The Phone Shopper vs Back Market: how are we different?
Many customers ask us: why buy from you and not on Back Market? The honest answer, with the points where Back Market wins and the points where we win.
Door The Phone Shopper
Gepubliceerd: 2026-09-06
It's a question we get regularly, in the shop and by email: "Why should I buy from you and not on Back Market?" A fair question, and it deserves an honest answer. Not because Back Market is bad, it isn't, but because it is something fundamentally different from us. Once you understand that difference, you choose more consciously, wherever you buy.
In short: Back Market is a marketplace: you buy from one of thousands of affiliated sellers, Back Market is the intermediary. The Phone Shopper is a refurbisher with its own workshop and shop: we inspect, repair and sell the device ourselves, and we are also the ones you come back to if anything is wrong.
What Back Market is, and what it isn't
Back Market was founded in Paris in 2014 and has grown into the largest marketplace for refurbished electronics in Europe. By its own figures, the platform had around 17 million customers and more than 2,700 affiliated sellers in 2025. Important to know: Back Market does not buy or refurbish devices itself. The platform connects buyers with professional sellers, sets quality requirements for those sellers and offers customer service and a warranty scheme on top of what the seller offers.
So the device you buy on Back Market comes from one of those sellers. Who inspected it, which parts were replaced and how strictly the condition was graded differs per seller. Back Market runs spot checks and removes sellers with too many complaints, but the inspection itself is not done by Back Market.
What The Phone Shopper is
We are a phone shop with our own workshop in Nijverdal, the Netherlands, since 2009. Every refurbished device we sell has been inspected by our own technicians on more than fifty points. If we replace a battery or a screen, we know exactly which part is inside. We grade the condition ourselves, with fixed descriptions. And when you buy from us, you have one address afterwards: the same workshop that prepared the device helps you if anything comes up.
The differences side by side
| Back Market | The Phone Shopper |
|---|
| Who sells | One of more than 2,700 affiliated sellers | We do |
| Who inspects the device | The seller, according to the platform's requirements | Our own technicians, in Nijverdal |
| Condition | Graded by the seller within the platform's categories | Five fixed conditions with fixed descriptions, plus a measured battery percentage |
| Battery | Usually a platform minimum, exact value not always visible | At least 85%, measured percentage shown per device, and you choose a higher class up to a new original battery |
| Warranty | Platform and seller warranty; handled via the platform | 2 years, handled in our own workshop |
| Repair after purchase | By returning to the seller | Walk in or send it in, often ready the same day |
| See the device first | No | Yes, in the shop |
| Trade in your old phone | Via a separate trade-in service | Directly at the counter or online, paid within 24 hours |
| Price | Often sharp thanks to competition between sellers | Sharp on what we refurbish ourselves; on the very latest models not always the cheapest |
Where Back Market wins
Fair is fair. Back Market has an enormous range: practically every model, colour and storage size, from dozens of sellers at once. Because those sellers compete, prices on popular models are often low. If you're looking for a specific unit at the very lowest price and don't mind who it comes from, you'll find it faster there than with us.
Where we win
Certainty about what you're buying. With us you know who inspected the device, what battery percentage it has and which parts were replaced. You choose the battery class yourself. You can hold the device before you pay. And if something comes up in eight months, you don't call a platform that refers you to a seller: you walk into the workshop that knows the device. For many people, especially on a purchase of five hundred euros or more, that outweighs a few tens of euros difference.
Which choice makes sense for whom?
- You want the lowest price for a common model and you're confident checking it yourself: compare our range with Back Market and pick the cheaper one. On the models we refurbish ourselves that's often us, sometimes not.
- You want certainty, a battery of your choice and an address to come back to: then you're better off with us.
- You're buying for a business, several devices at once: through our business portal you order per battery class, with an invoice and fixed unit prices.
- You have an old phone to trade in: we handle it in one go, at the counter or via sell your device.
How to compare fairly
- Compare the same condition. "Good" on a marketplace is not the same as our Lightly used condition. Read the description.
- Look at the battery percentage. A lower price with an 80% battery becomes more expensive as soon as you have that battery replaced.
- Count the warranty and the return route. Who handles your claim, and how fast?
- Check whether it is an EU model or a US model with eSIM only. We label that separately; not everyone does.
Browse our refurbished iPhone models and refurbished Samsung, or first read which condition suits you.
Frequently asked questions
Is Back Market trustworthy?
Yes, as a platform Back Market is trustworthy and protects buyers well. The quality of the device depends on the seller you happen to get. So always read the reviews of that specific seller, not just of the platform.
Are you more expensive than Back Market?
Sometimes yes, sometimes no. On models we refurbish ourselves, such as the iPhone 13 to 15, we are usually at or below the marketplace price for a comparable condition. On the very latest models, marketplace sellers are regularly cheaper.
Can you repair a device I bought on Back Market?
Yes. Our workshop repairs any device, regardless of where it was bought. If it is still under the seller's warranty, it is usually wise to try that route first.
Do you also sell on Back Market yourselves?
Not at the moment. You buy our devices in the shop in Nijverdal, on thephoneshopper.nl and through our business portal.
Refurbished iPhones, Samsung and iPads
Save up to 50% on a refurbished iPhone. Every device goes through our 50-point inspection and comes with a 2-year warranty.
Our services
Why The Phone Shopper?
- 2-year warranty on all refurbished phones
- 30 days to change your mind on devices and accessories (spare parts: 14 days) and free returns
- Free shipping within the Netherlands from €50 (accessories and parts) or €150 (phones)
- Professional 50-point inspection
- Pay securely with iDEAL, credit card, Bancontact, Apple Pay and Klarna
- Customer service available on working days, 10:00 - 18:00
Device condition
Every refurbished phone is sold in one of four conditions:
- New — Unused, in original packaging
- As good as new — No visible signs of use
- Lightly used — Minimal signs of use
- Used — Visible signs of use, technically fully sound
Customer service & information
Contact
The Phone Shopper
Willem Alexanderstraat 11
7442 MA Nijverdal, Overijssel
Tel: +31 548 549 536
E-mail: info@thephoneshopper.nl
KvK: 75693623 | BTW: NL002427182B29
Opening hours: Mon 13:00-18:00 | Tue-Wed & Fri 10:00-18:00 | Thu 10:00-20:00 | Sat 10:00-17:00 | Sun closed
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