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We tell you everything you need to know to save on your purchases on second-hand and refurbished products on Amazon.
Amazon is the most popular shopping platform in the world, but hides much more than people think. Jeff Bezos’s empire has been built with the strategy of offering competitive prices and a comfortable and functional shopping environment. Today, with the advantages of Prime, you can make any type of purchase online and have the products delivered to your door the next day.
Many products enter warehouses every day due to returns.
However, the platform offers many more opportunities than we can see on the surface, and one of the most interesting fields is its management of refurbished products. Entering this world you can find products at prices that are hard to believe and that, despite being second-hand, They have all the benefits of Amazon Prime. We tell you step by step how you can locate these offers and save a lot of money on your purchases.
What are Refurbished Products on Amazon?
Refurbished products are essentially second-hand products that have been filtered to ensure their function and quality. Amazon has an entire division in charge of managing these types of products. Given the advantages that Prime offers when it comes to returns, Amazon always finds itself with a lot of stock of used products in warehouses.
Amazon Warehouse Sticker for Refurbished Products
These products go through a series of tests to ensure that they work properly or have no critical flaws and are put back on sale. However, Amazon can no longer sell these products as “new” so that’s where the refurbished category comes from. Despite being products that have already been unsealed, in most cases there are hardly any signs of use. To better organize this category, Amazon groups these products with different labels.
Is it safe to buy second-hand products on Amazon?
Products that Amazon lists as refurbished are subject to the same guarantees as any other Prime product, but beware, they must come from Amazon. The first thing you have to look for before paying for the product is the origin of the seller. Many stores that sell their products on Amazon also sell refurbished productsbut Amazon does not offer any guarantees.
You should always look for the products that it sells or manages Amazon Warehouse. This tells you that that specific product is in Amazon’s warehouses, and that it has gone through all the necessary testing procedures so that it can be back in circulation. These products arrive at your home within a few days and you can return them if you are not happy with the results. They work like any other Prime product.
Amazon Refurbished Product Rating
Thousands of people return products to Amazon every day. The quality with which the products arrive back at the warehouses is not always the same, and for this reason Amazon has had to design a classification system to reintroduce them to the market. This is how Amazon lists the status of different refurbished products:
- like new: This category includes products that hardly have any defects, and if they exist, it would be negligible and merely aesthetic. Here are many products that have passed through the transport and delivery system and have been returned a few days later, either because the consumer has made a mistake or because he regrets the purchase.
- Very good: In this category are the vast majority of products that customers return to Amazon. Normally in this category we find items with slight aesthetic imperfections or with packaging in poor condition. These products often suffer from imperfections during transport and users return them soon after realizing the defects.
- Well: In this category we begin to talk about products where the use is already evident. Here there is room for products that the consumer has used for some time and that perhaps have not finished convincing him. The defects of these products tend to be mainly of use, and are more evident than the previous categories.
- Acceptable: The category that includes the products in the worst condition. Here you can find everything, from products that are missing parts, with broken parts…etc. Obviously they are the ones that have a better price, and they can be useful if you are looking for a spare part, for example, but in general, their purchase is not highly recommended.
The law has recently extended the product warranty range to three years, and this has caused Amazon to also have to extend its guarantees. It is something to keep in mind if you have bought products this year, since you will be able to benefit from your Prime subscription and return them without any problem after the time stipulated by law.
This has caused the ‘Good’ and ‘Fair’ category to be greatly inflated on refurbished due to the extended range of use, so keep this in mind when looking for products.
Where to find the best deals on second-hand and refurbished products on Amazon
Now that we know how the categories work and what to expect from each one, let’s get to the heart of the matter: how to get the best deals. Not all products on Amazon are offered refurbished, but there are three different ways to find them. Below we will tell you step by step how to locate refurbished products on sale on Amazon and thus save a lot on your purchases.
