Refurbished, pre-owned or brand new? What you get – and your warranty rights in NZ

October 27, 2026

Shopping for a phone or laptop, you'll see the words refurbished, pre-owned, used, open box and brand new used in different ways by different sellers. Here's what they mean at Techsite, what to look for anywhere you buy, and how warranties work in New Zealand.

The words, explained

Brand new – new and unused, in its sealed original packaging, with the manufacturer's warranty.
Open box – new and unused, but the box has been opened (for example a return or a display unit).
Pre-owned / refurbished – a device someone has owned before, checked and prepared for its next owner. Sellers mean different things by “refurbished”, so always look at the grade, battery health and warranty rather than the label.

Condition grades: how it looks

A grade describes the cosmetic condition. Ours run from Excellent (looks like new – no marks you can see at normal viewing distance) through Very good and Good to Fair (clear scratches, dents or worn edges, but no cracked screen). A lower grade usually means a lower price for a device that works the same. The full descriptions are in our grading guide.

Battery health: how long it lasts

Batteries slowly lose capacity as they're charged and discharged. On iPhones you can see this as Battery Health in Settings. Because battery life matters so much day to day, we show the minimum battery health on every option we list, and we don't sell devices with battery health below 80% on our website. Brand-new devices are 100%.

Your rights: the Consumer Guarantees Act

When you buy from a business in New Zealand as a consumer, the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 applies – to second-hand goods as well as new ones. Goods must be of acceptable quality, fit for purpose and match their description. What counts as “acceptable quality” takes the price, age and condition into account, so a cheaper, older device isn't expected to perform like a new one – but it must still do what it should. If something goes wrong, the Act sets out remedies such as repair, replacement or refund. Read our plain-English summary: Consumer Guarantees Act – your rights.

A seller's warranty is extra, not instead

A seller's own warranty sits on top of your Consumer Guarantees Act rights – it can't take them away. At Techsite every pre-owned and refurbished device has a 12-month Techsite warranty from the day you receive it: if it develops a fault in normal use, we repair it, replace it or refund you, and we cover the shipping both ways for covered faults. It doesn't cover accidental damage (drops, cracked glass, liquid), repairs by others, software changes such as jailbreaking, loss or theft, or the normal gradual loss of battery capacity – though a battery that fails is covered. Brand-new devices come with the manufacturer's warranty. Full terms: Returns, refunds & warranty.

Change-of-mind returns

Change-of-mind returns aren't a legal right in New Zealand – it's up to each seller. We offer 30 days on eligible items: return the item in the same condition, with everything it came with and your accounts signed out, and we'll refund you once it's back and checked. Brand-new sealed items can be returned for change of mind only if still unopened.