An honest, live-price guide to buying second-hand tech. We track real UK prices from the retailers we cover, explain what the grades and conditions actually mean, and show the cheapest verified price for each category, currently from £50. Where a price looks too cheap to be real, we leave it out rather than mislead you.
Sealed, unused stock with the full manufacturer warranty. The benchmark price the second-hand market discounts from — rarely the cheapest, always the safest.
Restored and tested by the manufacturer or an approved partner, typically with a warranty (often 12 months) and fresh accessories. The closest second-hand option to new, and priced accordingly.
Restored and tested by a graded seller (a retailer or a specialist like CEX). Usually warrantied and graded for cosmetic wear. Sits between certified-refurbished and used on both price and assurance.
Pre-owned and sold as-is by a shop or private seller. Cheapest of all, but assurance varies most — a CEX C-grade with a warranty is a very different buy from a private "spares or repair" listing.
Excellent — minimal to no visible wear, close to new in the hand. The premium second-hand tier; we map it to “refurbished”.
Good — light, normal signs of use (faint scuffs, minor marks). Fully working; the usual value sweet spot.
Fair — heavier cosmetic wear (visible scratches, dings) but fully functional. Cheapest CEX tier; fine if you case it anyway.
eBay condition labels run from Brand New and Open Box through Certified Refurbished, Excellent/Very Good/Good Refurbished, down to Used and For parts or not working. Read the title and the condition together: a low price next to “for parts”, “spares”, “cracked”, “single earbud” or “case only” is honest about being a partial or broken unit.
The trap is the listing that looks whole and genuine but is priced like junk. A “brand new, sealed” current flagship at a fraction of its normal price is a classic counterfeit or scam pattern. We’d rather miss a price than show a wrong one: where a second-hand price can’t be backed up by a trusted shop, or the listing has the hallmarks of a fake (a clone passed off as genuine, or the wrong model dressed up as the one you searched for), we leave it out rather than show it. A “too cheap to be true” listing never becomes the headline price on this site.
Consistent grading, a warranty (commonly up to 24 months) and straightforward returns. Best when you want a known-good unit with recourse if something is wrong, and you can live with a slightly higher price than the cheapest private listing.
The widest selection and often the lowest outright price, including models CEX doesn’t stock. The trade-off is variable seller assurance, so check feedback, the exact condition and whether a warranty is offered — and lean on Buyer Protection.
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For a phone, ask for the IMEI and check it isn’t reported lost or stolen (blocklisted) before you pay — a blocklisted phone can’t make calls on UK networks. Make sure activation locks are off: iCloud Activation Lock on iPhone and iPad, and Google Factory Reset Protection (FRP) on Android. A locked device you can’t sign into is unusable.
Never pay a private seller by bank transfer. A transfer is like handing over cash — if the item never arrives or isn’t as described, there’s nothing to claw the money back through. Pay by a method that comes with buyer protection instead.
On eBay, the eBay Money Back Guarantee covers eligible purchases if an item doesn’t arrive or doesn’t match the listing — keep it on-platform to stay covered. From CEX, used kit comes with their stated warranty (commonly up to 24 months) and returns, so you have recourse if it fails.
Used means pre-owned and sold as-is, cheapest but with the most variable condition. Refurbished means a seller has tested and restored the item, usually with a warranty and a cosmetic grade. Certified refurbished is the manufacturer-backed version of that, closest to new. On price it runs new → certified refurbished → refurbished → used, cheapest last.
Yes — all three are fully working and come with CEX’s warranty (commonly up to 24 months) and returns. The grade is about cosmetics only: A is near-new, B has light wear, C has heavier scratches but works the same. If you use a case anyway, a C-grade is usually the best value.
Sometimes. A “new and sealed” flagship at a fraction of its normal price is a classic counterfeit or scam pattern, and a single earbud or a spares/parts unit can look like a whole device in a list. We’d rather show no price than a wrong one: where a second-hand price can’t be verified, or it looks too good to be true and is likely a fake, we leave it out rather than let it become our headline price.
Used is almost always cheaper than refurbished, because refurbished includes testing and usually a warranty. The gap is the price of peace of mind. For higher-value items (laptops, current-gen phones) many buyers pay a little more for refurbished; for older or cased items, used wins on pure price.
Usually, yes. Certified refurbished and graded-seller refurbished items (including CEX) typically include a warranty, often 12–24 months. Private used listings on eBay generally do not — that is the main trade-off between the two routes.
It depends on the item and how much assurance you want. CEX is strong for graded, warrantied refurbished and used stock with easy returns; eBay often has the lowest outright prices and the widest selection, but assurance varies by seller. This page tracks the live cheapest verified second-hand price for each category so you can compare both routes — currently from £50.