Research the category of offers on Amazon
In the category of Amazon offers there is a button (quite hidden by the way) that redirects us directly to the refurbished products of Amazon. Look for the Amazon Warehouse label on these productswhich is the seal of quality and guarantee that confirms that these items have passed the Amazon filter and are ready to enter the market again.
You can access second-hand products from the Amazon offers tab
Within this category, Amazon classifies the offers in different categories depending on the type of product. these categories constantly receive new products and they’re always the same, so it’s a good idea to check them out from time to time if you’re not looking for anything specific but want to check out the deals:
Locate second-hand offers on the product page
If you are looking for a specific product on Amazon, you can see if it offers refurbished products from the tab itself. You should look at the right side, where the price and summary of the product appear in a vertical column. You’ll usually see it say “New,” followed by the product name, price, and Prime benefits if any. Well, if you scroll down, you can see a new tab if the product has second-hand offers.
If a specific product has offers on refurbished, you can see it on the tab
This tab indicates the state of the product (according to the standards that we have already mentioned), the new price and a small description where the defects are deepened. Make sure that the product is sold by “Amazon Warehouse” and be very careful with the stock. These products never go into high volume, so most likely you will find two or three units as much of each reconditioned
Use the Amazon link for a detailed breakdown of second-hand offers
There’s a very easy way to see a full breakdown of offers for a particular product: you just have to modify the link. The process is very simple, and with this trick it will be much easier for you to see all the information at a glance. This is what you have to do:
- First locate the Amazon product link
- You will have a link similar to this one, which we will use as an example: https://www.amazon.es/dp/B07W5HN88W?tag=urban-tecno-web-21&psc=1
- Now you must paste the following code at the end of the link: &od=1
- You should have a new link like this: https://www.amazon.es/dp/B07W5HN88W?tag=urban-tecno-web-21&psc=1&aod=1
This pop-up tab shows you all second-hand sales options
If you reload the page with the new link you will see how a window appears on the right side, with a vertical breakdown of the different offers. You’ll see the different categories (Like New, Very Good, Good, and Fair) along with price variations and the seller of the product. Again, we remind you to always look for Amazon Warehouse as a seller or product management, since it is the one that has the Amazon guarantee.
A little trick to find second-hand bargains on Amazon
You already have all the tools to get the best deals on refurbished second-hand products on Amazon, but we want to leave you with a trick. As someone who has bought many second-hand products on Amazon I can confirm that It’s always best to look in the “like new” and very good categories..
It may seem obvious but the difference between these two categories is usually not that pronounced and many times you can get completely new products at half price or even cheaper.
However, there is a trick to locating the best opportunities. Second-hand products on Amazon tend to have very little stock, because most of them come from returns and it is not very common since people know perfectly well how to buy on Amazon. However, there will be times when you will come across refurbished products where Amazon lists 10 or more in stock at the same price. Those are the good ones.
When there is a lot of reconditioned stock, it is likely to have been an accident in the warehouse or during transport // Financial Times
These products are most likely there because of Amazon, probably due to some accident in the warehouse. If an employee drops a pallet with headphone boxes (for example), Amazon has to list those products as used if the packaging has been damaged., and puts them up for sale together as refurbished. The packaging may have flaws, but the product is perfect inside.
Some time ago I located one of these cases, and bought Roccat ELO 7.1 headphones valued at 100 euros for less than 40 euros. A group with 10 units had gone on sale, and Amazon indicated a “small packaging defect”. In the end it was a simple cut in the packing plastic
The helmets were in perfect condition on the inside, with no marks whatsoever and the parts still sealed. Therefore, if you find a group of several second-hand products with the same price, most likely it was an accident of this type.
If you use the tips and methods that we have listed above, you will gain access to this “secret” facet of Amazon, which It will allow you to save a lot on your purchases henceforth. If you are looking for a product and you would not mind if it was second hand, take a look at the previous methods and investigate, you may be surprised.
Related topics: Technology
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