At the Ifa in Berlin, the tech news for autumn and beyond is being presented - including, for example, a new Huawei smartphone. But most of the high-end devices shown are not only new but also expensive. If you want to save money or consume more sustainable, it may be worthwhile to buy older or used equipment.
The German magazine "Connect" has examined the current issue of 10/2019 as it is about the market for second-hand smartphones in Germany. In the process, she has placed test orders with five popular second-hand equipment suppliers.
Overall, the editorial team ordered 20 smartphones online in the states "like new" and "good" in the platforms "Clevertronic", "Smallbug", "Asgoodasnew", "Buyzoxs" and "Rebuy". The devices were the Samsung Galaxy S8 and the iPhone 8 from Apple. Four of the vendors would receive their devices largely from the purchase of private individuals, writes "Connect". Only "smallbug" buy from dealers or companies.
The condition of the devices was tested - and whether it was adequately described on the websites of the providers. A bump test checked the display, camera, speakers, connectivity and accessories. In addition, the editors evaluated the offer of the platforms, the user-friendliness of the websites, the service, the payment methods and the shipping.
A device fell through
Overall, "Connect" concludes that the used smartphone business, quote, is "solid": all vendors were rated at least "good" by the magazine. However, with a total of three of the 20 devices, the testers were not satisfied, one of them had sent back from the customer's point of view. It had deep and long scratches on the back.
Test winner was "Clevertronic". The company from Münster convinced, among other things, with the simple ordering process and its price-performance ratio, write the testers. The quality of the devices has meanwhile also been rated as "very good" with "Smallbug". However, "Connect" emphasizes that they are not above average compared to the other providers who bought from private individuals.
And what about the issue of privacy? Some providers, such as the third and second place companies "Asgoodasnew" and "Smallbug", used a professional software for deleting the devices, writes "Connect". "Rebuy", however, reset the smartphones only to factory settings.
Theoretically, it would probably be possible with special programs to find data on the devices, says "Connect" editor Lennart Holtkemper on SPIEGEL demand. For visual inspections, however, no photos or contact details were found on the ordered devices.
The bottom line in the field of device quality is "Rebuy" in the test. Except for one device, the smartphones "Connect" were not cleaned well. In addition, they showed in comparison to the devices of other dealers more signs of wear. The prices were meanwhile the highest in the test field. By pluses in offer, website and the 36-month warranty, the provider based in Berlin still received the final score "good".
Better rated the testers the provider "Buyzoxs" in fourth place. Some of the ordered mobile phones with the description of the condition "like new" still had the factory-installed protective foil there. There were deductions for the less user-friendly website.
Reading tip : What you should look for when buying and selling used smartphones in general, you can read here.
