A refurbished telephone system is a system that was once bought and used by another company. Since then, the company has upgraded, closed, or perhaps moved onto a different type of telephone service altogether.
The term refurbished is used to describe an electronic device that has been restored to its original functionality. They call these systems ‘like-new’ because they operate exactly the same way that new systems do, just at a fraction of the cost.
It is like buying a really good pre-owned car. As long as you know how to evaluate them (with expert help) then you can save a lot of money by getting one over a newer system. Most refurbished phone systems come with a 12 month warranty, because they have been fixed, tested, cleaned and reboxed by the manufacturer.
These companies will have a very strict policy that outlines what they will buy for refurbishment or not. They will not pay for a system that they cannot resell, but this does not mean problems don’t persist. Often with electronics small glitches can go unnoticed, so you will need to look out for those.
On the whole these manufacturers are very good at buying quality pre-owned phone systems and then fixing them for resale. It is a way that they can continue offering their services to a wider range of people at a reduced rate.
The truth is that many of these business telephone systems are more than adequate. Even after years of use, as long as the hardware is functional and the software is clean, it will meet your needs.
Business owners are naturally suspicious of refurbished business telephone systems, and problems can arise. But most second-hand customers are perfectly happy with their purchase, and go on to use that system for several more years.
For new businesses that need to control spending on infrastructure, second hand telephone systems is an ideal way to get what you need, without having to fork over thousands of dollars. For a medium-sized call center for example, you can save a large amount of money if you just choose to buy second hand.