[Pilot] Certified Pre-Owned Phones Now Available at Public

[Jess_D]

Hey Community, 

Over the years, Public Mobile has committed to providing affordable wireless service for Canadians on the country's best network. We’ve primarily focused on providing wireless service, but now we are excited to announce that we are piloting Certified Pre-Owned phones! Each phone is backed by a 1-year limited warranty and includes a $0 Public Mobile SIM. This launch is a direct result of the feedback you all have shared with us over time around how we can make the Public Mobile experience better. Over the next few months we will be testing this out to see what customer response is like and how we can optimize our processes.

Starting today you’ll be able to purchase a Certified Pre-Owned Phone online only. Our Certified Pre-Owned phones are refurbished phones that are tested, inspected, fixed, cleaned and re-packaged to look and function like-new. Because of this, we are able to offer our phones at a price you and your wallet will love. Please note, we do not offer financing on these phones.  

Inventory of these devices is limited, so if you’re interested make sure to act fast! We’ll constantly be adding new devices to the catalogue as they become available and removing those that are out of stock.

These phones are available for purchase only on our website so make sure to check it out! There are only a handful of Samsung Galaxy S10s as a launch special - be sure to act fast before they are gone.

For more information on Certified Pre-Owned phones, please visit our Help Articles. 

Are you going to be purchasing one of our Certified Pre-Owned phones? Let us know below!

-The Public Mobile Team

[kb_mv]

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@yen wrote:

what about battery? It should be a good idea to have listed how long the battery last, just to be aware of what we get and avoid hassles returning them.

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@yen What do you mean by this? In general how long it would power the device throughout the day? Or have they tested it and it is at 90% capacity max? Or it should last for a year?

[yen]

Thank you for replying fast

I thought that but no clear info provided on the post 🙂

what about battery? It should be a good idea to have listed how long the battery last, just to be aware of what we get and avoid hassles returning them.

[kb_mv]

@yen Yes the phones are unlocked. I'm pretty sure all phones sold in Canada now come unlocked unless your company/provider locks it while you are under contract to them. 

Edit: changed after reading reply by @computergeek541 

[computergeek541]

@yen 

Yes, the phones are unlocked. Public Mobile (and all other Canadian carriers) aren't allowed to sell carrier locked devices.

[yen]

One question please, are these phones unblocked? I guess so, but should be better if you make it clear. Thank you

[Baconify]

Good to see PM starts selling phones. A few points I could think of: 

- Plan & device one-stop shop online saves the hassles of dealing with buying a phone elsewhere. For low usage folks or not online shopping savvy people this is convenient.

- Phones come with 1 year warranty so just reach out to PM if and when repairs are needed much like a dealing with a higher tiered carrier. 

- People who buy these phones likely don't care about the latest models and will stick with what they have for >2 years. A good phone with plenty of (battery) life left for significant discounts are the most important. The phones sold need to have a minimum battery health standard. 

- Where do these phones come from? I wouldn't mind if it is 30 days return but not when it is a used-daily-for-two-years device coming from Telus "Bring it back" program. Huge difference here. More transparency on this will be helpful.

- Depending on how much work are done to refurbished the phones, the list price may seem a bit high. I can easily find a BNIB LG G6 on ebay for <$200 CAD shipped for example. A CPO asking for $220 is a hard sell, especially when the 2 points above are not clear atm.

I like PM's plans and devices way more than Petrocan Mobile/7-11 SO/PC mobile. I always prefer 1-2 year old flagship phones over current year low/mid tier models.

[4star60]

Not overpriced in my opinion on some.  Iphone SE(2016).  Nice small phone 32GB at Orchard $239 at PM $160.

Oh...You don't have to buy the phones!!  🙂

Are they unlocked?

[JK8]

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@Ziggy wrote:

I ordered a phone on the 17th and still haven’t received a shipping notice. How long does it take for them to ship?

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It is still early. As a comparison, their sim cards take 2 - 3 weeks to arrive. If you would like to inquire about your phone choose chat bubble in lower right hand corner and contact a moderator.

[Ziggy]

I ordered a phone on the 17th and still haven’t received a shipping notice. How long does it take for them to ship?

[ibuddler]

Did I just travel back in time? iphone 6s and google pixel 2?? And the price for all these refurbished phones? Are you guys trying to scam people or is that a sort of joke?

[rossputin]

Funny, I was just thinking about this issue.  I saw this and thought what a shame PM can't offer similar but outright. But not their thing.  Doubtful I'll get one via here, but still an excellent idea for those less finicky.

[computergeek541]

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@Jb456 wrote:

Brand new S10 plus on sale for $629.99. Maybe for Black Friday? PM sells refurbished s10 not plus for $735.

From Microsoft store.

http://click.linksynergy.com/deeplink?id=CAqD7bLWUPI&mid=36509&murl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.microsoft.com%...

 

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This just shows how bad the Public Mobile prices generally are. Wtith the Galaxy S10 is a relatively new device, hundreds of dollars for other device models that are not longer updated isn't a purchase that I would make.

[Lorca]

@hend0005 

excellent if it still has Apple warranty. You can definitely go through Apple directly if you have any issues with it. Even at its age the 6s is smooth and pretty snappy. But some phones sold as refurbished have had problems, and they aren’t just buyer remorse returns. The problems get overlooked sometimes.

