As geeky as it sounds, refurbishing products ready for a new lease of life is something we love to-do. From the initial stock sourcing, through to its arrival and clean-up we still get that rush of excitement when an item sells and is sent to its new home.
We all buy second-hand items through life, be it a car, a mobile phone or getting thrifty in charity shops. And there are several positives to buying a refurbished or like new laptop. It’s great for the environment, is a great way to save money and helps you to get a product otherwise out of budget. The most consistent query we get surrounds their reliability and condition.
We’ve tried purchasing from our competitors to gauge the quality of their refurbishment process. And have been left disappointed. Items turned up dirty or with outdated systems, requiring hours of setup and updating before ready to use. All they needed was some TLC.
It’s our ethos that a refurbished item should be more reliable than their new counterparts and be ready to use straight out the box. Upon arrival to our Eastbourne premises, we do a simple visual check for damage or blemishes that otherwise should not be there.
If a product has upgrades to be performed we disassemble and fit the relevant parts.
From here we install an up-to-date version of Windows or MacOS, running through the initial setup and searching for software and driver updates. By us doing this our customers save potentially hours of time. Key components are tested to ensure all keys work, the battery holds good charge and webcams/microphones are ready for those early morning Zoom calls.
The final step is to clean and grade the item. We don’t hide behind vague grading systems of A-D or 1-5 with the screen, inside case, lid and underside all given a condition description with photos provided if deemed necessary.
But it doesn’t end there. Once an item sells, we don’t simply pull from a shelf, stick a label and post out. Each order is then unboxed and checked over a second time with our quality control form that ensures all key components are checked over again. Photos are then taken of the item to ensure the highest quality of control and cleanliness.
It’s this level of attention to detail that makes our refurbished products more reliable than new items with no surprises to condition when received.