“It gave us great visibility, that’s for sure,” recognizes Jacqueline Pistoulet, director of Smaaart. Indeed, the UFC Que Choisir placed at the top of its comparison a smartphone reconditioned by this company based in Saint-Mathieu-de-Tréveils, north of Montpellier. Well ahead of the much better-known marketplaces, which are crushing the competition in the second-hand telephone market. In this blind test carried out by the specialists of the consumer magazine, the SME is acclaimed with a score of 18.6. A real reward for his know-how.
It’s a story that almost ended eleven years ago. At that time, the company was close to liquidation. It only escapes because five employees believe in the reconditioned market which is still in its infancy. There are 130 of them working there today, with double-digit annual turnover growth. An increase that is unlikely to stop anytime soon, while at the same time, the market share of reconditioned smartphone sales is increasing, around 20% of sales in France today.
A market that its founder, Jean-Christophe Estoudre, compares to that of the automobile. “Buying a refurbished phone is like buying a used car. You can go to a dealership with real guarantees or in the parking lot of a shopping center, at your own risk. There, it’s the same, not everyone offers the same quality of reconditioning, far from it, depending on whether you go through a serious, certified company or a marketplace. »
Three basic rules before buying
Jean-Christophe Estoudre discusses the three basic rules for buying a second-hand phone. “The first thing is the identity of the company. If it is based in France, you are sure to be protected by consumer law. If there is a problem, you need to know who repackaged the product. » Other French companies like Largo or YesYes are also very well placed in the UFC Que Choisir test.
The second point of control is the guarantee levels. “What’s covered?” Is the battery guaranteed? For how long ? At Smaaart, all our phones are guaranteed for 12 or 24 months. » And finally “where are the customer service and after-sales service located.” If he is not in France, you risk having big problems exchanging your phone.”
Purchase of user telephones from individuals
To achieve a score of 18.6 on the iPhone 13, Smaaart works using methods that have allowed it to obtain five certifications and labels. “There are around twenty steps between the moment we collect a phone and its return to the market, with sixty checkpoints,” continues Jean-Christophe Estoudre.
The difficulty is recovering user telephones, most of which are lying dormant in drawers. From its website, the company buys all types of models from individuals and professionals, according to an argus and its aesthetic and functional condition. “On our site near Montpellier, we could employ up to 250 people, some of whom we train with our own training center,” concludes the founder of Smaaart. But for that, we must be able to have raw materials and users must have the reflex to resell their old phones rather than storing them in drawers…”
