Samsung Rumored To Be Readying Refurbished Galaxy Smartphone Program, Direct To Customers

Have you had your eyes on a brand new Samsung Galaxy smartphone, but have been turned off by sticker shock? If you’re looking to buy a brand new Galaxy S7 or Galaxy S7 Edge that is factory unlocked and off-contract from Samsung, it will cost you $669.99 and $769.99 respectively. And if you prefer to purchase a brand new Galaxy Note 7, the price is even more scary: $849 off-contract.

For those that prefer to buy their devices unlocked and don’t want to go through installment plans via a wireless carrier, Samsung is looking to offer customers a cheaper way to purchase a Galaxy smartphone. According to Reuters, Samsung will offer factory refurbished smartphones at discounted prices direct to customers. It’s unknown how much of a discount Samsung will offer, but it would have to be a pretty drastic reduction to get customers to bite.

Apple currently sells a slew of refurbished products on its site — nearly every product it makes, with the exception of the iPhone family. The average discount for its refurbished products range from 15 to 20 percent off, which could give you an idea of where Samsung might be targeting for its refurbished Galaxy devices.

Not only would customers benefit from receiving a like-new device that has been certified for resale by Samsung (instead of sometimes shady sellers from eBay and the like), but the South Korean company could also see benefits as well. Samsung could “maximize its cost efficiency and keep operating margins above 10 percent” according to Reuters.

The refurbished Galaxy phones will reportedly be supplied from Samsung’s trade-in program, when customers turn on their high-end Galaxy smartphones to upgrade to a newer model. It’s also possible that Samsung would refurbish customer returns as well to keep supplies up.

According to sources within the company, Samsung’s refurbished Galaxy smartphone program could kick off as soon as early 2017.