Currys is trialling the sale of refurbished electronics technology on its website, following a boom in demand for second-hand products.
The retailer first started selling pre-owned mobiles, laptops and Chromebooks on its website in November 2022. Demand for second-hand items saw 80% of the product lines sell out within the first week.
In response, Currys is extending its trial of refurbished and repaired technology on its website. While some items were previously only available via the ‘Currys Clearance’ eBay store, customers can now purchase second-hand products directly via Currys, with a range of specialised payment options available.
Customers were previously only able to buy second-hand teach graded as being in “excellent condition”. However, a range of items in ‘very good’ and ‘fair’ conditions are available at lower price points. Currys will also offer a 12-month technical guarantee, to cover any potential product faults.
The refurbished products are checked, restored and repackaged by Currys at Europe’s largest tech repair centre in Newark. Currys processed 600,000 individual tech items in the last 12 months, a proportion of which are then made available for resale.
Mandeep Gobindpuri, Currys’ head of development for the circular economy, said: “In the UK we produce the second highest amount of e-waste per capita in the world. As much as we all love brand-new tech, we need to address this challenge.
“E-waste is a core reason why we are committed to our ‘Long Live Your Tech’ campaign, which helps customers make more informed environmental decisions when buying and disposing of technology.
“Buying refurbished saves customers money and saves good tech from landfill. This trial is a win for customers, and a win for the planet.”
