Buy Refurbished Telecoms & IT – Our Top 10 Reasons Why

The benefits of buying refurbished products have long been known to procurement teams in large corporations and public sector bodies. Smart buyers have saved their employers millions of pounds by purchasing top-grade refurbished telephony and IT equipment,

offering the same first-class performance as they would get from buying new. Here is why we think you should Buy Refurbished Telecoms and IT.

Rise of Refurbished Telecoms & IT

Remote working is powering up demand for Refurbished Telecoms and IT equipment. Why buy refurbished instead of new? Before the pandemic, it could be argued that the purchase of refurbished tech was somewhat ‘under the radar’ of most organisations. The thinking seemed to be that it was better to buy new, and get a manufacturer’s guarantee as back-up just in case anything went wrong.

Buying used is nothing new. Second-hand cars, pre-loved furniture, old books and vintage clothing all have huge online and high street consumer marketplaces. Trawling the internet shows plenty of refurbished product options for business buyers too. Most popular are categories where replenishment costs are high. Phone hardware, laptops, desktops and monitors can be bought at huge savings. Similarly, smaller ticket items like refurbished telephone headsets make bargain buys, especially for bulk purchasers.

They all have one more thing in common. Changing working patterns caused by the coronavirus pandemic means everyone needs to be able to work remotely. As a result, demand for telephony and IT tech is soaring as organisations seek to equip their employees for home working. So high is it that manufacturers like HP are struggling to keep up. Therefore refurbished equipment is a sustainable alternative to paying top-dollar for brand new equipment.

Come COVID-19, and everything changed. The importance of staying connected pushed demand for kit to a level which meant there was not enough new equipment to go round. Canny buyers quickly cottoned on to the fact that you don’t have to spend a fortune to remain connected, and started looking for more readily available, refurbished equipment instead.

These buyers have been rewarded with quality equipment, effectively indistinguishable from new, yet costing just a fraction of the price. It also fully reenforces the commitments of both private and public sector organisations to sustainability objectives and helps them meet their targets. Refurb has become mainstream, and is now regarded as a vital productivity weapon in the arsenal of any IT or Telecoms purchasing manager.

Steering clear of second-user hardware is no longer an option for many organisations. Astute corporate buyers are making Refurbished equipment part of their procurement mix. Keeping up with rivals that already have fully equipped remote workforces, and money left over in the bank, is prompting a change of tack.

Refurbished Business Equipment – what is it?

What does Refurbished mean? Refurbished covers previously-owned equipment, which has been checked, inspected and brought back to an acceptable working condition. Phrases like re-worked, re-conditioned and re-manufactured are sometimes used. They don’t all mean exactly the same thing but they do refer to varying degrees of the restoration process.

The best refurbished schemes now offer buyers the same peace of mind assurances they would get if buying new. Exemplary production line repair standards, conducted by highly qualified technicians, take refurbishment and repair to new levels.

Buy Refurbished Telecoms

Sourcing only from trusted sources, like UK businesses and public sector organisations, Comms Warehouse subjects every item to its unique 8-point Remanufacturing process. Surplus or redundant telephone hardware, telephone handsets and headsets, can all be brought back to life.

Stages include initial assessment (does the item even pass that?), cleaning, testing, upgrading, re-setting, repairing and packaging. The ultimate accolade is that Comms Warehouse refurbished telephony includes a ground-breaking 36-month warranty.

Buy Refurbished Computers

Computer equipment is subjected to the same extensive Refurbishment process. Comms Warehouse saves thousands of perfectly-decent laptops, PCs and monitors from landfill.

After initial inspection chosen devices enter the Refurbishment Programme. Clearing each device of data is an important initial task. Data cleansing is conducted to the highest Government standard using Blancco Data Cleaner. Data wiping of hard drives is done three times so it is more than sufficient to guarantee 100% erasure.

All Comms Warehouse Refurbished laptops and computers come with genuine Microsoft operating system licences. Consequently, one less thing to worry about – just like reliability, which is supported with generous warranties up to 36 months.

Top 10 Reasons To Buy Refurbished Telecoms

Cost is the most obvious reason for buying second-hand equipment but not the only one. Managing available resources is a key objective for most organisations – especially in a lockdown, when work has to continue but revenue is uncertain. When we supply second-user equipment, these are the top 10 reasons buyers give us when they Buy Refurbished Telecoms & IT:

1. Refurbished Telecoms & IT Cost – huge savings

The most obvious benefit of buying refurbished is the amount of money you can save over buying new. Whether purchasing individually or in bulk, the temptation to stretch a budget is universal. Buying refurbished allows you to secure top-spec tech, perhaps out of reach when new, for a greatly reduced price just a year or two later.

