Is Back Market legit? This article covers the good and bad sides of this company. See if it’s a good fit so you can make the right purchase.
Do you want to upgrade your phone but can’t afford a new one? They’re getting expensive now.
Lucky for you, Back Market can offer you a good refurbished phone without emptying your bank account.
Now you’re full of questions: Should I risk it? Is Back Market legit?
In this article, we’ll tell you everything you need to know about Back Market so you can decide if it’s the right fit for you.
Back Market is a rising online marketplace that sells refurbished electronic devices. The founders of this company believed that refurbished electronic devices offer great value and wanted people to utilize them to their full potential.
Whether it’s laptops, phones, or kitchen supplies, you can find a wide range of electronic products on their website.
If you want a good phone for a low price, Back Market is a great place to shop. You get discounts of up to %70 of the item’s original price. You can even get better prices than selling on Craigslist.
The company’s focus on refurbished items reduces the environmental damage caused by e-waste.
Offering valuable products with great prices and giving the environment a chance to recover, Back Market has become an influential entity in the refurbished goods market.
It’s crucial to note that the workers of Back Market don’t refurbish the devices they sell on the platform. The website acts as a host for third-party companies to sell their products.
Although it hasn’t been in the business for that long, Back Market can connect you with thousands of certified sellers. The best part is that you can find devices in excellent condition.
Sellers enlist items that customers have used and returned. Sometimes, these items have only been lightly used. If you’re lucky, you can get a device that’s as good as the original.
Back Market is all about transparency. They don’t claim that all the phones on their platform are in great condition.
From “Fair,” “Good,” or “Excellent,” they let you know the conditions in which the item is available.
CategoryDescriptionFairYour phone will have visible scratches on the body and the screenGoodA good phone will have fewer visible scratches and a great screenExcellentYour device will have light scratches and a perfect screen.
That means you know what to expect when you place your order.
If you’re still hesitant, that’s understandable. You probably have a few questions. Well, we’re here to answer them.
Here are some common questions people ask about Back Market.
The idea behind Back Market is similar to OfferUp in the sense that the items you buy from the website have had a previous owner. Unlike OfferUp, though, Back Market’s products are more professional.
When you buy a second-hand product, you can’t guarantee its quality unless you know the buyer. Most consumers don’t have that luxury, though.
With Back Market’s refurbished items, there’s more room for accountability. Not only do professional examiners test and clean your item, but you also get information on who refurbished it.
Back Market is all about providing you with the best online purchasing experience. Last year, the company had a failure rate of %4.
While not having any failing devices would’ve been better, that’s still an impressive rate compared to other marketplaces.
It’s also not easy to become a Back Market seller. The company forces potential sellers to go through a rigorous selection process.
From delivering the items within a few days to offering a limited warranty, Back Market holds their sellers to high standards.
Back Market has revolutionized the process of selling old phones. Now you can get phones in neat condition for great prices. Whether it’s Samsung, iPhone, Sony, or Xiaomi, you’ll find a wide range of brands on their website.
Since the gadgets come in various conditions, you can find a suitable phone even if you’re on a budget.
No matter what you pay, expect to get a fully functional device that can handle your everyday tasks.
That said, don’t expect a glamorous look from phones in fair condition. As the cheapest option on the website, they don’t offer as much value as their expensive counterparts.
You won’t understand how serious Back Market is until you go through the purchasing experience. Throughout every step of the way, you’ll see how and why the company has built a reputable name.
Selling stuff online leaves room for a lot of mistrust, but if there’s one thing you can trust Back Market with, it’s quality assurance. It has a hardcore screening process, accepting only a third of the sellers who apply to join its platform.
It also investigates its sellers, asking them about their services and how they maintain their quality. Of course, sellers would have to provide proof that they offer quality services.
Sometimes, company workers will even make anonymous orders to ensure that the sellers are on top of their game. If a seller’s service drops in quality, the company puts them on probation.
Every device they sell on their platform goes through a minimum of 25 examinations.
From the body to the software, they ensure that the various components of the device are still working.
Back Market’s selling point is its one-year warranty. Some products even have a two-year warranty.
That’s not something you’ll find in many other marketplaces. If anything, it shows you how confident they are in their products.
If that’s not enough, you also get a 30-day money-back guarantee. As a company that serves 14 European countries around the world, along with the US, Back Market’s products aren’t something to sneeze on.
The best way to know if a company is trustworthy is to listen to other people’s experiences with it. That’s what we’re doing.
In this section, we’ll provide you with reviews written by consumers who ordered various items from Back Market.
As a platform that’s designed specifically to leave reviews on goods and services, we had to include Truspilot’s reviews.
Sitejabber is another website that allows consumers to leave reviews on Back Market’s services. With more than one thousand views, you can get a clear idea of how the company functions.
