Review: iStore Preowned

E

ebendl

Executive Member
Joined
Sep 27, 2004
Messages
5,880
Reaction score
1,569
Location
Pretoria
So the kid decided he wanted to upgrade his phone (iPhone 6) and stumbled upon these phones: iPhone SE (2020, 2nd Generation) 128GB - Red (Better) (istorepreowned.co.za) @ R4 500.

We had a look at the site for a while, read the "condition guide" pages. He was worried about buying a "Good" quality phone but I said "look, you don't have more money, these have a 2 year gaurantee and you're going to slap a screen protector on it and put it in the case, so you're not going to see the scratches in any case". Lucky for him Black Friday came along and the "Good" quality dropped to R4000 and "Better" quality came to R4 500, so he got the latter.

Bought one of them on Saturday and I must say, I'm impressed:
- Phone came in a sealed box (not original but still nicely packaged - enough for him to be excited and have that "unboxing" experience)
- Arrived within 2 business days (I'm in Pretoria) with decent tracking (free delivery)
- Came with a MFI USB-A to Ligthning cable, sealed (not apple original, but seems decent and MFI is good). No charger though but these days that's almost normal.
- Absolutely minimal scratches on the screen. You have to really angle it to see them (look like fine key-in-the-pocket scratches)
- Perfectly cleaned phone. The speaker grills look brand new.
- Not a scratch or a bump on the phone's aluminium edges that I could see
- And biggest surprise: Battery health @ 100%!

He's super happy.
 
FiestaST said:
Noice.

The 100% battery health is the most impressive & surprising part imo.
Click to expand...
Yeah, definitely. Was anticipating a new battery in the foreseable future.

Can't help but wonder how this happened - did they replace it? Or was it hardly used? They say something on the website vaguely like this:

1701201018929.png
 
ebendl said:
And biggest surprise: Battery health @ 100%!
Click to expand...
Seems like doesn't necessarily mean what it used to.


Still - overseas Apple refurbs come with new batteries so it's not unthinkable that core could do likewise. I hope.
 
ebendl said:
Yeah, definitely. Was anticipating a new battery in the foreseable future.

Can't help but wonder how this happened - did they replace it? Or was it hardly used? They say something on the website vaguely like this:

View attachment 1625979
Click to expand...
They will probably have replaced it. Seriously doubt they can sell anything with reduced battery capacity or health. The cost is surely covered in the resell price.
 
Wise replacing batteries to prevent the cost of warranty claims. Cheap and easy to do.
 
bwana said:
Seems like doesn't necessarily mean what it used to.


Still - overseas Apple refurbs come with new batteries so it's not unthinkable that core could do likewise. I hope.
Click to expand...
This isn't specifically a refurb - the "normal" iStore still sells those. I would imagine they typically do come with a replacement battery and more original accessories.

This is sold as pre-owned.
 
capd said:
Wise replacing batteries to prevent the cost of warranty claims. Cheap and easy to do.
Click to expand...
Yup. Other kid is getting mom's 2020 iPhone SE, but that one's battery is at 74%. So pulled out R900 to replace it.

They split it:
Kid 1: Pays R2500 - gets mom iPhone 2020 with a new battery
Kid 2: Pays R2000 - gets the "unknown" 2nd hand iPhone 2020

So far kid 1 may be getting a phone in a slightly worse-off condition which was unexpected. But oh well, a deal is a deal.
 
ebendl said:
This isn't specifically a refurb - the "normal" iStore still sells those. I would imagine they typically do come with a replacement battery and more original accessories.

This is sold as pre-owned.
Click to expand...
They do? That must be new. The last I checked here in SA they were all "pre-owned" through https://istorepreowned.co.za/
 
@ebendl Could you trade in the iPhone 6? I have got a 7 spare phone so if they give a trade in and I can use Float on the balance thats a no brainer for me.

Also did they earn money through chores etc to pay? If so, very cool.
 
ebendl said:
Ah, you're right. There's iStorePreowned.co.za (where we bought), and then there's the "Certified Pre-Owned" that they sell on the iStore: https://www.istore.co.za/iphone/iphone-certified-preowned

Where, honestly, the prices make no sense! Same Red iPhone 2020 128 GB pre-owned on the iStore goes for R5999.

(I was thinking of Apple-proper refurbed items - https://www.apple.com/shop/refurbished/iphone)
Click to expand...

Link isn't working now but CPO usually means the entire front and back cover is replaced as well as the battery and it comes in a brand new sealed box with new official accessories.

It's essentially an all new phone with the same warranty as the originals, just has a re-purposed logic board.
 
SauRoNZA said:
Link isn't working now but CPO usually means the entire front and back cover is replaced as well as the battery and it comes in a brand new sealed box with new official accessories.
Click to expand...
I think you're confusing Core's Certified Pre-Owned with Apple's own Refurbished which isn't available in SA.

Apple's Refurbished are 100% indistinguishable from new (apart from the box they come in, which is plain white).
 
bwana said:
I think you're confusing Core's Certified Pre-Owned with Apple's own Refurbished which isn't available in SA.

Apple's Refurbished are 100% indistinguishable from new (apart from the box they come in, which is plain white).
Click to expand...

Yes Core’s CPO is exactly the same as Apple’s own refurbished.

The only difference is the print on the box. Otherwise it’s exactly like a brand new phone.

I’m quite sure Core simply send them to Apple and get an allocation accordingly. It’s probably branded as CPO due to some regulation or other legalese.

****

Pre-Owned Store

www.istore.co.za www.istore.co.za
 
Last edited:
ronz91 said:
@ebendl Could you trade in the iPhone 6? I have got a 7 spare phone so if they give a trade in and I can use Float on the balance thats a no brainer for me.

Also did they earn money through chores etc to pay? If so, very cool.
Click to expand...
I haven't tried a trade in, but my guess is the 6 (it is actually a 6s, I've since noticed) and the younger brother's SE (1st gen) is just too old.

Will list them in classifieds somehwere to see what I get, but in honestly, I might just gift them to somebody who still runs an old Nokia.
 
is the SE the equivalent of a 9? and the x is the equivalent of a 10? im being given the x I currently have a 8
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X