Such is the quality of refurbished equipment these days that it is now regarded as the smart alternative to buying new. The Wrightington, Wigan & Leigh NHS Foundation Trust certainly found itself in a position to make its revenue go much further, when faced with the prospect either of changing its entire telephone system, or extending its life with a sensibly-priced refurb option instead.

Savings of up to 80% are achievable, enabling private companies and public sector bodies alike to re-fit an office or entire department, with enterprise-grade, top brand refurbished equipment for very low cost.

2. Availability – Buy Refurbished Telecoms & IT now

The pandemic prompted a rush for remote working, manifesting itself in unparalleled demand for home user equipment, including laptops, phone handsets and headsets, and conferencing hardware.

Manufacturers of these items struggled with supply, leading to rising demand for readily available alternatives. Refurbished equipment truly took on a new lease of life, as organisations realised that this was the only option if they wanted to keep their staff working, and maintain productivity.

Why wait for new, when refurbished gives you what you need now?

Leading Refurb suppliers, like us, have inventories comprising hundreds of thousands of refurbished items and parts, offering everything from full telephone systems to hard-to-find components that are no longer available in the new market. Order today, get it tomorrow. None of it is subject to manufacturer lead times or international shipping lanes. This has meant instant availability of the exact items you need, allowing you to keep systems (and staff) working effectively.

3. Reliability – as good as new

As demand for refurbished equipment has risen, so has the quest for assurances on reliability.

Comms Warehouse has its own state-of-the-art Refurb facility, with testing carried out to production line standards. Unlike the original equipment manufacturer (OEM), which can only spot-test a number of items from any production batch, we can inspect and check every single item one by one.

We follow sourcing traceability procedures so we know the provenance of every refurb product we supply. All of our kit has had a previous life within a large corporation or governmental department.

Many of these larger organisations run their IT and Telecoms on short-term contracts of just three years before replacement. It means there is a vast array of working, perfectly good equipment ready to find a new home.

With our detailed background checks, extensive in-house product testing, and an uncompromising approach on component replacement, you can be sure that equipment from us has been comprehensively checked before despatch.

Dealing with a larger supplier of refurbished equipment, like Comms Warehouse, means corporate buyers can bulk buy at heavily-discounted rates, knowing that every single matching item on the order has been produced and pre-tested to exactly the same consistency.

4. Warranties – up to 3 Years

Anyone can claim to offer top-grade refurbished equipment but only the best producers will match it with an industry-leading guarantee too. Often the warranty on Refurb tech will surpass that from the OEM.

For ultimate peace of mind, Comms Warehouse has set the gold standard for Telecoms/IT, with an industry-beating 36 Month Warranty on all refurb telephony kit.

We can do this because we have the experience and knowhow to make sure our products are fully inspected and checked and retested before dispatch, with an RMA (Return Merchandise Authorisation) which is among the lowest in our sector.

5. Flexibility – as your needs require

With choice comes the flexibility of being able to mix and match new and old hardware or components, according to the needs of your business.

Technology doesn’t last forever but nor does everything always need replacing simultaneously. IT managers are turning to the refurb market to cherry-pick what they need at any one moment to support an individual user, or even an entire data centre.

Even those organisations tied into corporate support contracts may find it cheaper to look at the secondary market, than try and buy an item new. It may not be available when they want it, and it will undoubtedly cost more money.

Give your organisation the flexibility to manage any telecoms or IT hardware issues by seeking out a refurb partner to plug that technical gap with hard to source equipment.

6. Cut e-waste – reduce landfill

For many organisations, buying refurbished is one of the most practical ways they can fulfil their environmental commitments. Every piece of Refurb kit equates to one less item going to landfill.

The issue of electronic, or e-waste, has been flagged as a huge issue by the United Nations.  A startling statistic from the World Economic Forum (WEF) suggested that our desire for the most up-to-date devices is costing the planet 50 million tonnes of e-waste every year, the equivalent to 4500 Eiffel Towers, enough to cover the whole of Manhattan.

This figure must go down. By making equipment last longer, we make better use of both finite ‘rare earth’ materials, like neodymium or praseodymium, and those widely available but with a tarnished reputation, such as plastic or mined ore. (It’s not so long ago that a story broke about children as young as 6 years old in the Democratic Republic of Congo being forced at gunpoint to mine for cobalt – we have a global duty to eradicate this sort of horror).

7. Data – safe and secure

When you buy refurbished Telecoms or IT hardware, can you be sure that all previous data has been erased? Nobody wants to buy second user equipment if there’s a danger of a bug, or worse, still lurking within.

