The Big Phone Store
Phone grading, made clear.
There's no industry standard for phone grading. "Pristine" at one company might be "Grade B" at another. One seller's "Good" could be another's "Excellent." That inconsistency is exactly why a grading table on its own doesn't tell you much — you need to see what you're actually comparing.
Know what to expect before it arrives.
A written description can't show you a phone. neither can a stock photo, because it's not the phone you'll get. Below, we've got real images of phones we have previously sold. You can filter our gallery by make, model, condition and colour to see real examples of what your device could look like.
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A quick note: We don't have photos of every make, model, colour and condition combination — we're adding to the gallery all the time! These are real examples of that condition tier, not the exact phone you'll receive. Your phone may look slightly different, but the gallery gives you a genuine idea of what to expect from us.
Same words, very different standards.
We've put major refurbishers side by side — this way it's easier than ever to know what refurbishers consider their best grades.
| Tier / Battery health | TBPS | Back Market | Reboxed | giffgaff | 4Gadgets | Envirofone | MusicMagpie | iOutlet | PhonesDirect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top tier Best for gifting | Like New 100% | Premium 90%+ | Like New 100% | Like New 80%+ | Pristine 80%+ | — | — | A+ Pristine 75%+ | Premium 90%+ |
| 2nd tier Best all-round | Pristine 85%+ | Excellent 80%+ | Premium 80%+ | Excellent 80%+ | Excellent 80%+ | Pristine 80%+ | Pristine n/a | A Excellent 75%+ | Excellent 80–90% |
| 3rd tier Best value | Very Good 85%+ | Good 80%+ | Great 80%+ | Very Good 80%+ | Good 80%+ | Excellent 80%+ | Very Good n/a | B Good 75%+ | Very Good 80–90% |
| 4th tier Best budget | Good 85%+ | Fair 80%+ | Fair 80%+ | Good 80%+ | Fair 80%+ | Good 80%+ | Good n/a | C Average 75%+ | Good 80–90% |
Two iPhones can both technically be “good condition”, but one may have higher battery health, better back glass, or a scuff in a different location.
Grading needs more than just words.
Labels alone don't tell you what you're getting. The best condition a refurbisher offers can vary so much that it can be very confusing to work out what's what. We're trying to fix that.