After my Samsung s7 edge turned itself into a brick and everything I've tried hasn't worked, I'm looking at a refurb. Can't justify a new phone.
anyone usee refurb/second hand sites like Music Magpie? Anything to be wary of? Any recommendations?
We've had a few second hand phones. No real issues. If you go too old you risk a drop in battery life but if it's fairly new then no real downside. Just to add, there's nothing to 'refurb' on most phones, just a clean and a hard reset.
Yes, smartfonestore.com is one I'd reccomend, had quite a few handsets from there both for personal and work use. Their grading is pretty generous too, even the B grade handsets are in good nick.
Mrs Wombat has had 2 or 3 refurbished I-Phones from one or another online stores (Carphone Warehouse for at least one of them). She's had Grade A and Grade A/B all came boxed with all accessories.
Looking at the A/B grade one I couldn't find anything about it which was different from a brand new one (I'd just got a brand new I-Phone of the same model from my employer so had a comparator). It even had the film on the front for her to peel off 😀
Eldest Wombat Jr got a refurbed Motorola Android handset from Laptops Direct for about £120 and that was a very similar experience.
We'd definitely consider going for a refurbished handset again.
nbt and myself both have used phones. I'm sure he'll pop up to say where he got them from.
I'm a technophobe,so it suits me.
Also good for the environment.
My son bought a Samsung S10 refurb off ebay last year. It was stupidly cheap (bids, rather than BiN), I was sure he'd been scammed. Phone turned up, boxed with all accessories, looked and worked like brand new. He's very happy with it.
Following as my old S7 battery life is starting to degrade and I have to wedge the charger in to get it to charge. On a dirt cheap sim only deal so was going to see if I could pickup a decent used handset...
I used to work in the mobile phone industry, large scale repair and refurb.
We used to do something like 60k phones a month and nearly all were re-cased, charger sockets replaced real minor work, generally they were returns from the big high street stores/networks and were user error and returned originally as faulty. I would 90% were no fault found and were just given new cosmetics and sent back, some just powered up tested and returned but sold as B grade/refurb.
Giffgaff do them as well.
Have I ever bought a new phone is a better question. My Nokia 3330 and Palm Pre were brand new. Since then my iPhone 4/6S/XR have all been refurb. Use a reputable vendor etc, but definitely worth the saving: the phone is cheaper and if you're on a contract you can negotiate the monthly cost down as you're not getting a phone as part of the deal.
I had a refurbed Xperia Z3C, no problems at all, but I broke it. I bought another refurb to replace it, sold as the UK model but was actually Japanese; slight difference in channels available but it worked in UK and Europe. Then the top and bottom of the screen stopped working, apparently can happen with that model, and it having had some use already shortened its life. My third one only had Android 4, not 6, moved everything over and then found it wouldn't upgrade, so keep that as spare and gave up on refurbs.
I have but, not sure if this is an apple thing but I feel like the battery life is never as good as on a new phone, even if it's been replaced with a brand new official apple battery etc
I just bought a brand new Xiaomi Mi8 for £240 or so and it's been great.
My wife and me both had a phone from music magpie. Mine had been fine but my wife's wouldn't transfer via the USB cable.
Quick online chat with music magpie phone was replaced
I've had a couple of refurbished Google phones, a Nexus and a Pixel. I've been happy enough with them when they arrive but I've only ever got 18 months out of them before the battery starts fading or some technical glitch that would normally crop up after a few years appears. Because they don't seem to last as long I have bought a new Xiaomi Note 9S this time.
pushbikerider
Full MemberYes, smartfonestore.com is one I’d reccomend, had quite a few handsets from there both for personal and work use. Their grading is pretty generous too, even the B grade handsets are in good nick.
^ this
When the S10 first come out, I got one from there and aside from not getting the box or charger it was like new, still had the peel off plastic on it. Not a single mark on it whatsoever. And IIRC it was £449, which at the time was half the price they were selling for.
My son had a grade A iPhone 8+ from GiffGaff a couple of years ago. We thoroughly examined it on arrival and it looked brand new. No peel off film though...
I wouldn’t bother buying a new one these days.
No shortage of good deals on refurbished phones & I certainly don’t need the latest all singin’ & dancin’ bit of tech..
Recent experience from Music Magpie was poor QC.
Two iPhones ordered, both arrived with poor battery health 84% and 64%, didn’t look like they had any sort of tidying up. These were the middle tier of their categorisation. This was mid lockdown so maybe that was to blame.
