How a Traded-In Apple iPhone Gets Refurbished | WSJ

So you just traded in your used Apple iPhone 11 at your wireless carrier to get a deal on a brand new iPhone 14. Where does that old phone go? How do companies make money on it?

WSJ’s Joanna Stern heads to a U.S. Mobile Phones facility in New Jersey following an iPhone 11 through the refurbished process to explain how the second-hand phone market is a booming business.

0:00 Used and refurbished phones in North America
0:44 Second-hand facilities
1:32 Data erasure and triage
2:23 Cleaning and grading
2:52 Kitting and selling

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Everything is now a tech thing. In creative and humorous videos, WSJ senior personal tech columnist Joanna Stern explains and reviews the products, services and trends that are changing our world.

#Apple #Refurbished #WSJ

[davidmumbo]

That dealer really trashed that reporter. "It's because of you, you can't blame the phone" 🤣😂

[TheJuniorApollo]

One of the simplest, clearest videos of a process that is not so transparent to the public. Well done

[JBK]

Biggest issue for me would be that they aren’t replacing the battery. With older phones that’s a big problem

[etaigabbai]

2:01
“That obviously doesn’t look so good. That’s because of you, your gonna gonna blame the phone for that”. Bro😂💀

[minimalistic_banhaus]

The value in a refurbished phone isn't the fixes that they did, it's knowing that the phone you are getting is working properly.

[dgw]

Kudos to these companies for keeping useful devices out of the garbage and making them affordable for those who need them.

[jameslatief]

Crazy how the refurbished phone gets a charging brick, while the new one doesn't.

[theparamountparamount]

As an individual that came from a developing country Philippines, I can tell you that refurbished phones are a very profitable business and money-maker. Here, a lot of people still prefer to buy old-model iPhones such as the iPhone XR series, and iPhone 11 series. Sellers would market those phones as brand new but the truth is refurbished. and the funny thing is that the selling price is $700 to $1000. Everyone here loves iPhones because of their quality hardware and software and superb cameras but as a developing country with an average monthly income of $370- $500 most people can only afford Samsung or Chinese brands. And that's when this seller would come in, if you know nothing about phones they'll take advantage of you.

[seekeroftheball]

I was under the impression refurbish meant more than just cleaning the phone. I'll start selling my own phones as refurbished from now on.

[henrysong]

Thank God for this business. Can you imagine how many phones are not going to landfill and giving extra 2-3 years of life for these phones.

[megapangolin]

Great, interesting video. Great to see the process, the checks and cleaning taking place. Very reassuring. I may be worthwhile stressing more that buying one is truly environmentally responsible and people should be encouraged to do this before thinking about new, or especially, buying a cheap Android phone with updates that last 2 years. Thank you. More like this please, good to see behind the scenes.

[RichyFourVideos]

WSJ give Joanna her own channel with this content.

[shmookins]

I was hoping to see how they mass repair the phones. At the end he said "absorb the hit on the bad ones" so maybe this particular facility/company just cleans and test them and not do repairs.

[lilPopper]

Nothing wrong with buying a used/refurbished phone. It just gives consumers another option let alone an affordable one. I've bought refurbished products before. Last time I bought a used phone is last year -- the iPhone 8.

[rnny]

"It's because of you, you can't blame the phone for that" MY JAW DROPPED

[lewisflores]

Bruh that's why all your refurbished phones be glitching. Joanna over here dropping them all.

[wateriver]

Back in December I was doing some window shopping on eBay. I stumbled across a Samsung galaxy Z-fold 4. It was refurbished and selling for $949. I bought it because the seller had high feedback and was also marketed under eBay‘s refurbished program. it comes with a one-year warranty and lucky for me it was also a 15% coupon as well so I ended up paying just over $900 with taxes and shipping. Mind you this phone came out in August so how it ended up here I don’t know. I would say the people who end up buying these phones in the end can come out winners if you can find something like this. Great video.

[talion]

Think the biggest value is being assured that phone is working properly and not getting scammed with faulty one from shady online seller

[ruzzelladrian]

The second hand refurbished market in the US is amazing! I got the iPhone 13 Pro Max for $780 right after the 13 Pros came out, and it was still under warranty. Had I bought it brand new on day one, it would’ve cost me $1099 + $97 tax. I expect to be holding onto my iPhone for years. I got such a great deal.

[blava]

I don't understand people who change their phones regularly. I change my iPhone every five years and until the last day, it works perfectly fine. Not only do I save money and the environment but also I do notice the change between the different models because of the longer gap between my models.