Businesses that operate with pre-owned electronics sometimes restrict their inventory to used devices. However, refurbished phones are a great option for companies, as they are in high demand. This article explores the benefits of refurbished devices and ways to process them efficiently. Follow along!
What Is a Refurbished Phone?
Refurbished phones are pre-owned devices that have been repaired to perform like new ones. Sometimes, refurbishment is done by the manufacturer (such as Apple or Samsung). However, resellers can also refurbish devices themselves; therefore, the quality of repairs is not guaranteed. To verify a device’s condition, reputable refurbishers provide testing certificates.
According to Future Market Insights, the refurbished smartphone market was valued at $80 billion in 2024. It is expected to experience significant growth, reaching $258 billion by 2034, with a CAGR of 12.4%.
To learn how refurbished phones are different from used phones, read our article on the topic.
The Main Business Benefits of Refurbished Phones
Expanding your inventory is usually a good idea, as it allows you to cover the needs of more customers. However, it also becomes more difficult to manage your inventory, so you need to thoroughly consider each category of goods before adding it.
Refurbished phones have several advantages for businesses. Let’s explore them in more detail.
Lower Return Rate
Refurbished smartphones are repaired so that their functional and cosmetic condition is almost perfect. They are the best-quality pre-owned electronics on the market. Moreover, testing certificates verify the condition of refurbished devices so your customers know a smartphone’s quality before purchasing.
Therefore, the product meets customers' expectations, reducing the likelihood of returns. Although eliminating returns is impossible, they can be significantly reduced by improving the quality of your inventory. Our testing solution, NSYS Diagnostics, helps you achieve this. After implementing the software, our clients experience a 96.3% RMA reduction thanks to precise automated testing.
Improved Brand Reputation
According to a Consumer Reports survey, 82% of people who purchased a refurbished phone stated that they were satisfied with the device.
When the phones you resell are of high quality, customer satisfaction with your services increases. This positively impacts your business’s reputation and has long-term benefits.
Moreover, refurbished smartphones, especially those repaired by reputable suppliers, demonstrate to your customers that your business values quality and reliability.
E-Waste Reduction
According to Market.US research, the refurbishment industry prevents 225 million kilograms of e-waste from being produced annually. Refurbishing extends a device’s lifespan, as smartphones are reused instead of ending up in a landfill. Moreover, repairing requires fewer materials than producing a new phone, which helps conserve natural resources and reduce overproduction.
Reselling refurbished tech is a sustainable practice that promotes conscious consumption and e-waste reduction. It could be the first step toward a greener business approach.
How Businesses Can Acquire Refurbished Phones
As refurbished phones are restored by companies rather than individuals, you can purchase them only in bulk. While this might make things a bit easier, as you interact with fewer suppliers rather than numerous buyback clients, there are still challenges you might encounter:
- You may become dependent on your suppliers and vulnerable to price fluctuations, delivery delays, and other uncertainties.
- You might face challenges finding new suppliers who operate according to your requirements.
- You need to perform large-volume testing quickly and accurately to ensure the devices you receive are of high quality.
Testing is the first step in structuring the whole process: it allows you to evaluate the condition of smartphones and provides an independent assessment of the batch that you can refer to in case of a dispute with the supplier. Additionally, testing software, such as NSYS Diagnostics, enhances your analytics, allowing you to compare supplier performance and make data-driven decisions about which companies to work with.
Let’s explore the refurbishing business by considering TekEir—a leading supplier of refurbished mobile devices in Ireland—as an example. The company previously faced challenges with manual testing of phones and tablets, which was prone to human error and proved time-consuming. By implementing NSYS Diagnostics, TekEir doubled the testing capacity, processing between 1,000 and 1,500 devices per month. In addition to boosting productivity, the solution enhanced customer trust by providing testing certificates.
What to Test When Buying Refurbished Phones in Bulk
Testing large volumes of smartphones requires special skills and knowledge. However, even professional testers make mistakes due to fatigue or haste. The only way to eliminate subjective evaluation from the process is to automate it.
Automated testing software, such as NSYS Diagnostics, is a perfect way to streamline phone processing and eliminate human error and fraud. NSYS Diagnostics performs over 60 tests to detect more than 100 hardware defects in less than a minute. Moreover, up to ten phones can be tested at once.
For each device tested, NSYS Diagnostics provides testing certificates, which verify the quality of smartphones and build customer trust. Additionally, testing certificates are required to resell electronics on marketplaces, and NSYS Diagnostics is an authorized software for Back Market, Amazon, Refurbed, and other platforms.
Boost your large-volume testing with NSYS Diagnostics!