The best refurbished equipment suppliers take steps to guard against this with certified procedures in place.

As a first precaution we only source equipment from trusted sources, like global corporations and government departments in the UK and Ireland. This means that it will have been subject to regular IT maintenance and care, using only approved software.

Upon receipt all equipment is thoroughly checked and sanitised. For example, we conduct comprehensive data removal processes, such as a BIOS factory re-set on hard drives to the highest Government security standard using Blancco Data Cleaner.

As a member of UNEDA, an alliance of more than 300 top used equipment dealers worldwide, we take a proactive role in following best practice for the sale and supply of refurbished equipment.

8. Choice – When you Buy Refurbished Telecoms & IT

A major benefit of Refurb is the enormous choice of equipment available. By purchasing a few well-chosen components, businesses can prolong the lifespan of their existing systems, rather than being forced to switch wholesale to replacement new telecoms or IT hardware. We have in stock an enormous choice of systems and spares, many of which are almost impossible to source outside of the secondary market.

Even the world’s foremost technology innovators can manage perfectly well on a combination of new and refurbished tech. An increasing proportion of Google’s servers are made up of refurbished models.

9. Preserve the planet – lower your carbon footprint

Looking out for the planet means seemingly small gestures can count for a lot. Choosing refurbished over new allows organisations to lower their carbon footprint, and help ensure that precious materials remain with us for longer.

For example it is estimated that every new laptop made, uses a third of a tonne of CO2 and around 190,000 litres of water to process the accompanying materials. It’s easy to see that it’s not just money that gets saved if a refurbished product is chosen instead.

Greater awareness of the impact of manufacturing on the global landscape is pushing more of us to adopt recycling and reuse as a way of life. There’s no reason why it can’t apply to electronic goods too. Buyers and suppliers alike share the same concerns about greenhouse emissions, and the plundering of scare resources.

Take something out, give something back. Championing a more ‘circular’ approach to computing and telecoms seems like a fairer, more measured approach. Refurbished equipment suppliers that are serious about their environmental commitments may offer further carbon offsetting incentives.

10. Finally… does it need to be replaced?

A question we always ask ourselves at Comms Warehouse is whether an item really needs to be replaced. Aside from our commitment to Refurb, we back this with our own repair scheme for failing telephony equipment.

Why not prolong the life of existing assets where you can? – it’s often the most economical and sustainable solution of all.

We offer a no fix, no fee repair service. This includes us testing and making an inventory of your equipment and setting out the costs of repair. All of our repairs include a free refurbishment process where we sanitise, shrink wrap and individually box your phone or headset and include new cables and consumables. We barcode the box with the serial number and/or the MAC address.

If you do decide that replacement is the only option, then have you thought what to do about your redundant phone hardware? Why not sell it to us?

Our industry-leading Telecoms buy back programme maintains our commitment to sustainable ICT solutions, and puts money back into your organisation at the same time. We can quote a price for your legacy equipment, right up to and including transportation of it to our Refurb centre.

As a certified Refurb specialist, we are fully compliant with the 2013 Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive, which means that we can safely take care of all issues relating to safe and ethical disposal for you too.

Refurbishment Programme second to none

In conclusion, refurbished makes good business sense. Differences between new and refurbished hardware are often negligible. From laptops and desktop PCs to telecoms hardware, handsets and head sets, businesses increasingly accept the benefits of recycled equipment.

Of course it always pays to do some homework. Anybody can set themselves up as a refurbished supplier. How do you tell which companies have the most reliable refurbished programmes?

Go for suppliers that have built entire businesses around their refurbished capability.  Specialist remanufacturers like us have been repairing and refurbishing business equipment for more than 20 years. Their expertise in Telecoms and Computers is second to none.

About Our Refurbished Telecoms & IT

As one of the UK’s foremost suppliers of new and used Telephony and IT equipment, Comms Warehouse is also the number one choice for refurbished kit.

We stock more than one million phone systems, spares and component parts, from all the best-known brands and many others besides. We offer the fastest delivery, UK and worldwide.

Our in-house Repair & Refurb team is the best in the business. A highly trained team of engineers follows the very best test and inspection procedure, with all products individually checked before being passed fit for sale.

Comms Warehouse is a leading advocate of sustainable ICT equipment, and a major supporter of initiatives which help prolong the world’s natural resources. Our commitment to recycling includes: tree-planting, remanufacturing programmes and hardware buy-back programmes, enabling organisations to save money, help preserve the planet and achieve their sustainability targets.

If you are looking to Buy Refurbished Telecoms & IT and would like us to quote for refurbished tech, please call us on 0203 7642 655 or email.