Re-commerce Vocabulary
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Recommerce
The business of collecting, assessing, repairing, refurbishing, and reselling previously owned products, especially electronics.
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Circular economy
An economic model that keeps products and materials in use for longer through reuse, repair, refurbishment, and recycling.
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Secondary market
The market where used, refurbished, or returned products are resold after their first retail sale.
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Used device
A device sold in previously owned condition without necessarily being repaired or restored.
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Refurbished device
A used device that has been inspected, tested, cleaned, and where needed repaired before resale.
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Certified refurbished
A refurbished device sold under a defined certification process, usually with stricter testing standards and warranty rules.
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Pre-owned
A broad commercial label for previously owned products, often used interchangeably with used or second-hand.
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Trade-in
A program where the old device value is used as credit against another purchase.
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Reverse logistics
The movement of products from the customer back to the business for inspection, refurbishment, recycling, or resale.
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Take-back program
A structured collection program that accepts used products from customers for reuse, refurbishment, or recycling.
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Residual value
The resale or recovery value a device retains after use at a given point in its lifecycle.
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Dynamic pricing
An automated pricing approach where buyback or resale prices change based on market data, demand, competition, and stock.
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Condition-based pricing
Pricing logic that adjusts value according to cosmetic and functional condition rather than model alone.
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Buyback price
The amount offered to a customer for selling a used device to a recommerce company.
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Resale price
The final customer-facing selling price of a refurbished or used device.
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Floor price
The minimum acceptable price set to protect margin or downside risk in buying or selling decisions.
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Gross margin
Sales revenue minus direct product cost, expressed as value or percentage.
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Price elasticity
How sensitive demand or conversion is to a change in price.
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Competitor price monitoring
Tracking competitor listings and prices across marketplaces and websites to guide pricing decisions.
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Sell-through rate
The share of listed inventory sold within a given period.
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Days-on-hand
The average number of days inventory stays unsold before it is sold or liquidated.
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Stock turn
How many times inventory is sold and replaced during a period.
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Autograding
Automated assessment of cosmetic condition using image recognition or rules-based systems.
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Cosmetic grading
The classification of visible wear such as scratches, dents, chips, and scuffs into standard condition bands.
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Functional grading
The classification of a device based on how well its hardware and features perform.
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Grading standard
The formal rule set that defines what qualifies as Like New, Good, or other grades.
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Grade drift
Inconsistency over time or between graders in how the same condition is classified.
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Triage
The first-pass decision on whether a device should be resold, repaired, harvested for parts, or recycled.
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Power-on test
A basic check confirming whether the device boots and reaches a usable state.
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Diagnostics
A structured set of tests for display, battery, camera, sensors, connectivity, and other functions.
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Cycle count
The number of full battery charge-discharge cycles a device battery has undergone.
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Network lock
A restriction that limits a phone to a specific carrier or network.
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IMEI blacklist
A status showing that a phone identifier is blocked on a mobile network because of theft, loss, fraud, or operator action.
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TAC
The Type Allocation Code is the first 8 digits of an IMEI that identify a device model.
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MDM lock
A device management lock from an enterprise fleet or institution that restricts normal reuse.
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Genuine parts check
Verification of whether key components such as display or battery are original or compatible replacements.
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Shipment kit
Pre-configured packaging and instructions sent to the customer for safe device return or trade-in.
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Tamper-evident packaging
Packaging designed to show signs of interference during transit and reduce swap or theft risk.
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First-mile collection
The initial movement of a used device from customer or partner location into the reverse logistics network.
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Hub scan
A transit event confirming the device reached a logistics hub or processing node.
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Failed pickup
A pickup attempt that does not complete because of customer unavailability, address issues, pricing disputes, or logistics failure.
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RTO
Return to origin; a shipment that comes back instead of reaching the intended processing destination.
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Chain of custody
The documented control trail showing who handled the device from pickup through processing.
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Inbound QC
The first quality check after receipt, covering identity match, visible condition, and obvious damage or mismatch.
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Binning
Assigning items to physical storage locations in the warehouse.
