Refurbed to target business market with refurbished tech

Among devices on offer are laptops, tablets and smartphones

Online technology marketplace Refurbed is set to target the business market with a new business to business offering for refurbished technology.

The new service means Irish businesses can buy a variety of office technology and devices, saving money and also increasing their eco-friendly credentials. Among the devices on offer are laptops, tablets and smartphones, along with monitors, desktops, printers and scanners.

The service is open to companies who are seeking to buy 10 devices or more, regardless of device type. The marketplace has devised a simple system that allows businesses to order the technology they need, submitting the order request to Refurbed’s business to business website.

Refurbed’s Irish marketing manager Padraig Power said businesses were already using the marketplace, but a new system was needed to facilitate larger orders.

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“There’s no limit on the amount of devices that somebody can request. We have hundreds of merchants around Europe. We look at the requests from the business, and then we will offer that to our eligible merchants or suppliers around Europe,” he explained. “We’ll put it out to them, give them maybe a timeline of 24 hours and whichever one of them comes back with the best deal is what we’ll bring to the client. It also makes sure that it’s extremely competitive.”

If the business accepts the bespoke quote, Refurbed invoices the company and processes the order.

Refurbed is also offering a buyback scheme for businesses with 10 or more devices to sell. The marketplace offers the products at a minimum price directly to its refurbisher network across Europe and brings the best offer received to the business selling them.

Mr Power said the company was also looking into offering a similar buyback service for customers, although there were no firm plans to introduce it yet.

Refurbed had an “exceptional” start to 2023, Mr Power said. “January was just phenomenal - it was three times the previous January. So we are very, very happy with how it’s going,” he said. “We’re seeing a lot more people are coming back again and again as well. Phones are still by far the most popular product; it is like phones are the gateway.”

The company has increased its product offering in recent months, and now offers a range of home appliances and refurbished games consoles to consumers.

Founded in 2017 by Peter Windischhofer, Kilian Kaminski and Jürgen Riedl, Refurbed launched in Ireland in March 2021, following a $17 million (€14.3 million) Series A raise in 2020, and aimed to tap into a growing interest in Ireland in more environmentally conscious, affordable technology.

Ciara O'Brien

Ciara O'Brien

Ciara O'Brien is an Irish Times business and technology journalist