Back Market Grades: Is Fair Really Cheaper Than Excellent? (2026)
Back Market sells the same refurbished device in several condition grades: Fair, Good, Excellent, and on some models Premium. The usual advice is simple. Pick the lowest grade you can live with and save money.
We track Back Market’s catalog every two hours, pricing each device at each grade at its cheapest offer. On September 30, 2026 that was about 35,000 live listings across roughly 20,000 devices. The data says the usual advice is wrong often enough to matter.
A note on method. Back Market prices change as sellers reprice and sell out, so a single snapshot can make one grade look cheaper just because of timing. Unless a table says otherwise, grade comparisons below use each listing’s lowest price over the past week (September 23 to 30), not a single moment.
The grade gap is smaller than you think
For devices listed in both Excellent and Fair at the same time (4,312 of them), the median price gap between Excellent and Fair was 5.4%.
The gap between neighboring grades is smaller still. In a single-day snapshot across all devices, the median Excellent-to-Good gap was about 4%, and Good-to-Fair was under 2%.
Premium, where it exists, sat a median 6.1% above Excellent across 565 devices.
A third of the time, Fair is not cheaper at all
This is the part that should change how you shop. On the same device, at the cheapest price each grade reached over the week:
| Comparison | Lower grade costs the same or more |
|---|---|
| Fair vs Excellent | 32.4% of devices |
| Fair vs Good | 39.5% of devices |
| Good vs Excellent | 30.3% of devices |
Grades are priced by whichever seller is cheapest in that grade at that moment, not on a fixed ladder. When few sellers stock a model in Fair, the Fair price can sit above Excellent.
Three iPhones from this week’s data, at their weekly low:
- iPhone 17 Pro 512GB, unlocked: Excellent $1,113, Good $1,129.87, Fair $1,252
- iPhone 17 Pro 256GB, Verizon: Excellent $880, Fair $1,006.98
- iPhone 16 Pro 256GB, unlocked: Excellent $735, Fair $770.53
What to do with this: never assume the lowest grade is the cheapest. Open every grade on the listing and compare before you pick.
Phones are where the grade gap is real
Averages across the whole catalog include a lot of cheap accessories where a few dollars separate the grades. Split by product type, the picture changes:
| Category | Devices | Median Excellent price | Median Excellent-to-Fair gap | Fair costs same or more |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| iPhone | 425 | $597 | 10.2% ($55) | 12.7% |
| Other smartphones | 301 | $563 | 10.7% ($51) | 16.3% |
| Tablets | 204 | $391 | 10.4% ($34) | 18.6% |
| Smartwatches | 151 | $208 | 12.9% ($26) | 33.8% |
| Laptops & MacBooks | 668 | $708 | 3.2% ($22) | 15.0% |
| Consoles & games | 233 | $69 | 4.0% ($3) | 41.2% |
These use a single-day snapshot on September 30. The weekly-low version for iPhones gave the same picture: a 10.0% median gap ($50), with Fair at or above Excellent on 11.1% of iPhones.
Two things stand out:
- For phones and tablets, dropping a grade usually saves around 10%. On a $600 iPhone that is $50 or more.
- For laptops, it barely matters. A 3% median gap on a $700 laptop is about $22. At that difference, Excellent is almost always the better buy.
Older iPhones reward a lower grade more
The grade gap also depends on how old the model is. For iPhones, at each listing’s weekly low:
| iPhone generation | Devices | Median Excellent price | Excellent-to-Fair gap | Fair costs same or more |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| iPhone 16-17 | 149 | $805 | 8.7% ($66) | 18.1% |
| iPhone 14-15 | 140 | $506 | 7.6% ($36) | 7.9% |
| iPhone 12-13 | 75 | $354 | 20.2% ($60) | 5.3% |
| iPhone 11 and older | 21 | $201 | 21.4% ($45) | 9.5% |
On the newest iPhones, Fair is both a smaller discount and the most likely to cost more than Excellent, almost one in five. On iPhone 12 and 13, Fair runs about 20% under Excellent and is rarely the more expensive grade.
What to do with this: on a current-generation iPhone, check Excellent first, because Fair often is not worth the wear. On a model three or more years old, Fair is where the savings are.
The “new battery” option
Some listings offer the same device and grade with a new battery. Across 677 devices where both versions were listed, the new-battery version cost a median 4.9% more ($34). In 18% of cases it cost the same or less than the standard listing.
What to do with this: on a phone you plan to keep for years, $34 for a new battery is usually worth it, and roughly one time in five it is free.
A workflow that fits the data
- Open every grade. A third of the time the lower grade is not cheaper.
- Buy Excellent on laptops. The median gap to Fair is 3%.
- Go lower on older phones. On iPhone 13 and older, Fair runs about 20% under Excellent.
- Take the new battery when it is cheap. A median $34, and sometimes nothing.
We track this automatically. The live Back Market feed, filtered to real discounts against each model’s own recent price, is at Back Market deals, and any listing’s price history is on the Back Market price tracker. For Apple’s own certified refurbished store, see Apple refurbished discounts and restock timing.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between Fair, Good and Excellent on Back Market?
They are cosmetic condition grades, each priced separately by the sellers stocking them. In our data the median price gap between Excellent and Fair on the same device is about 5%, and about 10% for phones and tablets.
Is Fair always cheaper than Excellent on Back Market?
No. At the cheapest price each grade reached over a week, Fair cost the same as or more than Excellent on 32% of devices. It is most common on the newest iPhones and on cheap accessories.
Which Back Market grade is the best value?
It depends on the device. For laptops the gap is small (about 3%), so Excellent is usually the better buy. For iPhone 12, 13 and older, Fair runs about 20% below Excellent, which is where a lower grade pays off.
How much more is the new battery option on Back Market?
A median of 4.9% more, about $34, compared with the same device and grade without it. About 18% of the time it cost the same or less.