Whilst refurbished IT hardware has been around for a long time, there's still a certain stigma attached to it. What condition will it be in? Will it be as fast as something new? Will it be as reliable as something new? What warranty will it come with, for peace of mind?

They're all relevant questions, and to somebody who's not sure about switching from new hardware to refurbished, they're perfectly valid questions to ask. In this blog post, we'll aim to answer those questions so you can better understand that there are many advantages to refurbished IT hardware.

What condition will it be in? At Rapid IT, all of our products go through extremely thorough and strict testing procedures, using industry specific software designed to intricately test, examine and ensure the product is ready for it's second life. As part of this process, we use an ultra strict grading system from Grade A to Grade D. Grade A; little to no signs of previous use, meaning it's in exemplary condition. Grade B; a few more marks here and there, perhaps a scratch or two on the body of the device or a minor scratch on the screen if it's a laptop or monitor. Grade C; more heavy cosmetic damage, but nothing that impairs the use of the item. Grade D; heavy signs of previous use and/or impairment that stops the item performing as new, such as poor battery life or cracks around the device chassis.

Will it be as fast as something new? In short, the answer is yes. All of our refurbished laptops and PC's come with an SSD. "What's one of those, I hear you ask!?" An SSD is a Solid State Hard Drive, meaning there are no moving parts resulting in much better performance from the hard drive. Combining that with upgrades in RAM to a minimum of 8GB with options for up to 32GB, gone are the days where you'll be waiting around for a device to load.

Will it be as reliable as something new? Yes absolutely. Because of how strictly the equipment is inspected & stress tested, we're super confident you won't have any reliability issues. Aligned with that, to prove this we offer a minimum of a 1 year warranty, with extendable options for up to 5 years on some devices. Do you really think we'd offer such long warranties if we were concerned about reliability?!

How much can I save versus new? This is the part that the majority of people are driven by. Why would you pay two or three times as much for a device that performs exactly the same? As an example, we often sell laptops that are around 3 years old for a third of the cost of something new. So if it was £900 when new, we'd typically be selling it for £300. A dramatic saving for something that will still have the latest Windows Operating System, a Solid State Hard Drive and enough RAM to run all your applications flawlessly!

There's a positive environmental benefit too, isn't there? Yes, you're absolutely right. On average to manufacture a new desktop PC, 660KG of CO2 equivalent will be generated. By choosing to buy refurbished allowing the life of the device to be extended, you're helping avoid 320KG of CO2 equivalent of emissions because getting a refurbished device ready for its second life requires much less emissions. Just imagine 320KG. That's about the same weight as a grizzly bear! By buying refurbished, you know you're doing your bit to help reduce carbon emissions. Hurrah!

Will it still have proper software licensing? Of course it will. You may have noticed over the last few years, Microsoft have made upgrades to Windows 10 and 11 absolutely free. Gone are the days of a sticker on the side of a computer or underneath a laptop that's considered a "certificate of authenticity". Instead, licensing is built into the devices now, so that when a new version of an Operating System is available, it's automatically available to you. This makes things much easier for users to ensure they have the latest and safest operating system (as long as your equipment isn't too old!)

If I need lots of them, they'll all be different, won't they? Absolutely not. The industry for refurbished IT hardware is enormous now. This means that there's a plentiful supply of equipment suitable to be fully refurbished and distributed for a second life. We work with hundreds of schools, businesses and IT Support Companies to help them save money whilst improving and upgrading their IT hardware through means of refurbished equipment. We have some customers who will order up to 150 devices in one go - and we make sure they're all matching, and go through the same rigorous tests. Impressive, huh?

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