Today, everyone is buying on Facebook Marketplace or eBay, so buying secondhand products has become much more acceptable than it has been in the past.
a fine policy that will change behaviours and make people think again about the technology they are buying. “If you look back to pre-eBay times, there wasn’t really a secondhand market, people would buy new. Today, everyone is buying on Facebook Marketplace or eBay, so buying secondhand products has become much more acceptable than it has been in the past.” Grading Legislation On top of the social pressure, if you can call it that, to embrace the environment more, it may end up being a requirement to use graded devices anyway. I’m sure if we all looked into the messy draw in our homes we’d find an old phone. In fact, Nelson said that, at a “guesstimate”, there are four billion devices in the UK alone collecting dust just in case the main driver dies. Both Donovan and Nelson pointed to legislation passed in Europe that could combat this trend by mandating the use of second- hand devices, with the former saying: “There is growing pressure from governments and large industry, which is seeing parties mandate a certain share of all contracts that need to be fulfilled with pre-owned technology. “This can be seen in France, Germany and the Nordics today and it is now also finding its way into UK frameworks. Users are very comfortable with the purchase and use of used cars, we believe this level of comfort will be seen in the tech space in the future.” Putting Worries to Bed However, a clean environmental conscience is not very useful when things go wrong.
Although, technically, devices of two or three years ago are much closer to the flagships being announced today, the pace at which companies are attacked online can make it harder for businesses to keep up with demand. But this issue is hypothetical according to Steven Athwal, Managing Director www.thebigphonestore.co.uk, who said that management solutions can mitigate concerns over security: “The biggest uptake by corporations has been in the last five years, as refurbished phones have shed much of the stigma previously attached to them and have become a serious and viable alternative to purchasing new devices. “While stigmas around used devices used to exist, they are no longer prevalent within most organisations. Similarly, while the condition of the devices used to be important, this is no longer the case. “Historically, requests for refurbished devices insisted on them being in new condition with no marks or scratches. However, companies now don’t care as much, especially in certain industries where cost is more important than condition. Many organisations simply place the devices into protective cases with their logos. “While older devices may no longer support the latest security patches, many organisations insist on purchasing older devices. Most have their own bespoke apps that only work on certain older versions of operating systems and are not compatible with the latest OS. Organisations overcome any security concerns by locking down the devices through mobile device management solutions.”
Fergal Donavan Regional President, Europe
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