Before You Buy

3 Conditions to Check

1. Battery Health

A measurement of the phone's current battery capacity. After many charge cycles, the maximum amount of energy a battery can hold diminishes. Example: a phone with 85% battery health means that when the phone is charged to 100%, it's charged to it's full capacity, which is only 85% of the original capacity, and thus real world battery duration will feel shorter.

Recommendation: Buy your phone with no less than 85% battery health. 

Reason: With less than 80% battery health, the performance of the phone can start to slow. 

Another Shopping Strategy: Most phones can have their battery replaced for a fee. Find a great deal on a phone with 75% battery health, purchase that phone and get the battery replaced. Check battery replacement costs before purchase. 

2. Parts

Phones break, and people fix them for longevity of the device. When buying a secondhand phone, be sure to find out if any parts have been replaced. Ask where the parts were replaced and do your research on the company. Sometimes if a part is replaced by someone other than the original phone manufacturing company, the phone may report that "one of the parts in this phone is not original"; there's nothing wrong with this per se, but some people may not like it which means it will affect the resale value down the road. 

3. Condition

Do you really need a phone in mint condition? Probably not if you use a case. Secondhand phones in used condition with a couple scrapes or scratches around the body are typically harmless to the phone's function. Scratches on the screen are more important, as a deep or large scratch can affect viewability, even after applying a screen protector.  Take your time and make a good judgement call based on the information you have on the phone. Ask for more photos from the seller if you're even a little bit unsure. Don't jump on a deal if you're unsure of the phone's condition.