Purchasing any used electrical item from smartphones to CPUs involves a high degree of risk unless the product includes an original proof-of-purchase. As a result, when looking for expensive graphics cards on eBay or premium mechanical keyboards, you have to take into account the lack of consumer protection. It’s quite baffling that the selling price is usually so close to a new retail sample which often contains a 2-5 year warranty. Throughout Europe, new goods legally have to come with a 2-year warranty, but there’s some confusion if this applies to used items.
Thankfully, there are some retail stores in the UK which provide guarantees on pre-owned hardware. However, the duration varies quite dramatically and some chains do not disclosure this information in a clear way. Recently, CEX announced they will provide a 24 month warranty on all used items as standard. This is a fantastic scheme and offers piece of mind on used products. Personally, I would probably pay the extra compared to eBay to have that extra year of cover. This enhanced protection encourages consumers to spend money on higher ticket items such as a used Intel Core i7-4770K. The savings are impressive and the warranty period buying used is only reduced by one year in this particular case.
While I’ve not always had the best experience with CEX, I have to applaud this consumer-friendly move. Hopefully, this will force the company to enforce greatly improved testing, and make sure traded-in products meet the standards.
Do you care about the warranty period when buying components?