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Quarantine inventory
Inventory held aside because of lock issues, mismatch, suspected fraud, testing failure, or documentation gaps.
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Serialization
Tracking each device by a unique identifier such as IMEI or serial number.
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Lotting
Grouping devices into batches for auction, wholesale sale, testing, or recycling.
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Put-away
Moving received inventory into its assigned storage location after verification.
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Shrinkage
Loss of inventory value caused by theft, damage, misplacement, or recording errors.
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Refurbishment
The process of restoring a used device to a defined resale-ready condition through testing, cleaning, repair, and replacement.
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Reconditioning
Light restoration work such as cleaning, software reset, minor repair, and cosmetic improvement to prepare a device for reuse.
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Parts harvesting
Removing working components from one device for reuse in repairing another device.
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Donor device
A non-sellable device used as a source of spare parts for repairing other devices.
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Board-level repair
Repair performed at the component or circuit-board level instead of swapping full modules.
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Cosmetic refurbishment
Work focused on improving appearance, such as polishing, cleaning, frame work, or replacing worn external parts.
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Battery replacement
Replacing a degraded battery to restore performance, health, and customer satisfaction.
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Screen replacement
Replacing a damaged or defective display assembly to restore usability and value.
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Burn-in testing
Running a device for a defined period to detect intermittent faults before resale.
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BER
Beyond Economic Repair; a device whose repair cost or risk exceeds its expected recovery value.
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Data sanitization
The controlled removal of user data from a device so that the information cannot reasonably be recovered.
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Secure wipe
A software-led erasure process designed to remove data from storage media in a verifiable way.
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Factory reset
A device reset that returns software settings toward original state but is not always equivalent to certified data sanitization.
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Cryptographic erase
A sanitization method that destroys the encryption keys so encrypted data becomes unreadable.
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Certificate of data erasure
A record showing when, how, and against which identifier a device was sanitized.
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NIST 800-88
The widely used U.S. guideline that frames media sanitization methods such as Clear, Purge, and Destroy.
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R2v3
The current R2 standard for responsible reuse, repair, data security, and recycling operations in electronics.
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Appendix B
The R2v3 process requirement focused on data sanitization and enhanced data security controls.
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Appendix C
The R2v3 process requirement for test and repair, including competence, quality, and functional communication.
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Right to Repair
The policy principle that device owners and independent repairers should have access to information, parts, and service options needed to repair products.
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Quote-to-cash
The full customer journey from initial price quote through pickup, verification, and payment.
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Offer acceptance rate
The percentage of quoted customers who proceed with the sale.
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Final price revision
The change between the quoted price and the verified payout after inspection.
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False declaration
Incorrect or misleading condition information provided at quote stage.
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Device swap fraud
Fraud where the shipped or picked-up device is different from the one originally quoted.
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Empty-box fraud
A returns or shipment fraud case where packaging arrives without the expected device inside.
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KYC verification
Identity verification steps used to reduce fraud and ensure payouts go to the correct person.
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Payout SLA
The target turnaround time between device approval and customer payment.
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Return rate
The share of sold devices that come back due to defects, mismatch, buyer remorse, or grading disputes.
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NPS
Net Promoter Score; a customer loyalty metric based on how likely users are to recommend the service.
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E-waste
Discarded electrical or electronic equipment and its components at end of life.
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EPR
Extended Producer Responsibility; a policy framework that makes producers responsible for end-of-life product management.
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CPCB EPR portal
The Indian online system used for registration and compliance workflows under e-waste EPR rules.
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WEEE
Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment; commonly used in Europe for the collection and treatment framework covering electronics waste.
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Landfill diversion
The amount of material kept out of landfill through reuse, refurbishment, recycling, or responsible recovery.
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Embodied carbon
The carbon emissions associated with producing a device before it is used by the customer.
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Material recovery
The extraction of reusable materials from devices that cannot be repaired or reused.
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Reuse hierarchy
The principle that reuse and repair should be prioritized ahead of recycling when safe and practical.
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Circular supply chain
A supply chain designed to capture products after use and feed them back into reuse, repair, refurbishment, or recycling loops.