Refurbished electronics can be a cost-effective and sustainable alternative to buying new. What should you consider before purchasing refurbished tech for your business?

Businesses are increasingly choosing refurbished electronics over new electronics for many reasons. New smartphones suffer from planned obsolescence and command high price points, for example, and tend not to last much longer than devices just a year or two older. Price remains one of the most important considerations that is driving up the demand for refurbished smartphones, laptops, and desktop computers, but there are many other valid reasons as well.

Organisations in need of reliable, affordable, sustainable devices should therefore consider procuring refurbished rather than new, all other things held constant. On the other hand, buying new does tend to provide some reassurance of quality and reliability through warranties. Some refurbished devices, however, come with these benefits when purchased from a reputable supplier of refurbished devices.

What Are Refurbished Electronics?

Perhaps you may be wondering “what does refurbished electronics mean” for businesses. Some negative connotations should be reconsidered when discussing refurbished vs used electronics. When people think of refurbished electronics, they may think of ‘second-hand’ or used smartphones and laptops with little to no quality control. Some of these devices may have significant faults or defects and there may be no recourse when purchased from private sellers.

Refurbished business laptops, desktops, smartphones and other electronics, when purchased from a reputable supplier, offer high quality, reliability, and a cost-effective alternative to buying brand new. Furthermore, refurbished business computers and other assets can often be purchased to ‘as new’ standards, thereby offering superb benefits (including warranties) to businesses with minimal drawbacks.

Are Refurbished Electronics Worth Buying for Business Operations?

Refurbished business laptops, desktop computers, and smartphones can be much better than buying new ones for a variety of reasons. More and more businesses are choosing refurbished devices to cut costs, benefit the environment, and procure reliable and high-quality devices for their business.

Global demand for refurbished devices is rising sharply, with one estimate giving a 13 per cent year over year increase in refurbished smartphone sales. The demand for refurbished tech is increasing overall in the EU and globally and businesses are procuring ever more refurbished devices as well.

Where Can Businesses Purchase Refurbished Electronics?

The question of where to buy refurbished electronics is a critical one for businesses. Whereas an individual smartphone can be purchased second-hand on Facebook Marketplace or other online markets or brick-and-mortar shops, businesses must consider data security, reliability, and warranties and thus should only purchase from reputable device resellers that can deliver large quantities of devices.

The new eCommerce website Rapid IT Store is Rapid IT’s solution for businesses in need of reliable, affordable, ‘as new’ refurbished tech. As a global ITAD Company that provides IT Asset Disposition services for clients worldwide, we process large quantities of redundant IT assets that are then resold and remarketed through the Store.

The premium products available at the Store are expertly refurbished and come with a free 12-month warranty, significant savings compared to new products, a full quality guarantee, and offer a 100% sustainable alternative to new devices.

Why Buying Newer Isn’t Always Better

New laptops, smartphones, and desktop computers are released every year from global manufacturers. Private and business consumers alike pay more for the privilege of owning new devices, but when scaled up for business operations, purchasing a few dozen or a few thousand new iPhones every year or two can become prohibitively expensive.

Moreover, planned obsolescence is a well-known conspiracy fact in tech gadgets and many other industries (e.g. home appliances). Products are intentionally designed for short lifespans to bring consumers back to buy more, such as through a lack of iOS support for older Apple devices.

Many refurbished phones and refurbished laptops are indeed more desirable if they have been expertly refurbished. In addition to the greater availability of older devices as compared to new models, consumers also have the confidence in buying products that have been thoroughly tried and tested. Buying newer isn’t always better, which is one of many reasons why refurbishment is growing in popularity. At the Store, there is a wide variety of refurbished devices available, including Refurbished MacBooks, Refurbished Chromebooks, Refurbished Desktops, Refurbished Tablets as well as a range of Monitors and Accessories.

Key Benefits of Purchasing Refurbished Electronics vs New

What are some of the key benefits of purchasing refurbished electronics from the Store for your business rather than buying new? Below are a few of the top reasons:

Significant Cost Savings: businesses can significantly lower their operational costs of procuring new IT assets by up to 80% as compared to brand-new business laptops. Buying refurbished devices for an organisation can therefore greatly reduce expenditures within the organisation.

Extended Product Warranties: just because you’re buying refurbished doesn’t mean you can’t get product warranties on refurbished tech. The Store offers a full 12-month warranty for free as well as extended warranty options.

Replacement Parts & Components: since refurbished tech has been in circulation longer than brand new devices, replacement parts and components tend to be more widely available and affordable.

Full Data Security: all refurbished devices listed on the Store have been thoroughly reformatted and all sensitive data destroyed. Businesses can rest assured that all products are sold ‘as new’ without any underlying malware or data from the previous owner. Read more about data security issues for redundant IT assets in our previous blog entry, five best practices for redundant IT assets.

100% Sustainable Devices: Rapid IT operates a full Circular Economy model whereby redundant IT assets are given a new lease on life as refurbished products sold at the Store. This means that all of our products are 100% sustainable and work towards reducing e-waste, a major source of pollution worldwide.

Improved Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): there are many ways by which ITAD helps your CSR strategy, such as reducing e-waste and improving environmental stewardship, increasing sustainability within your organisation, and taking proactive steps toward better data security when you choose a reputable supplier for refurbished devices such as the Store.

Buy Reliable & Affordable Refurbished Tech at Store ‍

Rapid IT is a global leader in IT asset disposition operating a fully circular economy for redundant IT assets which are then remarketed on our e-commerce platform, Rapid IT Store. Purchase high-quality, affordable, sustainable refurbished laptops, smartphones, desktop workstations and much more through the Store and avail of all of the benefits today.

We also provides a vast range of ITAD services for clients, including Data Destruction, secure Hard Drive Disposal and Data Centre Services such as Data Centre Decommissioning.

Visit the Rapid IT Store today and explore our selection of premium refurbished devices for businesses. Contact us to learn more about our ITAD services.

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