Refurbished Grades Explained: What Grade A, B and C Really Mean
Shop for a refurbished phone or laptop for ten minutes and you will meet a wall of letters and adjectives: Grade A, Grade B, Grade C, Pristine, Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair. Here is the part nobody says out loud: there is no industry standard behind any of them. One seller's Grade A is another seller's Grade B. The letter is a marketing shorthand, not a certification.
That does not make grading useless — it makes it something you need to read correctly. This guide explains what the grades generally mean, what they deliberately leave out, and how to tell a serious refurbisher from a reseller with a nice-sounding letter.
What refurbished grades actually measure
Almost universally, grades describe cosmetic condition only. They are a statement about how the device looks from arm's length — not about the battery, not about the logic board, not about whether the device was tested at all. A device can be Grade A and still arrive with a tired battery, and it can be Grade C and run flawlessly for five more years.
| Grade | Also called | What you'll typically see |
|---|---|---|
| Grade A | Excellent / Pristine | Looks close to new. No visible screen marks at normal viewing distance; at most faint hairlines on the housing. |
| Grade B | Very Good / Good | Light, visible wear. Small scuffs on the frame or back, possibly a light scratch on the glass you can see in the right light. |
| Grade C | Fair / Acceptable | Obvious cosmetic wear — deeper scratches, dings on corners, visible marks on the screen. Fully functional, clearly used. |
What grading never tells you
This is the important half of the page. A cosmetic grade is silent on all of the following — and these are the things that determine whether you are happy with the device in six months:
- Battery health. A grade says nothing about maximum capacity or cycle count. Ask for the number.
- Whether it was functionally tested. Cameras, speakers, microphones, Face ID, every port, every button, cellular and Wi-Fi radios — a real refurbisher runs all of it. Many graders check that it powers on.
- Parts provenance. Was a cracked screen replaced with a genuine-quality panel or the cheapest aftermarket one available?
- Carrier lock and activation lock. A beautiful Grade A phone still locked to someone else's iCloud account is a paperweight.
- Data wiping. Whether the previous owner's data was properly erased, not just factory-reset in a hurry.
- Warranty. The single clearest signal of how confident a seller is in their own testing.
Which grade should you actually buy?
Be honest about where your device is going to live. Most phones go straight into a case, most laptops live on a desk, and the cosmetic premium you pay for Grade A is invisible within a week.
- Buy Grade A if it is a gift, if you go caseless, or if you plan to resell it in a year or two and want the resale value.
- Buy Grade B for almost everything else. This is the sweet spot: real savings, wear you will cover with a case on day one.
- Buy Grade C for a work phone, a kid's first device, a jobsite laptop, or any situation where the thing is going to get beaten up anyway. Save the money.
For a deeper look at how refurbished compares to the other things you can buy, read refurbished vs used vs open-box vs new, and our explainer on what "certified refurbished" really means.
Certified devices worth a look
Five questions to ask before you buy any refurbished device
- What is the battery health percentage, specifically?
- Is the device fully unlocked, and is activation lock cleared?
- What exactly was tested — and was anything replaced?
- How long is the warranty, and what does it cover?
- What is the return window if the condition is not what I expected?
A seller who answers all five without hesitating is worth buying from. A seller who only offers you a letter is selling you a letter.
Frequently asked questions
Is Grade A refurbished the same as new?
No. Grade A means the device looks close to new — it is still a previously owned device with a used battery and a used chassis. The right comparison is not "is this new," it is "is this fully tested, unlocked, and warrantied." Those three things matter far more than the letter.
Is Grade B refurbished worth buying?
For most people, Grade B is the best value in the whole refurbished market. The wear is light, usually on surfaces a case covers, and the discount versus Grade A is real. If the device is going in a case anyway, you are paying for cosmetics you will never see.
Do refurbished grades affect battery life?
They should not, and that is exactly the problem — grades are cosmetic, so a Grade A device can ship with a weaker battery than a Grade C one. Always ask for battery health as a separate number. Our guide to iPhone battery health explains what figure to look for.
What grade does Strictli sell?
We describe condition in plain language on each listing rather than hiding behind a grade letter, and we hold every device to the same functional standard regardless of how it looks: tested, wiped, unlocked, and warrantied for a full year.
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