I want to switch phones but I don't want to spend 900 euros on a new one. I've seen some shops selling refurbished ones but I'm not sure if I can trust them, honestly. Is there any store or website that's reliable for this?
The key is to go straight to the brands or authorized distributors that sell returned stock, not sketchy middlemen! Amazon Renewed, Apple's official store (they have a refurbished section), or the manufacturers themselves usually offer a full year's warranty, which is the bare minimum. I disagree a bit with what was said before: 30 days is actually fine if you also have two years of legal consumer warranty, but you're right to be suspicious if that's ALL they're offering. Avoid marketplace-type sites where anyone can sell with no oversight, because that's where defective stuff slips through.
I've bought refurbished phones more than once and the price difference is totally worth it if you know where to look. The key thing is that they have real warranty, not that "30 days" stuff some sellers try to pull. Big brick-and-mortar stores like Media Markt or Carrefour have refurbished sections with official manufacturer warranty, so if something breaks you've got somewhere to make a claim without hassle. There's also Amazon Renewed, which is pretty reliable because if you get something that's not what you paid for, they'll send it back no questions asked.
If you prefer specialized sites, Back Market is the one most people use here in Europe. They sell from certified sellers and everyone offers warranty between one and three years depending on the product. Sure, it takes a bit longer to get your order, but the price drops quite a bit compared to new. Another option is to check eBay directly with sellers who have really good ratings, though that depends more on luck.
What I'd do is rule out anything offering less than a year warranty, even if it's cheaper. And if you find a phone with battery at 85% or higher, even better. A lot of specialized shops do technical reports for each device that they show before you buy, so you can see exactly what condition it's in.
Authorized distributors like Amazon Renewed or official brand stores are the safest bet, but there's a detail people forget: check carefully what that warranty actually covers, because some sell the phone with the distributor's warranty but not the manufacturer's. What really works is looking for specialized refurbished phone shops with a good reputation on forums (there are several in Spain that have been around for years), because they depend on customers coming back and they're usually more serious than the sketchy middlemen who show up in social media ads. The price difference is totally worth it if the phone has actually been properly inspected.
Have you already checked if your carrier has a phone trade-in program? They often offer refurbished ones with decent warranties and they'll set them up for you directly. Apart from that, what works well is going to the brands' own marketplaces (Samsung, Motorola) where they sell their returns, because there you actually get official warranty with no middlemen. One trick not many people mention: before you buy, call the brand's technical support and ask how many months of warranty that specific model has in their refurbished store, because it varies quite a bit and that way you won't get surprised later.
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