Warehouse items are products that have already been shipped and returned by Amazon. TECHBOOK explains how warehouse works and for whom it is worthwhile.
Thousands of items that have been returned or damaged in Amazon’s own warehouses end up in Amazon’s warehouses every day. The company can no longer resell part of it, it ends up in the garbage. All other items that can still be sold are tested and refurbished by Amazon. They are then offered as so-called “warehouse deals” at reduced prices on the Amazon site. TECHBOOK took a closer look at the used Amazon goods.
Here’s what you need to know about Amazon’s warehouse deals
Warehouse Deals is a private label operating under Amazon EU SARL and is part of the Amazon.com group of companies. The warehouse deals can be found on the Amazon.de page under the category “Amazon Warehouse Deals” or at the bottom of the page.
Item condition
The items sold are tested for their functionality and receive a quality label that is visible to the buyer when ordering. Depending on the condition of the item, the predicates “like new”, “very good”, “good” and “acceptable” are assigned. In addition, the description of the condition can be used to see exactly which optical defects exist and whether any accessories, instructions or the original packaging are missing. The size and position of the optical defects are also precisely specified.
Warehouse items that are declared as “as new” are functionally and visually in perfect condition, however the packaging may be damaged and the packaging film may be missing. The item may have been removed from the packaging or returned without unpacking. Original accessories and instructions are present.
If the condition is given as “very good”, it is an item that has already been unpacked and shows slight signs of wear or blemishes. These could be small scratches or stains. Accessories that are irrelevant to the functioning of the item may also be missing if they are specified in the description. The item sometimes comes in a new outer box if the original box has been damaged too much.
Good condition is used to sell items that have major cosmetic imperfections. The items have been in use for a long time. Original accessories such as charging cables may be missing and the original packaging may be exchanged for new packaging.
“Acceptable” warehouse items represent the worst condition of the merchandise still available for sale. Items may show significant signs of wear, scratches, dents and major cosmetic imperfections. It is possible that the original packaging and instructions are missing. Original accessories may have been exchanged for third-party accessories.
Warranty and right of return
Amazon warehouse products do not have a manufacturer’s warranty, but the two-year statutory warranty is covered by Amazon. Like all other products on Amazon, warehouse deals can also be returned within 30 days. The return policy is guaranteed by Amazon.
shipping costs and availability
The same shipping costs apply as for all products on Amazon, including free shipping from a purchase value of 20 euros. Warehouse items also fall under the Prime shipping benefits, such as free same-day delivery for goods worth 20 euros or more. The offer fluctuates and for many products there is not always a warehouse alternative. This is because, of course, not every product has been returned or damaged in the warehouse.
Warehouse deals put to the test
I myself have bought 21 Warehouse Deals items in the last eight years, six of them most recently in 2019. My purchases range from inexpensive clip-on lenses for the iPhone to an expensive Acer laptop and a projector. While most of my purchases are in the gadget category, I’ve also included a board game and a kitchen item.
In the following overview I have summarized which items I bought and what the description that Amazon gave about the item condition looked like. The prices are the normal price and the discounted warehouse price, as well as the difference, i.e. the savings.
2019
- Amazon Fire 7 (Gen7) | Status: Acceptable, already used | Original price/Warehouse price: 64.99 euros / 26.24 euros | savings: 38.75 euros / 60 percent
- Sony WH-1000XM3 | Condition: Very good, packaging damaged | Original price/Warehouse price: 279 euros / 202.37 euros | savings: 76.63 euros / 27 percent
- Acer H6517ABD | Status: Acceptable, one scratch on top, packaging damaged | Original price/Warehouse price: 466 euros / 325.49 euros | savings: 140.51 euros / 30 percent
- Onkyo NCP 3-302 | Status: Acceptable, manual missing, in original box | Original price/Warehouse price: 119.70 euros / 76.80 euros | savings: 42.90 euros / 36 percent
- Verizon Wear24 | Status: Like New | Warehouse price: 49 euros (new not available on Amazon)
- Lenovo Mix 310 | Status: Very good, small scratches, packaging damaged | Original price/Warehouse price: 259.99 euros / 109.99 euros | savings: 150 euros / 58 percent
2018
- Pandemic Legacy Season 2 | Status: Very good, damaged packaging | Original price/Warehouse price: 79.99 euros / 56.24 euros | savings: 23.75 euros / 30 percent
