There’s a common misconception that choosing a refurbished product means settling for a higher chance of receiving something faulty. In reality, every refurbished laptop, computer, smartphone or tablet we sell goes through a thorough testing and grading process designed to check its quality and confirm it’s fully fit for purpose.
It’s also worth remembering that “brand new” is no guarantee against faults either — factory-fresh electronics can and do leave the production line with defects, and those issues aren’t always caught before the item reaches a customer. Refurbished products go through the opposite journey: every unit is opened up, tested and inspected by a real person before it’s ever offered for sale.
Every device that comes through our doors is examined by our in-house refurbishment engineers, both cosmetically and functionally, to make sure it meets our minimum standard before it’s approved for sale on the website.
Understanding Our Grades
Our grading system gives you an instant, honest picture of a refurbished product’s condition. Each grade reflects any cosmetic marks, scratches or scuffs, and makes clear how significant they are.
Grading has become the industry’s way of setting expectations — whichever company you buy from, it gives you a consistent benchmark for what a device at a given grade should look and perform like.
At Vulu, we hold ourselves to one of the strictest grading standards around, and our customer reviews reflect it. It’s not unusual for customers to tell us their device arrived in better condition than they expected.
How We Grade Our Refurbished Laptops
Grade A — Excellent Condition
Grade A – As good as new refurbished. You might notice the very faintest light scratches or scuffs from normal handling, but there are no dents, cracks, chips, or missing parts — including the rubber feet.
On laptops, the keyboard and trackpad may show the slightest hint of use or shine, and the screen might carry marks so faint they’re not visible during normal use, with a maximum of 2 dead pixels permitted. You won’t find any discolouration or blemishes on the device.
Every component has been fully tested and is confirmed to work correctly, with no known faults.
Battery health is guaranteed at 80% or above.
Grade B - Very Good
Grade B Laptops sit right in the middle of our refurbished range: a solid, well-used laptop that’s been thoroughly checked over. You can expect some visible signs of previous use, such as minor scratches, scuffs, worn key lettering, or a slight discolouration where a sticker or label has been removed. These are purely cosmetic and have no impact on how the device performs. You won’t find any dents, cracks, or chips, and no parts are missing (rubber feet aside).
All hardware and components have been fully tested and are working correctly, with no known faults.
The screen may carry marks so light they’re not visible during everyday use, with no discolouration or blemishes present.
Battery health is guaranteed at 70% or above.
Grade C - Fair
Grade C is our most heavily used category, though every device is still fully functional and ready to go. You should expect clear signs of previous ownership — visible scratches, slight dents to the casing, and noticeable wear or shine across the keyboard and trackpad. None of these cosmetic issues has any bearing on how the device performs.
There will be no cracks, chips, or missing parts (rubber feet aside).
The screen may have marks of up to 2cm that aren’t visible once the device is in use.
\Battery health is guaranteed at 70% or above.
How We Grade Our PC’s
Grade A — Excellent Condition
Grade A – As Good As New refurbished. On the PC casing, you might notice the very faintest light scratches or scuffs from normal handling, but there are no dents, cracks, chips, or missing parts — including the rubber feet.
On All-in-One PCs, the screen might carry marks so faint they’re not visible during normal use, with a maximum of 2 dead pixels permitted.
Grade B — Very Good
Grade B PCs, you can expect some visible signs of previous use, such as minor scratches, scuffs, or a slight discolouration where a sticker or label has been removed. These are purely cosmetic and have no impact on how the device performs. You won’t find any dents, cracks, or chips, and no parts are missing (rubber feet aside).
All hardware and components have been fully tested and are working correctly, with no known faults.
On All-in-Ones, the screen may carry marks so light they’re not visible during everyday use
Grade C — Fair
Grade C is our most heavily used category, though every device is still fully functional and ready to go. On Grade C PC’s you should expect clear signs of previous ownership — visible scratches, slight dents to the casing, and noticeable wear. None of these cosmetic issues has any bearing on how the device performs. There will be no cracks, chips, or missing parts (rubber feet aside).
On All-in-Ones, the screen may have marks of up to 2cm that aren’t visible once the device is in use.
How We Grade Our Desktop Monitor Screens
Grade A — Excellent Condition
Grade A – As Good As New refurbished. You might spot the very faintest light scratches or scuffs on the rear casing or stand (where a stand is included), but there are no dents, cracks, chips, or missing parts. The screen itself may carry marks so faint they’re not visible during normal use, with a maximum of 2 dead pixels permitted.
Grade B — Very Good
Grade B monitors show some visible signs of previous use, such as minor scratches, scuffs, or slight discolouration where a sticker or label has been removed from the rear casing or stand (where a stand is included). These are purely cosmetic and have no impact on how the monitor performs. You won’t find any dents, cracks, or chips, and no parts are missing. The screen itself may carry marks so light they’re not visible during everyday use, with no discolouration or blemishes present.
Grade C — Fair
Grade C is our most heavily used category; you should expect clear signs of previous ownership, visible scratches, slight dents and noticeable wear on the rear casing of the screen and/or monitor stand (if a stand is included). None of these cosmetic issues has any bearing on how the screen performs. There will be no cracks, chips, or missing parts.
The screen itself may have marks of up to 2cm that aren’t visible once the screen is in use, and may also have minor pressure marks.
Grade C is our most heavily used category for monitors. You should expect clear signs of previous ownership visible scratches, slight dents, and noticeable wear on the rear casing or stand (where a stand is included). None of these cosmetic issues has any bearing on how the screen performs. There will be no cracks, chips, or missing parts. The screen itself may have marks of up to 2cm that aren’t visible once it’s in use, and may also show minor pressure marks.
How We Grade Our Smartphones & Tablets
Grade A — Excellent
Grade A – As Good As New refurbished. Almost no signs of wear. Any marks on the body are limited to very light micro-scratches that aren’t visible from around 8 inches away (roughly the length of a pencil). The screen itself will be completely scratch-free. The device is 100% functional with a minimum battery capacity of 80%, giving you strong performance for everyday use. Every part has been tested, checked, and cleaned by our refurbishment engineers.
Grade B — Very Good
Grade B devices show a little more evidence of previous use. The body may carry light micro-scratches that only become visible from around 20 inches away (roughly an arm’s length); the screen may also have microscratches not visible when the screen is on. As with Grade A, the device is 100% functional with a minimum battery capacity of 80%, giving you strong performance for everyday use. Every part has been tested, checked, and cleaned by our refurbishment engineers.
Grade C — Fair
Grade C devices carry more noticeable signs of wear. You may see a handful of visible scratches, though none of these affects how the device performs. The screen may show light scratches that are faintly visible when the screen is switched on. The device remains 100% functional with a minimum battery capacity of 70%, giving you good performance for everyday use. Every part has been tested, checked, and cleaned by our refurbishment engineers.