As with any other company, not all customers will have a good experience with Back Market. We brought you the good. Now it’s time for the ugly.
Trustpilot reviewers didn’t hold back on mentioning all the aspects in which Back Market didn’t deliver a good service.
The description of their products are accurate for the most part, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be deceiving.
A seller can replace the original battery of a phone without mentioning that in the description. You can also order a phone in good condition but have it arrive with visible scratch marks and a bad screen.
Unfortunately, there have been a few instances where a lack of communication from customer care has cost clients money.
If there’s a dispute between you and the seller over returning an item, the company can side with the seller without giving you an explanation.
Faulty devices don’t always come right out of the box. Some of them take time to decay. In this case, the three-month money-back guarantee will not help you.
With 1,300 Back Market reviews, some of them are bound to be bad. In this section, we show all the complaints that Sitejabber reviewers had about Back Market.
Unfortunately, the warranty doesn’t cover all the problems your phone can experience. If it gets water damaged, you have to bring it to a repair shop.
The problem is that the company doesn’t mention that in the warranty information or FAQ section. They cover it in the help section, which most consumers only use to contact customer care.
As the company deals with an overwhelming number of items, some devices will go unchecked.
Returning items is a hassle, as shipping them back and forth takes too much time.
Back Market cares more about offering high-quality products than many other marketplaces. When sellers don’t meet the company’s standards, customer care agents interfere to sort out the problem.
The cherry on top is that it also asks customers for feedback to understand what they like about their services and what they think needs to improve.
Back Market has a strict return policy. If the workers suspect you damaged the phone before returning it, they’ll deduct the damage cost from the money you want back.
Unfortunately, this leaves room for errors, as you can send a phone back without even activating it, but the company could still deduct damage costs.
No matter who you’re dealing with, buying refurbished items is a risk. There’s always a chance to get a faulty device. What happens in that case? Can you rely on customer service to sort out the issue?
Unfortunately, you can’t. While customer care agents are responsive when you need help placing an order, they’re not as communicative when you’re asking for a refund or want to return your device.
Many have complained that they take too much time to respond and they’re not that attentive. For example, many have complained that customer service agents have dismissed their requests for a refund and sent them another device.
Fixing faulty devices is a hassle and you’ll have to pay for shipping yourself. Even then, you can’t guarantee they’ll fix the problem.
If you want to file a complaint, you won’t find an email address or phone number to use. The only communication method you get is sending messages to a chat box.
That’s not to say that this is the default customer service experience. You can get communicative agents. Unfortunately, you shouldn’t expect them to solve your problem quickly.
For the most part, expect things to go smoothly. If you encounter a problem, though, it can take weeks to solve. That’s if they’ll solve it in the first place.
When it comes to refunds, they’ll bend over backward to not give you your money back.
Yes, Back Market is legit. You can see how the company has refined every aspect of its workflow to ensure you get the best results.
From a stringent selection process, to asking the customers for feedback, you’ll get a solid device that meets your expectations.
Unlike other marketplaces, Back Market ensures that sellers don’t falsely advertise their products. That’s why it created the “Fair,” “Good,” and “Excellent” tiers.
You can argue that it should strive to sell excellent products exclusively. That’d be too limiting, though. By selling items in various conditions, Back Market is appealing to customers with different budgets.
Unfortunately, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. Although it goes above and beyond, you can’t avoid the risk of buying a refurbished device.
With unresponsive and unorganized customer service, getting a faulty phone would be a hassle to return or fix.
You probably have a few questions. Well, here are frequently asked questions that can help you form an accurate idea about the company.
Back Market started in France. As it attracted a wider audience, the company started branching out. Now, it also serves the US, Germany, the United Kingdom, and 12 other European countries.
It depends on where you live and when you place your order. Orders take 1 business day to ship. If you place your order after 1 pm, it’ll ship the next day.
On average, your order should arrive in 3-5 business days. Some can arrive in less than that.
Back Market doesn’t ship to Hawaii or Alaska. You also can’t use Back Market if you live in Puerto Rico, as it’s one of the few areas the company doesn’t ship to.
As the company is expanding, you can expect its shipping range to expand any day now.
The best way to know if a seller is legit is to check the reviews other customers left. Choose a seller that has a lot of reviews. It means they’ve been on the platform for a while, which is a good sign.
You can find certified renewed items on Back Market. These items are examined, cleaned, and refurbished by the original manufacturers. They cost more than third-party sellers’ refurbished products, but they’re worth the price.
Are you interested in using Back Market now? Well, you need quick ways to make money to be able to buy items online.
That’s why we’re bringing you different platforms that can help you earn extra cash.
Brett Helling is the founder and owner of Gigworker.com. Having worked in the gig economy for nearly a decade, he has mastered freelance, remote, and app-based work. You can learn more about his journey in his book, "Gigworker: Independent Work and the State of the Gig Economy", now available on Amazon.
