How to save HUNDREDS of pounds buying a nearly-new phone, laptop or tablet – six key checks you must make

IF you need a new phone, laptop or tablet, then buying a refurbished model could save you HUNDREDS of pounds. 

Gadgets now come with a year’s guarantee if anything goes wrong – but it’s hard to know where to buy them from. 

We explain where to look and what to watch out for. 

HOW MUCH CAN YOU SAVE?

To help you score a bargain on your next phone, tablet or laptop, we compared deals on six popular refurbished models and summarised what 11 major refurbished tech sites offer, including guarantees and discounts.

In our snapshot survey in March, we found an average saving of 22%.

The biggest saving, at 42%, was on a refurbished Samsung Galaxy S23 phone, sold by Amazon Renewed for £318 (vs £551.97 at Currys – the cheapest we found it new).

And there was a £250 saving on a refurbished Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 at the GreenGreen Store (£699 new on Amazon).

But this came with only a three-month warranty.

USED VS REFURBISHED

Used gadgets – also called second-hand or pre-loved – are different from refurbished models and we haven’t included sites such as CeX that specialise in buying and selling used models. 

Expect to pay more for a refurbished product than for a used one, because of the checks the sites carry out – for example, many sites check and guarantee the minimum capacity of the battery.

All the refurbishing sites we checked offer some sort of guarantee, ranging from 3 months to a year. 

WHAT WE DID

We looked at six popular phones, tablets and laptops sold on refurbished online  stores – we checked for the specific model and colour.

We chose the second best option for the product’s condition – not pristine but excellent/very good or, if that wasn’t available, then good condition.

That’s because choosing the very best condition can typically mean the price isn’t much less than you’d pay for a brand new model.

While the second grade down usually means just minor wear and tear, but big savings.

We gathered prices on March 6 for phones and tablets, and on March 14 for laptops. 

WHAT TO WATCH OUT FOR WHEN BUYING REFURBISHED TECH

It’s worth knowing that when you buy refurbished items from a retailer, you have the same rights as when you buy new.

We’ve listed below some of the key points to look for when you buy refurbished tech.

Guarantee or warranty: Some sites we checked offered a warranty for only 3 months on certain gadgets. In most cases it was a year.

Always look for discounts: Several sites offer money off your first order – £15, for example – if you sign up to get newsletters. Some have a minimum order for the discount. 

Trade-ins: Many sites offer a discount for trading in your existing device.

Returns: Some let you return items for free, but with others, you’ll have to pay for postage if you’ve just changed your mind.

One site we found charged a “processing fee” if there was nothing wrong with the item.

You can choose to cancel your order from the moment you place it up to 14 days from the day you get the item.

Batteries: Batteries lose their capacity over time, and some sites guarantee the minimum capacity of batteries in their refurbished models. musicMagpie, for example, guarantees 80% capacity, and The Big Phone Store guarantees 85%. 

Security updates: Check how long the device you’re thinking of getting will be supported with the manufacturer’s security updates. iPhones tend to get Apple’s security updates for at least six years from launch.

For Android phones, this can be between two and eight years. 

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