A number of manufacturers and retailers have now started offering refurbished devices in India, complete with support and warranty. but should you consider investing in one? we take a look at what refurbished devices are and whether they are worth purchasing.

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A number of manufacturers and retailers have
now started offering refurbished devices in
India, complete with support and warranty.
But should you consider investing in one?
We take a look at what refurbished devices are
and whether they are worth purchasing.
By Rohan Pal
Refurbished
Phones:As
Good as New?
B
y nature, there is a certain amount of
scepticism ingrained in most of us about
goods that have been used before—or
“second hand” goods to use a term that
some prefer. Whether be it an electronic item or any
other utility, buying something that is not spanking
brand new is seen as a bit of a compromise. And same
appliestosmartphonestoo.Althoughyourlocalfriendly
shop keeper might tempt you with a heavy discount on
a slightly used phone, for most people, it would not be
as good as a new one. And then of course, there are all
the doubts that accompany such a purchase. Will it be
in a good condition? Will it have all the accessories and
the box in which it first came? What if it has snatched
by some thief and we accidently bought it? Why did
the previous owner want to sell it if it was in such good
condition?
But this could change. The past few months have
seen a numberofretailersoffering‘refurbished’devices
to Indian consumers, offering them devices that are not
brand new but are in good working condition and which
in many things cases come even with official warranty.
Even the likes of Apple are planning to launch
refurbished devices in the country. The question
of course, is: should you consider investing in one?
What are refurbished
smartphones?
Simply put, refurbished smartphones are those phones
that have been returned to the manufacturer or repair
shop, where they are fixed if necessary and returned to
theiroriginalworkingcondition.Ifwegobythedefinition
then refurbishedphonesareusedphonesthathavebeen
inspected,tested,andrestoredtofullworkingcondition
at a factory or authorized service center. Basically these
are the unit that were returned to the company because
of some software or hardware issues faced by the
customers. These are then repaired and repackaged for
sales. In simple parlance, this implies that refurbished
smartphones should work like new phones.
Now, strictly speaking, refurbished phones are
phones that have been used and are therefore, if one
goes by the literal sense of the term, second hand.
But there is more to it. Something which makes these
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devices very different from the ones you
would purchase “without a receipt” from
the grey market or a retailer. While used
phones are sold in the condition in which
they have been handed to the seller—they
are not been tested or fixed and come with
no official warranty whatsoever—this is
not the case with refurbished phones. A
refurbishedphoneisdifferentasithasbeen
tested, repaired if necessary, cleaned and
repacked.And while there is a chance that
a used phone might contain information of
the previous owner, this is rare in the case
of a refurbished phone as it has usually
been repaired and/or reset, and is typically
rigorously tested to make sure that it works
as expected. A refurbished phone should
functionexactlylikeitdidwhenitwasnew,
and often comes with a warranty just like a
new phone does.
India: a potential market for
refurbished phones?
Previously limited to the local repair stores
and retailers, the refurbished smartphone
marketinIndiaisnowsetforsteadygrowth
with the arrival of players like GreenDust,
Overcart, Togofogo, and Surpluss. Even
established e-commerce players like
Amazon,Flipkart,andeBayarecomingout
with refurbished smartphones in India.
Alexander Souter,co-founder of
Overcart.com, is optimistic
thatIndiawillbecomeagreat
marketfortherefurbishedsegment.“India
is now the second largest smartphone-
market in the world – it is inevitable that
the refurbished market will grow in the
coming years. The Indian customer is
very knowledgeable about the gadgets
they buy, and proactively conduct a lot of
research before they decide what to buy.
The segment is expected to grow to about
USD25 billion by 2018 across categories.
This will be led by mobiles, computers,
andconsumerappliances/electronics.The
smartphone category alone could be as big
as USD9 billion.
“In the past, we have been getting
tremendous response from across
categories and regions. 62% of our sales
comefromtier-2-4towns. Sign-upsforour
flash sales have increased 8X over the last
three months. If anything, this market is
constrained by supply and not by the
demand for such products,” he further
asserted.
India is a growing economy and as the
buyingpowerofthecustomerisincreasing,
so is the thirst of getting a new products,
especially smartphones. According to
HitendraChaturvediofGreenDust,inIndia
almost 20-25 million electronic devices
come back to sellers every year some of
which are used and some are defective.
“This creates a large reserve of products
thatcanberefurbishedandsoldandwithin
thissegmentpurchaseofmobiledevicesis
witnessing an upsurge. The online trading
of refurbished and ‘open boxed’ mobile
phones is picking up in India as brand-
conscious consumers today are constantly
hunting for good bargains,” he says.
