Our Refurbishment Process

Our Refurbishment Process

Every laptop we sell goes through a defined technical process before it reaches the webshop. This page documents what that process involves and what it does not include, so you know exactly what you are buying.

Stage 1 — Intake and initial assessment

Devices arrive from corporate fleet returns, IT lease expirations, and asset disposal programs. Each unit is logged with its serial number, model, and condition on arrival. Units that arrive with physical damage beyond cosmetic wear are triaged immediately — screens, keyboards, hinges, and charging ports are the most common failure points and the first things we inspect.

Stage 2 — Data erasure

All storage media is wiped using a DoD-compliant erasure standard before any further work begins. This is not optional and is not skipped. A device with user data on it does not leave our facility.

Stage 3 — Hardware testing

We run a full hardware diagnostic on every unit. This covers CPU performance and thermal behaviour, RAM stability, SSD read/write speeds and SMART health, display quality (pixel uniformity, backlight, hinge operation), battery capacity and charge cycle count, keyboard and trackpad response, all ports and connectors (USB, HDMI, audio, charging), wireless adapters, and webcam and microphone function where present.

Components that fail testing are either replaced or the device is downgraded to a lower cosmetic grade or removed from sale entirely.

Stage 4 — Cleaning

The chassis, keyboard, screen, and vents are cleaned. The internal cooling system is inspected and thermal paste is replaced where necessary to ensure the device runs at normal operating temperatures.

Stage 5 — Software preparation

Each device receives a clean installation of Windows with all current security patches applied. We do not install additional software, trials, or bloatware. The device arrives ready to use.

Stage 6 — Grading

After testing and cleaning, each device is assigned a cosmetic grade based on the visible condition of the chassis and screen:

  • Excellent — Minor signs of use only. No significant scratches or marks visible during normal use. Screen is clean with no dead pixels.
  • Good — Light to moderate wear. Small scratches or marks on the chassis. Screen is functional and clean. No damage that affects use.
  • Fair — Visible wear. Scratches, scuffs, or marks are present and visible. All hardware functions normally. Suitable for environments where appearance is less important than performance and price.

Cosmetic grade has no effect on hardware performance or reliability. A Fair-grade ThinkPad L480 runs identically to an Excellent-grade one.

What is not included

We do not replace batteries unless they fail our minimum capacity threshold. Battery health varies by unit and by grade. If battery life is critical to your use case, select Excellent grade and contact us before ordering to confirm capacity.