% battery health. (On average a two year old phone should have about 80% battery health) 

So for me it’s been an excellent experience. 

I buy from CEX (Computer Exchange) their prices are hard to beat, the quality of their refurbs is high and everything sold by them carries a 2 year warranty inluding the batteries

Hi newb here.

I'll be honest, I've only ever bought 2nd hand pc 💻 RAM & HDD both still working.

I like the Huawei / Honor Well Honor now, I will normally buy a new Honor Model every few years but my Honor 20 Pro is still my daily driver its bullet proof.

I've had a look at some of the reconditioned devices and apple 🍏 is just a no... And don't see a phone 📱 pc 💻 I would like 2nd hand.

Its like a car you dint know how it's been used.? 

Regards