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Forget “Black Friday” iPhone Deals; Do This Instead…
If you’re waiting for Black Friday to pick up a great deal on an iPhone, I got news for you – there is another way…
It’s not conventional, but it will secure you a great deal on an iPhone and the best part is you don’t have to wait for Black Friday to come around in order to take advantage of it. You can save anywhere from 40% to 70% on the phone so long as you don’t mind one thing…
OK, so what am I talking about then? I’m talking about buying refurbished iPhones rather than buying new ones. And before you pull a face, remember this: a refurbished phone is NOT the same as a USED phone you’d buy via eBay or Facebook Marketplace.
Refurbished phones come with a warranty, money-back guarantees, and are checked and fully inspected before they’re resold to consumers. For all intents and purposes, the phone will look and function as good as new – if you didn’t tell anyone it was refurbished, no one would ever know…
Why Buy Refurbished? The Benefits
With the global economy going down the toilet and the price of flagship handsets ever increasing, there has never been a better time to be more frugal about how you go about buying your next phone.
And if you’re environmentally conscious, a refurbished phone has less of a carbon footprint than a new one simply because the phone is recycled rather than dumped in a landfill. In addition to this, you will save a fortune on the phone – upwards of 40% on average versus buying the handset new.
“Refurbished and used devices continue to provide cost-effective alternatives to both consumers and businesses that are looking to save money when purchasing a smartphone,” noted IDC.
“Moreover, the ability for vendors to push more affordable refurbished devices in markets in which they normally would not have a presence is helping these players grow their brand as well as their ecosystem of apps, services, and accessories.”
OK, But Where Do I Buy Refurbished iPhones?
You have a few really great options for places to buy refurbished iPhones; my personal favorite is Gazelle if you’re in the USA and mResell if you’re in the UK and elsewhere – these are my top two picks.
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Amazon also runs a refurbished scheme too; it’s called Amazon Renewed and it covers everything from iPhones to laptops and Kindle devices. And if you have a Prime membership you can, of course, get free next day delivery on whatever you buy.
There are plenty of other places that sell refurbished phones online but according to our research and experience, these three retailers – Gazelle, mResell, and Amazon – tend to have the best quality phones and the lowest prices.
What Model iPhone Can You Get Refurbished?
When it comes to refurbished iPhones, you have a lot of potential models to choose from – you can get anything from the iPhone 5s right up to the iPhone 11 Pro Max. Obviously, the newer the model the more costly it will be. My advice? Go with an older flagship model like the iPhone XS or iPhone X to get the most bang for your buck.
In 2019, I bought an iPhone X refurbished. I got it for around $400. This then allowed me to quit my existing contract and opt for a cheap, SIM-only deal which knocked my monthly costs down from $60 to less than $15, minus the cost of the phone, of course, which I put on a credit card and paid off over a few months.
The net result of this, minus the cost of buying the phone outright, is greatly reduced monthly expenditure for the remainder of the year. And once I get bored of the handset, I can resell it online and use the money to put towards a newer model like the iPhone 11 Pro in late 2020 once the price of the handset has come down to a more respectable level.
I hate being locked into 12, 18, or 24-month contracts. I hate “leasing” things too, so buying refurbished makes a lot of sense to my sensibilities – I can buy outright, using a credit card (I use this one), and spread the cost across a couple of months as well as get myself an infinitely cheaper SIM-only data and call plan.
If that sounds like something you’d be interested in trying, make sure you check out Gazelle (if you’re in the USA) or mResell (if you’re in the UK or Europe or elsewhere).
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