A matter of trust
The real battle for refurbished phone
sellers, however, is of trust, especially in a
market where the “used” tag has negative
connotations. Although a device might
havebeentestedbytheauthorizedcentres
but many consumers still harbour doubts
aboutthereliabilityofarefurbishedphone.
In many cases, the user is unaware of the
fact as to why the phone was refurbished,
and some even think that if a problem
occurred in a device prior to repair, then it
couldwelloccuragain.Thecompaniesthat
are selling these smartphones are trying
hard to counter this problem.
AccordingtoSaptarshiNath,co-founder
of Overcart, Indian consumers may be
price sensitive, but they are also extremely
discerning about where they spend their
hard-earned money. “Earning the Indian
consumer’s trust is a multi-
stage process. We do it by
focusing on price, quality,
and peace of mind: we
providethemostappropriate
price, our automation
ensures high quality, and our
after-sales service ensures
that customers never have to
compromise,” he said.
SoumitraGupta,CEO
&Founder,Togofogosays
that the company does
a 50 plus point quality
check for all products.
“Apart from offering
companywarrantytothe
buyers, we also provide
fully integrated logistics
support to the sellers.
The secure and hassle-free
remittance is furthered by
the easy payment options, be
it online or COD. Maintaining
complete transparency in
transactions, we have enhanced our
customer service with an all-inclusive
help desk support with a 3-day return
policy. Togofogoaimstocreateadynamic
marketplace where buying & selling of
used phone is done with proper warranty,
certification, return policy etc. This itself
is a resolution in this organized sector with
heavy potential,” he said while talking to
My Mobile.
Surpluss is also making efforts in this
direction. Saurabh Rai, CEO, Surpluss.in
says: “the company believes in Surpluss
value which in refurbished category
comes from brand warranty hence, we sell
maximum such products. We are focusing
notonlyonthephysicalappearancewhich
is almost as good as new but also on the
poignant part of it. We believe in smart
shopping, i.e., meeting the aspirational
valueofsellingqualityrefurbishedproducts
atreasonablycheaperprices.Thebuyersof
refurbished products from an ethical site
are smart buyers.”
GreenDust believes in fixing/repairing
any issue that is hampering the product
from functioning. “It can be a hardware or
softwareissue.Ifthere’safunctionaldefect,
itisrectified.Ifthere’saninstallationissue,
it is fixed. Repairs and refurbishments are
carried out using only genuine spare parts.
These items go through rigorous 50 point
quality inspection process and only then
get GreenDust seal of approval with a one-
year warranty supported by a nation-wide
services network,” Hitendra Chaturvedi
said.
What about warranty?
What if something goes wrong with a
refurbished phone? Then who will handle
matters of repair and support? Questions
like these are always in the mind of the
customer who is thinking of investing in
a refurbished smartphone. “Everything
at Overcart is sourced from our partner
vendors, typically comprising ecommerce
sellers, large format retailers, distributors,
and manufacturers,” says Saptarshi Nath
further asserting that “ most unboxed
and refurbished devices come with a
manufacturer warranty for a limited period
(usually 6 months). Other products come
with OverTrust warranty–our walk-in
warranty service with presence in 42
cities.”
Soumitra Gupta says that, “We have
transparent 3 day return policy and we
acknowledge all returns by customers in
case of any faulty products or mismatch.
We have a negligible return rate, as all our
products undergo rigorous testing at our
state of art facility infrastructure.”
GreenDust offers a one-year warranty
supported by a nation-wide services
network and after-sales service. “There’s
alsoanoptionwherecustomerscanextend
thewarrantyoftheirproductsbypurchasing
an extended warranty pack at a nominal
price but provides you with huge peace
of mind. Some products have three or six
monthswarrantyfromthemanufactureras
well,” Chaturvedi says.
Saurabh Rai of Surpluss explains:
“We sell mostly the manufacturer or
manufacturer authorized goods. Hence,
the warranty is of the brand. In case of
seller warranty, we are very choosy on who
meetsourqualifyingcriterionandwebring
them online after serious due diligence of
their quality and processes.”
Time to get a refurbished
phone?
It is too early to say that the refurbished
devices era has well and truly arrived in
India, but what cannot be denied is that
the Indian consumer now has access
to refurbished devices that are in far
better condition and are backed up by
far more support than the shady second-
hand purchases they made in the
past. And the important part is that
these refurbished devices are coming at
prices that are well below those of their
brand new avatars, giving consumers
a chance to get a high-tech device at
a surprisingly low price, backed up by
support. So if you are thinking of getting a
spanking new device but are falling short
in terms of money, we would advise you
to consider a refurbished avatar. It might
well surprise you in terms of performance
as well as savings!n
rohan@mymobile.co.in