People are afraid to buy refurbished electronic gadgets as many companies sell the products without rigorous quality testing. Some issues remain unidentified and unresolved that troubles the customer later. But that's not the case with Apple. This brand makes refurbished items as good as new before making them available for customers. If you are looking for an Apple-certified refurbished iPhone, you can check their online refurbished store.
This is not it. The refurbished Apple products are also available at third party retailers with some catchy discount offers. If you purchase with Apple, you'll get more benefits. Every iPhone undergoes a certification process to ensure it is fully functional. All the refurbished products come with a warranty period of 6 months to 1 year.
Is a refurbished iPhone good?
The pre-owned iPhone's that are returned by the customer after finding some kind of defects are recycle by Apple and sold in Apple's online refurbished store. Apple has also introduced its recycling program that allows the customers to recycle Apple products. The refurbished products also include the iPhones that are unwanted and returned. These products are worth buying as they are of good quality available at less price.
Apple resells these iPhones after repairing and replacing the faulty parts. The Apple refurbished products are available only through Apple's refurbished online store. The Apple renewed products available at third party retailers are often older devices that are sold by people in exchange for some cash. So, while dealing with the third party, be sure it's a certified seller.
The reconditioned iPhones turned out to be excellent without fault in about 70% cases. And the number of renewed iPhone buyers are increasing every year. If you are buying the iPhone from Apple, it would be a great deal. But you need to be very careful while buying from the third-party.
Points to consider while purchasing a reconditioned iPhone from a third-party retailer;
Understand their definition of refurbished
Not every company shares the same definition of refurbished. The thing is you are buying a phone that is used by someone for a certain period of time and then sold for in exchange for some cash to buy a new model. Apple repair and replace the parts with the same as used in new models. The renewed iPhones from Apple comes with a new battery, accessories and new packaging. In short, they are restored to their original condition. The company checks every feature and function from top to down before reselling it.
But not all third-party retailers replace the battery or provide new accessories. Some even use the duplicate parts to just make the iPhone functional to make money. eBay, Lazada, Amazon are good e-commerce sites to buy the Apple certified refurbished iPhone.
Here are the top certified refurbished iPhone selling stores in Singapore;
RefurbMe
Laptop Factory Outlet
Mobyshop
WhyMobile
Mobilesquare
PCDreams Outlet
Reebelo
Warranty will keep you on the safe side
You should avoid the resellers that do not offer any warranty on the refurbished devices. Apple guarantees it's renewed iPhones for the whole one year. That means if any fault persists during the first 365 days, Apple will fix it for free. Amazon also offers a warranty of 90 days. If we talk about the third-party retailers, The warranty may vary from 14 days to 180 days.
Purchasing AppleCare+ would be great
With AppleCare+ the warranty for your refurbished iPhone will be extended up to one year. Also, the phone and chat support will be extended from 90 days to one year. Also, you got yourself covered for up to two accidental damage incidents for a very low service fee. Know that AppleCare is different from AppleCare+. Buying Applecare+ would be more beneficial as you get an extended warranty which is not there in case of AppleCare.
Don’t forget the return policy
Technical problems take time to show up. The fault might appear after using the iPhone for 2 or 3 weeks. It would be a wastage of money if there's no return policy. So, you should go with the refurbished store that offers a return policy for at least 10 days.
Amazon and eBay grant you a time-frame of 10-30 days to return the item. The Apple refurbished store gives two weeks.
Ensure the phone you're buying is not stolen or blacklisted
Buying a renewed iPhone directly from the Apple store would be safe. But if you are buying it from other resources, say third-party, be sure it is not stolen or blacklisted. You can ask the seller to show you the receipts or proof of purchase or check the IMEI number.
If a phone is reported lost or the previous owner fails to clear the phone's financing, the phone ends up on the blacklist. You can check the status of the refurbished iPhone on Official website of Singapore police by entering its IMEI number. To get your IMEI number dial *06#
The bottom line is, buying an Apple-certified refurbished iPhone would be a good deal if you take care of all the aspects and be alert while purchasing. Overall, refurbished products are great if you buy from the authorized sellers.
