Cleaner & Cheaper; PA Group Publishes Refurbished Electronics Purchase Guide

Electronics are one of the most popular and heavily discounted items people shop for on Black Friday. One Pennsylvania environment group has released a guide on how to get cheaper prices at any time of the holiday season... by buying refurbished.

Penn Environment's ‘Fixed for the Holidays' guide has tips on how to shop for refurbished electronics.The group says you can get the same item, often of equal or very similar quality, for between 15-20% cheaper than buying it new. 

They also say buying refurbished can reduce environmental impact by 71-91%, because manufacturing uses the most energy and resources. Buying refurbished means getting a device that’s already manufactured, thus cutting those environmental costs out of the purchase.

"Repaired products can be just as good as new ones, but considerably cheaper. And with less of a negative footprint on our environment that makes them a great option to avoid rising prices and a much better option for our planet,” Belle Sherwood said, a clean energy associate for Penn Environment. "Of course, the greenest way to handle your electronics is to use them for as long as possible."

Dabbling in the used device markets does require some common sense tips to avoid pitfalls.

A few tips readers will find in the guide-

Check for if a company has a warranty or return policy.

Read up on how a company defines refurbished— ‘gently used’ or ‘like new’ can mean different levels of quality for different sellers.

The guide can be found at this link.