25 November 2021
By Roger Jones
roger@TheCork.ie
Black Friday is upon us once again and that means one thing – sales
Most large and small retailers take this opportunity to flog their wares at a cut-price rate before the Christmas rush – Laptops, TVs, tablets, phones, you name it, there’ll be sale stickers applied all over the world.
But in a time where we’re creating unsustainable amounts of e-waste, we all have to start making more of an eco-conscious effort. Cork based Wisetek Store are doing just that.
Part of the wider Wisetek group, the Wisetek Store has recently burst onto the scene, providing refurbished laptops, tablets and more to the masses. But what exactly does refurbished mean?
“A refurbished device is one that has been reclaimed, rigorously tested, cleaned and repaired if necessary in order to bring it to a level where the device functions like new.” Notes Eloise Tobler, eCommerce Supervisor at Wisetek Store “When some people hear the term refurbished laptops they may think they’re purchasing an old and battered piece of equipment, that’s simply not the case. At Wisetek we’ve got nearly 15 years experience in this industry, recycling and repurposing IT equipment, so we’d like to think we know what we’re doing! We’re even offering a free 12-month warranty on all of our refurbished units alongside 2 to 3 year extended warranties.”
Now, the Wisetek Store is offering 30% all purchases for Black Friday with the code BF30.
Going Green – Refurbished
By purchasing a refurbished device over a brand new one you’re not just saving costs, but you’re saving the planet. Most electronic devices we use in our day to day lives contain various different minerals and metals, most of which are actually finite, like neodymium, terbium and cerium. As technology has advanced at such a rapid rate, these materials are now in shorter and shorter supply meaning we all need to reuse and recycle more than ever before. When you purchase a refurbished unit you’re actively preventing e-waste from ending up in a landfill.
“Wisetek operates a 0% Landfill policy, meaning that every piece of electronic equipment that passes through our hands gets recycled, reused or repurposed. We’re also delighted to be currently partnering with treesontheland.com – We will be planting one tree for every order that is placed on Wisetek Store.” – notes Tobler
“from a financial stand point, it’s also just makes far more sense. A huge number of people simply purchase new products just for the pure sake of it, when you go for a refurbished model you could be saving up to 60% off the RRP in certain areas”
Used vs Refurbished – What’s the Difference?
When you consider the average desktop PC or laptop computer, they usually have about 15 key parts inside them – The motherboard, hard drive, processors, RAM, chassis and more. Each one of these individual parts can be tested, removed and upgraded – Often times individuals may replace an entire device after a failure of one singular component, even though everything else works perfectly and in this day and age, this is simply unsustainable. For example, if we come across a faulty hard drive in a unit, we swap it out and the device works better than ever once again. It is this ability to strip a device down and restore its unique, individual parts that are the key difference in the refurbished market.
“We always say, a laptop or a tablet might have belonged to someone else, but there’s nothing used about it! The amount of testing that goes into our refurbished devices is second to one and we’re happy to guarantee that these devices are just as up to speed as the ones you’d buy brand new from the manufacturers.” Adds Tobler
Technology does advance at a rapid rate, as proven by the strides being made across all divisions. Manufacturers keep on producing new, innovative products, playing with features, tweaking elements and rolling out new services – However, all of these updates come at a price and it’s not always a price that everyone can afford. Realistically speaking, do you need to upgrade your device just because they’ve slightly upgraded the camera? For most people, the answer is no! A large number of people are more than happy to choose a slightly older, similarly spec’d model that is just as efficient as the newer model.
The Categories
Wisetek Store offers a number of different categories or ‘grades’ for their products. This applies to all devices listed across the site. It’s also hugely important to note that refurbished does not mean second-hand or used, only highly qualified technicians that replace & test parts can label devices as refurbished. However some of these devices do come in at different levels, here’s how Wisetek Store presents these devices.
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New
This may seem counterintuitive considering everything else that was said, but new items do appear on the Wisetek Store from time to time. Usually, these are devices that have been purchased from a manufacturer but never actually used, therefore leaving in their original, sealed packaging.
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New / Opened Box
This is as new as you can get without actually being bought in a store straight from the manufacturer. Although this device will not come in its original packaging, it’s never been used and is effectively brand new.
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Excellent
This is a device that has no physical or cosmetic signs of use, generally speaking, this is usually when an individual has opened the product, used it for a very brief period of time so realistically, it’s effectively brand new.
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Very Good
These do exactly what they say on the tin! Work very well, reliable and provide a very solid all around performance. However, these usually come with a few scuffs, chips and marks. This may not be immediately obvious on initial inspection, but if you take a closer look they will be spotted.
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Good
This is the lowest category of devices on offer – These devices tend to show the most signs of use but even in saying this, it’s important to remember that all devices have been strenuously tested, cleaned, examined, reset to factory settings and come with that all important 12-month guarantee.
Whether you’re looking for refurbished laptops Ireland, refurbished Macbooks, refurbished Monitors or even refurbished desktops, the Wisetek Store is the place to go.
