Refurbished programs have been in use by tech companies for awhile now. Apple has sold many of its returned and refurbished products at a discount to recover some of its losses when honoring warranty claims. Now, according to Reuters, Samsung is going to offer a similar program for its popular line of Galaxy smartphones. This could be a great resource for those of you who want something like a Galaxy Note 7 but don’t want to pay the full retail price.
The South Korean technology firm is looking for ways to sustain earnings momentum after reviving its mobile profits by restructuring its product line-up. As growth in the global smartphone market hits a plateau, Samsung wants to maximize its cost efficiency and keep operating margins above 10 percent.
The world’s top smartphone maker will refurbish high-end phones returned to the company by users who signed up for one-year upgrade programs in markets such as South Korea and the United States.
Samsung would then re-sell these phones at a lower price, the person said, declining to be identified as the plan was not yet public.
According to Reuters, their source did not want to say what kind of discount the refurbished phones would sell for. Apple’s typical refurbished prices aren’t that much cheaper than their retail prices usually offering devices from $100 – $200 cheaper than retail.
Deloitte says the used smartphone market will be worth more than $17 billion this year, with 120 million devices sold or traded in to manufacturers or carriers – around 8 percent of total smartphone sales. Some market experts expect the used market to grow fast as there are fewer technology breakthroughs.
Typically companies like Apple and Samsung do a really thorough job of repairing devices that come back through warranty or damage claims. I would expect the devices being sold by Samsung through this program should function and be in like new condition. It’s a good deal for those who want a good device and want to save some money, even if it’s $100-$200.
What do you think of this program? Would you buy a refurbished device? Let us know in the comments below or on Twitter, Facebook and Google+.
[button link=”http://www.reuters.com/article/us-samsung-elec-phones-refurbishment-idUSKCN10X0FT” icon=”fa-external-link” side=”left” target=”blank” color=”285b5e” textcolor=”ffffff”]Source: Reuters[/button]Last Updated on January 23, 2017.
