Refurbished is by no means known to everyone and does not have the very best image in terms of reliability. How do you know whether a refurbished device is reliable? Fortunately, that is easy to check.
Refurbished reliable? That’s how you know it
There is still a lot of suspicion surrounding refurbished iPhones and other refurbished devices. Consumers are particularly skeptical about the quality of refurbished smartphones, according to our own Refurbished Barometer 2018 and Barometer 2020. Various warranty conditions, among other things, are a reason for people to doubt the reliability.
In addition to equalizing these warranty conditions, a quality mark that guarantees quality would also be a solution for more confidence, according to the research. The Refurbished Quality Mark is now active, of which various parties are members. But there are more ways than such a quality mark to check whether the provider of refurbished devices is reliable. These are four things to keep in mind.
1. Check whether the provider has the Refurbished Quality Mark
First of all, the Refurbished Quality Mark is a good way to be sure that a shop is reliable and sells high-quality equipment. To gain access to the label, providers must meet a long list of strict criteria to ensure that both the company and the products it sells are reliable and good.
If you want to buy a refurbished iPhone, you can go to our comparator. Here you can clearly recognize an affiliated company by the logo of the quality mark that is attached to it. You can also filter by the quality mark, so that you only see separate refurbished iPhones that come from one of the affiliated providers.
2. Check the provider’s warranty conditions
The warranty conditions of a refurbished device vary greatly per provider. It is advisable to purchase a device with at least 24 months warranty. Therefore, take a good look at which warranty conditions the shop you visit applies. For example, it is also important to check which parts are covered. For example, a battery regularly has a shorter warranty than other parts.
3. Check the shop rating
A good indicator of an unknown (web) shop is the opinion of other customers. If this shop rating is high or very low, this usually says a lot about the service and quality of that shop. Therefore, look for the experiences of others on the internet. In our comparator you can also filter by shop rating, because we give all shops a rating between 1 and 10 based on customer experiences.
Check the website
Finally, it is good to also check the website of a refurbished provider for reliability. For example, check which payment options they offer. Can you pay in various ways, for example with a credit card? Then you are probably in the right place. If you can only pay by bank transfer or iDEAL, then that is suspicious, because in these ways you will not (just) get your money back.
Also check whether the address details are correct by looking them up, whether the prices are realistic, the products are in stock and what is the right of return. For example, if you buy from a physical store, ask carefully about returns. A physical store is not legally obliged to do this if the product works properly. An online store should always offer you the option of returning, but check what the term is.
One last part to look at is customer service. Does the shop offer telephone customer service? Often when a party can be reached by phone, you will be helped more accurately in case of problems. Therefore, check the website for the options you have to contact if you have any questions or problems. If you want to make sure that the company can actually be reached by phone, give us a call.
Learn more about buying refurbished products
Would you like to know more about a specific refurbished Apple device? Then you can always consult our buying guides. For example, read everything you need to know about a refurbished Apple Watch, refurbished MacBook or find more information in our refurbished iPad buying guide.
→ Compare all refurbished iPhones