The document discusses refurbished electronic devices and lists several websites in India where users can purchase refurbished smartphones, laptops, and other gadgets. It notes that refurbished devices are cheaper than new ones but have been checked and verified to work properly. The document then summarizes the experience of purchasing refurbished versions of a Nexus 5 phone from Gobol, an HP laptop from Greendust, and a Moto X2 from Karma Recycling to assess the quality and condition of refurbished devices from different sellers.

1. SAVE MONEY WITH
REFURBISHED
DEVICES
There is always a risk involved in buying second-hand gadgets. A
safer bet is to use websites selling refurbished goods. The sites
offer warranty and carry out thorough checks before putting
devices up for sale. Karan Bajaj lists the sites you can check out.
WHAT ARE
REFURBISHED
DEVICES
In layman terms, refurbished
devices are second-hand products
that are returned to the
manufacturer. The reason for
return can be an exchange offer
for a newer product, damaged
box, demonstration unit or simply
returned by the customer after
using it for a brief period and
finding it wanting. The returned
products are then checked for any
issues and once they are verified
to be free of any defects, they are
re-packed and put up for sale as
refurbished products. The
difference in the price of a new
product and a refurbished product
can range from a few hundred to
several thousand rupees.
To try out how good is a
refurbished device, we tried
out a few of the services to get
an idea. We chose a Nexus 5
from Gobol, HP Laptop from
Greendust and a Moto X2 from
Karma Recycling to see if it is
worth spending the money on
a refurbished gadget.
THE
REFURBISHED
EXPERIENCE
WEBSITES IN INDIA
greendust.com
Greendust deals in mobiles, tablets, laptops,
desktops, home appliances, kitchen gadgets
and even healthcare equipment. You get a 3-
day replacement guarantee and depending on
the product, a seller warranty of 3 or 6
months.
togofogo.com
Where most offer 3 to 6 months warranty,
togofogo offers a 1-year warranty on the refur-
bished products. The warranty is provided by
their partner WarrantyBazaar. Currently they
only offer mobiles, tablets and laptops.
reglobe.in
Reglobe is a portal that lets you sell your older
gadgets. They take laptops, mobiles, desktops,
TVs, consoles and even home appliances. Just
enter your gadget details, get a quote and if
you approve of it, they will pay you cash and
pick up the device from your home.
karmarecycling.in
Currently only has smartphones, tablets or
laptops on offer. Karma stands out from the
others as it has sells refurbished products
from an ebay store. This adds an extra sense of
security for buyers as the eBay Paisapay factor
is involved.
gobol.in
Instead of purchasing products from individu-
als, Gobol sources products directly from the
manufacturer along with brand authorisation.
What sets Gobol apart is that they also have
brand new unused products available on dis-
counts.
reboot.co.in
This is a Microsoft registered refurbisher with
a focus on desktops and laptops. They were
also the first ones to offer refurbished fitness
trackers. They stand out from the rest as they
let you customise your desktop purchase with
components of your choice.
overcart.com
Offering 7-day return and exchange, overcart
is one of the few sites that offers brand war-
ranty on sold products instead of seller war-
ranty. It mainly deals with mobiles, tablets,
consoles and accessories.
valuecart.in
This one is a new entrant in the segment and
has limited options available at this point. They
deal only in refurbished smartphones at the
moment and have a mixed collection of devic-
es with manufacturer and seller warranty.
surpluss.in
Surpluss covers mobiles, tablets, laptops as
well as home appliances. Majority of their
products are open box products (opened for
demo or inspection) so you get brand warranty
on them. Plus, they have a dedicated section
on certified pre-owned products.
Nexus 5 by Gobol
We received the original box and
accessories. While the box was
not in mint condition, what
impressed was the box was
sealed shut with stickers that
verified inspection of the phone.
The phone itself looked as good
as a brand new device – there
were no visible dents or
scratches and the display was
also clean. We used the phone
for a few days and there was no
way one could tell the difference
between the refurbished phone
and a new one.
HP Laptop by Greendust
The blue coloured unit we received came in its original box
with extra foam padding for protection. It was wrapped
nicely in plastic and had been wiped clean. We did notice
that there were random stickers on the bottom of the
laptop – most likely from inspection of the device.
However, the top lid and area around the keyboard was
clean. Even the battery life of the laptop was as expected
from a new laptop and the performance was also great.
Moto X2 by
Karma Recycling
This was the disappointment. The
phone came in a large box which
had the phone in a bubble wrap
while the original box of the phone
was kept separately. The phone’s
screen had not been cleaned
properly and was smudged. There
was visible damage to the body of
the phone too. While the phone
worked great and performed as
good as new, one look and anyone
could tell thet this is not a new
device and has been badly
handled.
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28 TechnologyThe Economic Times Wealth, December 7-13, 2015