Methodology
How the RefurbScore trust score works
01The principle
One simple number from 0 to 100 — it powers company rankings and unlocks certification levels after audit.
- 1
We collect evidence
Buyer reviews, audits and seller records.
- 2
We verify everything
Moderated, checked and validated by our team.
- 3
You get a clear score
From 0 to 100 — your certification level follows from it.
0210 pillars and their weight
The score adds up ten pillars grouped into four families. The weights below are the ones used by the scoring engine; for each pillar we also say what a buyer should look at.
Verified reviews
25%
Verified reviews
25%Prefer sellers with many verified buyer reviews, not just public comments.
Customer service
35%
After-sales quality
15%Check how fast the seller replies and resolves warranty issues.
Avg. delivery time
10%Compare the stated delivery promise with what buyers report.
Return rate
10%High return rates may signal grading or quality issues.
Quality commitment
22%
Real warranty
10%Confirm what the warranty excludes (battery, accessories) and how claims are handled.
Technical tests
8%Prefer sellers issuing device passports with full hardware checklists.
Devices sold
4%Volume alone is not quality, but very low volume means less track record.
Transparency & trust
18%
Transparency
10%Look for published company identifiers, test protocols and honest condition labels.
Company tenure
4%Established sellers have a longer track record you can check.
Ecology
4%Relevant if sustainability is part of your purchase decision.
03Which data counts
Only data verified by our team is included in the score. Each piece of information shown on a profile states its source and its verification level. Possible sources:
- Audit verified
- Document verified
- Admin created
- Public source
- Merchant claimed
- Customer reported
Information declared by a seller is shown as such. It only counts towards the score once our team has validated it.
04Complete or provisional score
- Complete score
- Validated pillars represent at least 80% of the total weight. The score adds up their points; a pillar that is not validated earns no points.
- Provisional score (normalized)
- Validated pillars represent between 40% and 80% of the total weight. The score is scaled back to 100 from those pillars only so that it stays comparable, and the coverage is shown on the profile.
- Initial score
- Less than 40% of the total weight is validated. The score is calculated the same way but remains indicative until more data has been checked.
05Score and certification
After a successful RefurbScore Certified audit, the trust score sets the certification level shown on the company profile.
CertifiedScore 70+
RefurbScore Certified audit passed — baseline tests, warranty and after-sales verified.
SilverScore 85+
Full audit plus strong verified reviews on delivery, returns and transparency.
GoldScore 90+
Excellent after-sales, warranty clarity and buyer satisfaction confirmed by audit.
PlatinumScore 95+
Premium audit across all 11 criteria including legal compliance and ecology.
EliteScore 98+
Market reference — every audited criterion at the highest level.
06The device score (passport)
Device RefurbScore (passport) is calculated separately from hardware tests, battery health and cosmetic grading.
- Hardware
- 30%
- Battery
- 25%
- Cosmetic
- 15%
- Warranty
- 15%
- Seller trust
- 15%
07Independence
RefurbScore trust scores reflect verified reviews, audits, certifications and validated evidence only. Paying for a plan unlocks merchant tools — it never increases your score.
- Subscriptions never change the score
- Unverified data is excluded
- Updated after every audit