Both returned and got brand new SE’s instead.
Shame as had a good experience of MM previously.
If you are bothered and not after the latest and greatest the other option is "New other".
I had a still sealed in cellophane iPhone that was a replacement phone... someone got through insurance for a fraction of the cost of new and not much different to "Refurb".
On the other hand the replacement to it (my fault) through insurance is buggered.
Battery is dead and needs replacement (shuts itself down 2-3x a day even when plugged in) and a bright spot on the screen. This is meant to be a fully refurbished phone.
There is no way to complain (only a number where you are put on waiting for an hour then disconnected) so I'm stuck with it.
Yeah bought a refurbed iphone XS from GiffGaff earlier in the year. i bought a higher end 'almost new' model (they're graded from memory)
To be honest until i'd seen the title of this thread i'd completely forgotten it wasn't new when i bought it, certainly felt new compared to my old iphone 6S that had died a slow painful end.
We've used music magpie on eBay a few times. They have good discount codes come up quite often too.
Do look carefully at box open / returns rather than second hand.
My S10e is £19/mo on contract (so £456 over two years) and the cheapest new handset was the same cost. A second hand handset saved me £50, but then I had no minutes/data/etc.
It's a no original packaging handset, but basically brand new.
A moto something off Argos eBay. Had it for about 3 years. Battery a bit wonky now so may get another refurb one it’s been great and was cheap.
Try 4gadgets.com. Just got my lad a refurb S9 and It's perfect.
Just got an Xperia XZ1 Compact from CEX (webuy.com). Had to wait for one to come into stock but the price was excellent, far less than the other refurb sellers, and it has a 2 year guarantee. So impressed I got another for Mrs NBT. I'd be happy to use CEX again, no questions
Can't remember the last new phone we bought. Usually just get ours from eBay or Facebook Marketplace, plenty of refurb outlets on both, as well as private sellers with pretty much mint condition handsets.
Yes, several iphones for the kids and moto g something or other for me from music magpie, their ebay store is a bit cheaper than their web site and they usually fall under the ebay 20% off deals. I had one phone that needed to be sent back and that was refunded without a problem
I got an iPhone 7 off music magpie, it was great, worked like a new one but had a few scuffs on it. Would have another from them.
Planning on getting a newer Apple Watch from them sooner or later, fancy one with an always on display.
There are cheaper places to get used gear from, but they seem around the middle of the road, and they’re reliable.
Yup iPhone 8 from 4Gadgets I’ve recommended the lots on here since as they’re so good, probably why so many others now recommend them.
Just be wary that MM grade handsets but not necessarily relates to overall and specific condition even though they state this.
E.g. person A buys Grade A handset that comes needing a new battery with scratch.
Person B buys Grade C and is in effect very good condition.
I have had piss poor service by MM therefore moved over to local Iphone specialists in refurbs.
20% off music magpie on eBay currently.
What? everything? going shopping 😊
Yep just bought a 2nd hand one from giffgaff. Couldn’t justify £50pm for another iPhone so 16 a month gets me an iPhone 8 128GB and battery great, got it in A condition too, then just 10 quid for the giffgaff pay as you go sim. £26 For a much refreshed iPhone, when battery starts struggling I’ll pay 50 from Apple to get a new one fitted
What? everything? going shopping 😊
Quite a few sellers, maximum discount of £75 I think...
Yes. Bought my SO an iPhone XS Max from giffgaff. Not noticeably different from a fresh phone. And saved £100s over a new one.
I’d buy a used phone again.
CEX initially looked good when I was researching , especially with their claimed 2 yr warranty. I was disappointed when I googled further and saw loads of terrible feedback on various sites. Whether deserved or not I don't know.
Couple of questions about giffgaff - are they unlocked? But you need to but a giffgaff sim anyway? Any comments on the grading?
Thanks !!
I've used CEX several times
Sell your old phone to them for the equivalent in vouchers as you'd get for it on ebay, no risk of return to you.
Buy grade B - they are usually mint but with no headphones or box and a random charger.
Sometimes get B and it's scratched or imperfect, can just send it back no quibble and get another.
2 year warranty yet to be tested, but far longe than others!
PS any phone can be unlocked really easily these days too.
Just get a free sim card from the network, sometimes you have to own it for 30 days. You can borrow a sim card from a friend too.
Then stick sim in locked phone and go on the network website and ask to unlock, they send the phone a code simples.
