Buying refurbished
Refurbished warranties, returns and battery standards compared
What four refurbished sellers promise on battery health, returns and warranty, side by side, and the small print under each number.
By the Savvoo desk · · 4 min read
You've found the same refurbished Galaxy or iPhone at four different sellers, the prices are within a few dollars of each other, and now you're trying to work out what you actually get at each one. It comes down to three numbers: the lowest battery health the seller allows, how long you have to send it back, and how long the warranty runs. They differ more from seller to seller than the prices do.
The figures below cover the four retailers Savvoo works with. It isn't the whole market: Apple, Samsung and plenty of smaller refurbishers sell on their own terms. Every figure comes from each retailer's own published pages, as of October 2026. If you're still getting your head around what "refurbished" covers in the first place, what refurbished actually means is the place to start.
The numbers at a glance
Amazon Renewed. Battery above 80% of original capacity, or above 90% on Renewed Premium. You get 90 days to return most items and 365 days on Renewed Premium. A warranty comes only on select items, where the 30-day return period is followed by a free 11-month limited warranty from Asurion.
Back Market. Battery at least 80% on phones, 85% on other devices, and 90% on phones with the "Extra charge battery" option. You get 30 days from delivery to return it, free and for any reason, and a one-year warranty from the seller that starts on delivery.
eBay Refurbished. eBay's program page doesn't state a battery minimum. You get 30 days of free returns, with some exceptions, plus an Allstate-serviced warranty: two years on Certified, one year on Excellent, Very Good and Good.
Best Buy open box. Best Buy doesn't publish a battery minimum. You get 15 days to return most products and 14 days on phones and other cellular devices. Warranty is often the manufacturer's own, so check the listing.
Which number matters depends on you
The figures only help once you know which one you'll lean on. Here's how they play out in four common situations.
If you won't test it properly for a week or two
The return window is your safety net, so it matters more than anything else on the list. Amazon Renewed gives you 90 days on most items and 365 on Renewed Premium. Back Market's 30 days start when the box arrives. eBay's 30 days start at purchase, so a slow delivery eats into them. At Best Buy you have 15 days, or 14 on a phone, and an opened phone can come back with a $45 restocking fee depending on your state.
Whichever you pick, set up the phone or laptop in the first few days anyway, because a fault you find on day 40 is a warranty claim, not a return.
If you want cover past the first month
Now the warranty is what counts. eBay includes its Allstate warranty on every item in its Refurbished program at no extra cost, and it starts on the purchase date. Back Market's one-year warranty comes from the seller, not Back Market, and covers defects in hardware and software but not normal wear or liquid damage.
Amazon Renewed needs a closer read. Its warranty applies to select items only, so most Renewed purchases rely on the return window alone. If you want cover after that, check the product page for the Asurion warranty before you buy.
If battery life is your main worry
Every battery figure above describes the battery on the day it's sold or delivered, not for the year after. Batteries wear with use, and the warranties treat that as normal: Back Market's says plainly that a drop in battery capacity isn't covered. Its own exception is a free repair if the battery falls below 80% in your first three months, with a longer window if you paid for the "Extra charge battery" option.
eBay and Best Buy don't promise a number at all. That doesn't make their batteries worse, it just means the check is on you, which is the part most listings skip past. Read the battery health the day it arrives, while you can still send it back. Battery health and cycle count shows where to find it on a Samsung Galaxy and on an iPhone.
If it's a Best Buy open-box listing
Open box isn't refurbished. Best Buy describes it as items that have already been opened: customer returns, display models or products with damaged packaging, then graded Excellent, Good or Fair on condition. It hasn't necessarily been repaired, and there's no battery floor. What you do get is Best Buy's normal return window, which is why open box is worth checking the day it arrives.
Before you open whatever you buy, I'd put the last day of the return window in your calendar. Whether refurbished is the right call for you at all is a separate question, and is a refurbished phone safe and is a refurbished laptop safe walk through it.
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Common questions
What if the battery is under the minimum when it arrives?
Contact the seller while you're still inside the return window. Back Market asks you to reach its customer care, and it gets the seller to replace the battery or the device. On Amazon Renewed, an item that doesn't work as expected qualifies for a replacement or refund within the return period.
Do these terms apply to every listing on these sites?
Not always. On eBay, a listing marked "Seller refurbished" sits outside the Refurbished program and follows that seller's own rules. Amazon wants a returned device factory reset, with tracking off and cloud accounts unlinked, or it won't refund or replace it. On Best Buy, items from Marketplace sellers follow the standard return policy, but the longer member windows don't apply to them.
Related
Seller refurbished vs manufacturer refurbished
Sources
All checked 17 October 2026.
1 Amazon Renewed condition grades and battery minimums. Amazon Customer Service, Amazon Renewed, October 2026.
2 Amazon Renewed return periods, Asurion warranty on select items, return preparation. Amazon Customer Service, Amazon Renewed Guarantee, October 2026.
3 Amazon Renewed replacement or refund if an item doesn't work as expected. Amazon Renewed store FAQ, October 2026.
4 Back Market battery minimums, Extra charge battery option, free battery repair. Back Market Help Center, How long can I expect my battery to last?, October 2026.
5 Back Market 30-day returns, 3-business-day damage notice, 1-year seller warranty and exclusions. Back Market Help Center, returns and warranty, October 2026.
6 eBay Refurbished conditions, Allstate warranty lengths, 30-day free returns, Seller refurbished outside the program. eBay Refurbished, October 2026.
7 Best Buy open-box definition and Excellent, Good, Fair grades, manufacturer warranty. Best Buy, open-box items explained, October 2026.
8 Best Buy return periods, member windows, activatable devices, $45 restocking fee. Best Buy Return and Exchange Policy, October 2026.