The seller of the Samsung Galaxy J3 Prime offered a phone case to hide the scratches on the backplate. Without disclosing they were journalists, CBC producers reached out to both sellers about the issues Sebastian found in the phones. " clear violation of promises that were made in the narrative that Best Buy claims to be a representation of the service that we're dealing with," he said. Sebastian said all four smartphones worked. "I don't think that they had a proper cosmetic grading done before they were put up for sale," said Sebastian. The J3 Prime had "deep scratches" on the backplate, while the iPhone XR had "significant scratches" on the front screen, according to Sebastian's report. Two smartphones - an Apple iPhone XR and a Samsung Galaxy J3 Prime - both had notable cosmetic damage, said Sebastian. "Refurbished would certainly mean that they're fully functional and they're in a very high cosmetic grading."Īn iPhone XR purchased refurbished from Best Buy’s Marketplace had significant scratches on the front screen, according to Alex Sebastian of tech company Orchard. "Refurbished is language that's thrown around a lot, and depending when you're buying it's going to mean something different," said Sebastian, whose company also sells on Best Buy's Marketplace. He said that two phones and two tablets did not meet his company's standards for refurbished devices. All listings stated the devices were refurbished.Īlex Sebastian, co-founder of the Toronto-based refurbishing company Orchard, analyzed the tablets and smartphones. Marketplace purchased four tablets, four smartphones and four laptops from Best Buy's third-party sellers. When she took it in to be repaired, an Apple authorized service provider said the phone was actually supposed to have been destroyed because of a previous defect. In one case, a customer received an iPhone that developed a battery issue within a few months. Marketplace heard stories from viewers about products they purchased from Best Buy's third-party sellers, including smartphones having audio issues and faulty fingerprint scanners. On the other hand, however, there are also a number of risks because these are devices that might have had previous issues that may or may not have been addressed." 4 tablets, 4 smartphones, 4 laptops tested "Refurbished products have a better price-value relation. "Consumers should absolutely be critical," said Giesler. Part of the issue, says Giesler, is that there is no standard definition for what a "Grade A" product, or even a "refurbished" product, is. It's a claim that Giesler finds problematic. Markus Giesler, an associate professor at York University, told CBC the lack of standardization around the definition of ‘refurbished’ means customers don’t always know what they are purchasing.
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