There comes a point in the life of every phone, tablet or laptop when the warning signs become impossible to ignore: a mobile that needs to be topped up throughout the day, or a computer where you could make a cup of tea in the time it takes to boot up.<\/p>\n
Buying a new device is the obvious solution, but the cost of upgrading can be significant, or indeed eye-watering if you happen, say, to have your eye on Apple<\/a>\u2019s newfangled \u20ac2,369 foldable iPhone.<\/p>\n So, what\u2019s the best way to save yourself some cash, avoid leaving a four-figure dent in your current account, and even do your bit for the environment? An increasingly popular option is a refurbished \u2013 or should we say \u201cpreloved\u201d \u2013 device.<\/p>\n It can offer access to a much newer model than your budget might otherwise allow, as long as you are willing to tolerate some minor imperfections.<\/p>\n Unlike an ordinary second-hand product, a refurbished device will generally have been professionally inspected, tested and cleaned, with faulty components repaired or replaced.<\/p>\n How much can you save, though, and what are you giving up in return?<\/p>\n Last week, a new iPhone 17 with 256GB of storage cost \u20ac1,129 through the official Apple Store. On one of the most popular refurbishment websites, the same model in \u201cexcellent\u201d condition was on offer for \u20ac806.99.<\/p>\n A brand-new Galaxy A57 5G with 256GB storage was for sale at \u20ac539 on the official Samsung<\/a> website. That price included a discount of \u20ac80. A refurb site offered the same model for about \u20ac387.<\/p>\n For tablets, a similar type of saving was available, with an 11-inch iPad Air (256GB) costing \u20ac979 compared to \u20ac739.99 for a \u201cpremium\u201d refurbished model. <\/p>\n Laptops are a little trickier to compare because there are so many variables to account for. However, examples found last week on refurb sites included \u20ac600 or so for a MacBook Air from 2020, and \u20ac262 for a well-travelled Microsoft<\/a> Surface laptop.<\/p>\n Reuse of pre-owned devices also has an environmental benefit. It\u2019s a great example of the circular economy in action, extending the life of electronics that still have plenty of tread on their tyres.<\/p>\n This is at a time when the differences between successive generations of devices can become increasingly difficult to notice. The last time I upgraded my iPhone, the only big day-to-day improvement was that I no longer had to micromanage storage space.<\/p>\n The cameras on the latest models may be a little better but, unless photography is part of your work or a serious hobby, that may not matter much.<\/p>\n If those are some of the upsides of refurbishment, then what are the downsides?<\/p>\n As anybody who has kept a mobile or laptop for several years will know, the battery is often the first thing to go.<\/p>\n There may also be issues with older devices around security and operating system updates; a \u201cvintage\u201d laptop might not even be able to run all the software you need.<\/p>\n The cosmetic condition of the item will play a big part, from near perfect to well-used.<\/p>\n The popular Swappie website has four different categorisations: fair, very good, excellent and premium.<\/p>\n Fair condition means there will be noticeable scratches and marks, while an excellent device will have \u201cgentle signs of use\u201d, while premium will be close to immaculate.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re worried about how long your phone will stay charged, Swappie offers new batteries for an additional \u20ac80 and promises that its standard batteries will have at least 86 per cent of their original capacity.<\/p>\n A broadly similar set of rules applies for MacBooks when bought through that website.<\/p>\n Another big concern for anybody looking at a refurbished device is what protections are in place.<\/p>\n A brand-new Apple product comes with a one-year limited manufacturer\u2019s warranty, while Irish law allows consumers to seek remedy for faulty products bought from a business for up to six years. How does it work then if you buy a refurbished device?<\/p>\n If you use Swappie, you can return the item for a full refund within 30 days, and a one-year warranty starts from the date of purchase.<\/p>\n This covers technical and mechanical faults, including defective batteries and faulty cameras, with a replacement or refund available if a device cannot be fixed.<\/p>\n Another popular site, Refurbed, offers the same return period and minimum one-year warranty, which does allow some reassurance.<\/p>\n These commercial warranties are in addition to, rather than a replacement for, your statutory consumer rights.<\/p>\n If you purchase more informally through a private seller on an online marketplace, normal consumer protections are far less likely to apply.<\/p>\n Enforcing your rights may be trickier too when buying from a seller based outside the EU.<\/p>\n As with anything, if a deal sounds too good to be true, don\u2019t take the risk, especially with the significant outlay that can be involved in buying a phone or laptop.<\/p>\n Whether or not you should go for a refurbished device boils down to a few key factors.<\/p>\n What is your budget? How important is it to you to have a \u201cbig name\u201d product? And maybe most importantly, are you buying for one of your children?<\/p>\n For some people, having a shiny new product straight out of the box is the be-all and end-all. But for plenty of buyers, a refurbished device might be just as practical as a second-hand car.<\/p>\n It expands your options and means you can have a high-end laptop or mobile phone that you would not be able to buy new. Some people simply won\u2019t be bothered if the item has a light scratch or a couple of scuff marks.<\/p>\n Refurbishment can be useful for parents \u2013 many of whom will have grown weary of demands for specific devices (let\u2019s not mention Apple). It doesn\u2019t really matter how many times you explain to a teenager how the phone they have their eye on may have much the same technical capabilities as something that\u2019s half the price.<\/p>\n While many adults will spread the cost of a new device over a two-year package with their mobile provider, a pre-owned phone offers more flexibility to pick and choose the cheapest mobile plan.<\/p>\n Whichever option you choose, Apple products, even refurbished, are premium-priced, whether they are phones, tablets or laptops.<\/p>\n One last thing to keep in mind is that very good deals on devices made by less flashy manufacturers are nearly always available from big retailers, both online and in their stores.<\/p>\n You can contact us at OnTheMoney@irishtimes.com<\/a> with personal finance questions you would like to see us address. If you missed last week\u2019s newsletter, you can read it here<\/a>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There comes a point in the life of every phone, tablet or laptop when the warning signs become…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":642745,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[936,61,60,1071,33319,573,80],"class_list":["post-642744","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-apple","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-microsoft","tag-on-the-money","tag-samsung","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/642744","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=642744"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/642744\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/642745"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=642744"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=642744"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=642744"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}