Thinking of buying or selling a used phone? It’s important to understand how phones are graded and the criteria that determine its price.
The Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association (CTIA) has formulated the grading criteria from A to E grade phones. Here's a quick summary to help you along as you are looking into buying/selling used devices:
Grade A
Phones that have been protected by a case and screen protector most of its usage. This type of phone has little to no cosmetic damage like dents, scratches, cracks, and worn off paint. These phones are also considered to get the top reselling price for its mint condition.
Grade B
These types of phones are in a good working condition, but it’s usage is clear from its appearance. These phones have had a case or screen protector only which means that some parts of the phone surface became vulnerable to scratches, drops, nicks, and dings.
Grade C
Phones with no screen protection or protective cases are vulnerable to damage, which leads to phones to fall under this category. These types of phones have plenty of scratches, nicks, and minor cracks. If you know how to do minor repairs like screen replacements, then you can find a bargain with these types of phones. However, if you’re buying phones under grade C, beware of its damage that can lead to problems like, water damage, broken speakers, buttons, ports, or dead zones on the screen.
In addition to surface inspections of the device, we recommend getting a 3rd party certification to ensure that the hardwares inside the phone works well. In line with this, we recommend “Phonecheck”. It’s like a “Carfax” for your mobile for it runs a diagnostic report to check on the common parts of your device to let you know what is (or isn’t) working well.
Another great way to ensure that your phone's value will increase is by using the “Primo Polishing System”. Our technology removes typical nicks and scratches seen in all grades of phones. Moreover, it can remove scratches leading up to level 6 of the Moh’s Hardness test kit. The process is quick and it ensures that your phone will be good as new; making sure that it’s reselling price will be competitive.
For more info, you can also check iMore’s article on “Grade B or C? Here's how the used iPhone grading system works!” and Bstock.com’s article on “Buying Used Phones? Meet the New Mobile Grades”. For more information on the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association (CTIA) research on “Wireless Device Grading Scales Criteria and Definitions” you may check them here.