- Verizon Wear24 | Status: Like New | Warehouse price: 69 euros (new not available on Amazon)
- Russell Hobbs 23821-56 Blender | Status: Very good, light scratches, manual is missing, new packaging | Original price/Warehouse price: 49.99 euros / 33.47 euros | savings: 16.52 euros / 33 percent
- Icy Box IB-PCI208 PCI to M.2 | Status: Like new, damaged packaging | Original price/Warehouse price: 12.98 euros / 9.78 euros | savings: 3.20 euros / 25 percent
- Apexel 4-in-1 iPhone Lenses | Status: Like New | Original price/Warehouse price: 21.21 euros / 11.06 euros | savings: 10.15 euros / 48 percent
2017
- JBL Flip 3 | Status: Very good, minor blemishes | Original price/Warehouse price: 113.10 euros / 59.50 euros | savings: 53.60 euros / 47 percent
- Sandisk Ultra 64GB | Status: Like new, new packaging | Original price/Warehouse price: 26.99 euros / 18.59 euros | savings: 8.40 euros / 31 percent
- Acer Active Stylus Pen | Status: Very good, small scratches, damaged packaging | Original price/Warehouse price: 39.90 euros / 16.05 euros | savings. 23.85 euros / 60 percent
- Xbox 360 controllers | Status: acceptable, scratches, damaged packaging | Original price/Warehouse price: 29.49 euros / 24.71 euros | savings: 4.78 euros / 16 percent
2016
- Flylinktech Mini projector | Status: Gut, packaging damaged | Original price/Warehouse price: 53.99 euros / 38.01 euros | savings: 15.98 euros / 30 percent
- AVM FRITZ!WLAN Repeater 310 | Status: Very good, minor blemishes | Original price/Warehouse price: 28.99 euros / 19.14 euros | savings: 9.85 / 34 percent
- Acer Aspire R13 | Status: Very good, original packaging damaged | Original price/Warehouse price: 1090.44 euros / 921.41 euros | savings. 169.03 euros / 16 percent
2014
- Samsung SN-208BB DVD Burner | Status: Like New | Original price/Warehouse price: 24.47 euros / 19 euros | savings: 5.47 euros / 22 percent
- Sapphire Radeon R9 270X | Status: As new, exhibit in original packaging | Original price/Warehouse price: 186.85 euros / 159 euros | savings: 27.85 euros / 15 percent
2013
- Manhattan USB to VGA converter | Status: Very good, little used | Original price/Warehouse price: 39.95 euros / 20 euros | savings: 19.95 euros / 50 percent
All together, all the products I ordered through Amazon Warehouse would have cost 2988.02 euros at the normal price. Instead, I only paid 2145.85 euros, so I saved 842.17 euros or the equivalent of 28 percent. It is very easy to see that the price advantages are mainly for less expensive products. For the two most expensive items, the Acer laptop and the Radeon graphics card, the savings are only 15-16 percent.
On average, in my sample, the warehouse deals are 34 percent cheaper than the new goods. This is mainly due to the fact that I mainly bought items with a value of less than 100 euros. The more expensive the products, the lower the percentage savings. But of course a 16 percent saving on a thousand euro laptop is significantly more money than a 30 percent saving on a mini projector for just under 50 euros.
Also interesting: Amazon Basics – what is the cheap private label really good for?
Conclusion on Amazon Warehouse: used is worth it
As I was going through my orders, I found that I had not returned any of the items that I bought as a warehouse deal back to Amazon. It’s different with new goods, here I send an estimated 10-20 percent of the orders back.
Even if the quality assessment that Amazon makes before selling the used goods sounds pretty good, I have noticed with my orders that the quality within the categories is not consistently the same. For example, the Xbox 360 controller was only sold as “acceptable” and the Russell Hobbs mixer as “very good”. With the Xbox controller, however, I received a complete original packaging including instructions and guarantee card, the controller had no scratches or other signs of use. The mixer, on the other hand, came loosely wrapped in foil in a new outer packaging, with all the individual parts lying all over the place in the box. No trace of a manual, not even a piece of paper explaining how to operate or assemble the mixer.
There are also other examples where the description of the scratches and damage does not match the product that is delivered to your home. For example, the board game Pandemic Legacy 2 was sold as very good and only damage to the packaging was reported. In fact, some game materials were also damaged. In addition, compartments were already open, the contents of which should not have been visible. Fortunately, this case is the exception. On most orders I have ended up with items that have not been damaged, despite being sold as ‘very good’, ‘good’ or even ‘acceptable’.
The Amazon warehouse deals are a good thing. I have no problem with the fact that not all the products I want are brand new. So I can get the items much cheaper and still have the fast Prime shipping as well as Amazon’s 30-day right of return and customer support.