[ashleyskye]

Orchard ships all over Canada. I am in SK and bought a phone from them.

[Jb456]

Brand new S10 plus on sale for $629.99. Maybe for Black Friday? PM sells refurbished s10 not plus for $735.

From Microsoft store.

http://click.linksynergy.com/deeplink?id=CAqD7bLWUPI&mid=36509&murl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.microsoft.com%...

 

[computergeek541]

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@Korth wrote:

Mysterious directives from Big Boss Telus quietly tweaking a price here or there on some corporate whim isn't as effective in capturing the attention of potential buyers.

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I would have to say that the feedback that customers have been giving feedback about this program are, on average, overwhelmingly negative. I wouldn't say that that the attention of buyers isn't be captured.  I believe that people are looking but are mocking the prices.

[Korth]

@computergeek541 

Maybe I should have clarified that openly and obviously advertising this "$5 cheaper every day until all sold out" (almost like a slogan) is an important element of this sales strategy. It's fully transparent to the buyer, and it communicates a sense of urgency, an interest in tracking the prices on a daily basis.

Mysterious directives from Big Boss Telus quietly tweaking a price here or there on some corporate whim isn't as effective in capturing the attention of potential buyers. And isn't as effective in selling otherwise unsellable inventory.

[computergeek541]

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@Korth wrote:

I'm surprised PM doesn't implement a price reduction strategy.

This is basically an inventory of old, unsold, used, refurbed devices. Left behind by newer tech and newer fashion at newer prices. And falling even further behind each time another new thing gets announced. It's not realistic to expect this inventory to command the same value it enjoyed back when it was new and shiny.

Set the prices a little high. Then knock them down by five bucks (or whatever) every day. Until all the items have been sold.

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This should be stuff that Telus wants to get rid of. Public Mobile did lower the price the price of the S10, but has not increased the price of the S8.  I did notice that the lowest priced phone is now the iPhone SE (the older version) for $160.  This model is approaching 5 years since being released. When it comes to cell phone devices, that's extremely old and is the type of device that someone might give to a friend for free if a temproary replacement was needed.

[Korth]

I'm surprised PM doesn't implement a price reduction strategy.

This is basically an inventory of old, unsold, used, refurbed devices. Left behind by newer tech and newer fashion at newer prices. And falling even further behind each time another new thing gets announced.

So set the prices a little high. Then knock them down by five bucks (or whatever) every day. Until all the items have sold themselves.

Some items will sell quick, because consumers are compelled to move fast to get good value (before someone else does).

Some items will languish until you basically have to give them away at a loss, because whatever prices you might hope/expect are too different from what consumers are willing to pay. This loss is really the cost of inventory depreciation, and it gets worse the longer the inventory remains unsold.

[computergeek541]

Come on Public. Stop messing around. Raising the price on the S8?  The prices weren't good to begin with on these used phones.  Some new devices have been released. Ironically, a like-new iPhone 7 32GB phone is less expensive at Orchard (ironic because Orchard used to advertise here).  

[Anonymous]

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@jimbobs wrote:

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@Korth wrote:

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@computergeek541 wrote:

but then how would Telus be able to get rid of these out-of-date devices?  

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Telus always has options like this. Of course they won't give away what they can sell away.

Some people do appear to be happy with the phones they bought here, and partial success is always better than zero success.

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Not necessarily.  It depends on what internal targets they established for this program.  Lower than expected sales may cause them to cancel the program without examining why sales were low.

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Is that something like management seeing that their staff have organized and pleading ignorance as to why without some serious introspection. 🙂

[jimbobs]

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@Korth wrote:

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@computergeek541 wrote:

but then how would Telus be able to get rid of these out-of-date devices?  

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Telus always has options like this. Of course they won't give away what they can sell away.

Some people do appear to be happy with the phones they bought here, and partial success is always better than zero success.

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Not necessarily.  It depends on what internal targets they established for this program.  Lower than expected sales may cause them to cancel the program without examining why sales were low.

[Gigi2019]

you can find better deals pre-owned online. 

Black Friday is coming up and many people will be switching phones.

PM aware of that, but the offers are higher than other companies. I wish they could match and exceed the offers.

[hinamirza]

One year warranty is included. What else any one expected

[Korth]

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@computergeek541 wrote:

but then how would Telus be able to get rid of these out-of-date devices?  

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Telus always has options like this. Of course they won't give away what they can sell away.

Some people do appear to be happy with the phones they bought here, and partial success is always better than zero success.

[computergeek541]

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@gpixel wrote:

they should just copy Lucky's phone selection. 😂

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but then how would Telus be able to get rid of these out-of-date devices?  

[Ed404]

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@gpixel wrote:

they should just copy Lucky's phone selection. 😂

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I agree, Lucky's phone selection is more fitting to a budget provider. Please Public Mobile get with the times these prices are too steep for their age and specs.

If a year of warranty is that important to you on a used phone, buy a new device instead.

[gpixel]

they should just copy Lucky's phone selection. 😂

*I wonder if public would consider payment installments. 

I have a great idea! they should sell these phones with a bonus credit to your account! let's say $100 credit that should be about right.

[Korth]

@LurganIeUk 

Or they could simplify the price structure even more:

1. Phones at current market prices.

[LurganIeUk]

They could have 2 price structures. 

1. Phones with at least 2 software upgrades.

2. Phones with in the last up grades or no upgrade available.