5 Great Reasons To Buy a Refurbished Phone

There are loads of great reasons to buy a refurbished phone. Here’s the top 5 reasons we think you should buy refurbished, rather than buying new.

Value for money

Fairly obviously, refurbished phones represent great value for money. In many ways it’s a bit like buying a second-hand car. If you buy a brand-new car, you do so because you want the latest model, the latest technology and a registration plate that shouts NEW. It’s the same with mobile phones. If you don’t need the latest greatest model, let someone else take the depreciation hit for a few years but still get a phone you genuinely may not be able to tell isn’t brand new.

Refurbished phones look great and work perfectly

When you buy a refurbished phone from Phones Direct you need to set your expectations high. These aren’t tatty old devices that nobody wants - these are amazing looking devices that have been fully tested, refurbished, cleaned and quality controlled. They function perfectly and many customers can’t believe we haven’t sent them a brand-new phone. If you don’t believe us, check our amazing independent feedback on Trustpilot.

Buying refurbished is better for the planet

Producing a new mobile phone is resource intensive. The resources and energy required to produce a new phone are substantial. On top of this, the waste produced in the same process all adds to significant CO2 emissions and damage to the environment. Apple’s latest Environmental Responsibility Report states that 74% of their carbon footprint is caused by the manufacturing process, with just 17% coming from actual device usage.

On top of the high CO2 emissions, mobile phones consume over 40 precious minerals and metals including gold, silver, and platinum. All these metals are difficult to mine and as we all know, mining causes a significant impact on the environment.

To reduce environmental impact, it makes sense to use a phone for a long as possible. Studies have highlighted that keeping a mobile phone in use for just 1 year extra cuts its lifetime CO2 impact by one third. At the same time, it reduces the demand for resources and helps reduce emissions.

There’s lots of choice

There’s a far better choice of refurbished phones than brand new phones. Mobile phone manufacturers want us to buy their latest model, but, if Apple still produced some of their older devices, they would still see good sales – the demand for better value devices is very strong. That’s why the refurbished option looks so attractive. Many users have straightforward demands from a mobile phone – email, internet, a few apps and maybe some music. All iPhones can do this, so why spend £1000 when a phone for maybe a few hundred would do the same job. You wouldn’t buy a Ferrari just to go to the supermarket, would you?

There are no expensive contracts

The great thing about buying a refurbished phone is there are no expensive contracts locking you in for years on end. Once you’ve bought a refurbished phone its your to do whatever you like with. You can pick a network, change network, upgrade your plan or stop all together. If you change your mind, you can buy something else. The flexibility really is a very strong selling point for many customers.