refurbed UK: how sellers' margins hinge on an unpublished commission

refurbed, a European marketplace for refurbished electronics, is live in the UK, according to ChannelX, which reported on 23 October 2026¹. Circular Online dates the UK launch to November 2026⁵. The published evidence covers warranty and return terms and an average commission across the business, but no UK commission rate or fee schedule, so a UK seller cannot yet calculate a reliable margin.

What has refurbed actually announced for the UK?

refurbed says it has passed €3 billion in cumulative marketplace sales (GMV, or gross merchandise value, the total value of goods sold through the platform), has served more than five million customers and achieved profitability in 2025⁵. Trending Topics reports 2025 revenue of €93.3 million and a 2025 loss of €5.3 million⁶. The two figures need reconciling, and Trending Topics notes that the full-year loss was likely driven by the first few months of 2025, as refurbed itself reported profitability from March⁶.

The €3 billion figure is cumulative⁵. refurbed publishes growth rates rather than an annual GMV total⁶, so the figure cannot be matched to a single year.

On timing, ChannelX says the UK site is live¹, while Circular Online says the launch is planned for November⁵. We treat the date as unresolved until refurbed confirms it.

A note on audience: the UK FAQ and sell pages are written for shoppers and device sellers^2,4, and the supplier page is a recruitment page for prospective partners³. The warranty and return terms below are consumer-facing, so they may not be the terms a seller signs.

Can you find the UK commission rate?

No refurbed page we reviewed states a UK commission rate. The supplier page points to P2B transparency reports for complaint handling, which set out average response timelines and the main complaint types, but it does not state a commission³.

The closest published figure is an average. According to an analysis of the company's accounts by Finsur, the average commission is about 10.5 percent, based on the merchant guidelines⁶. The source does not say which market those guidelines cover, so it should not be treated as a UK rate. Trending Topics also gives a rule of thumb that about 10 cents of every euro customers spend stays with the company as revenue⁶.

Finsur's average is the only commission figure in the sources, and it is not a UK fee schedule. Until refurbed publishes one, or confirms terms in writing, any margin figure is a scenario rather than a forecast. A sensible first question to refurbed is whether a UK commission applies, what it is, and whether any additional fees apply on top of it.

Who carries the warranty and return cost?

Each product carries a minimum 12-month warranty that starts on the day of purchase, and refurbed describes this as its voluntary commercial promise to the customer². Customers also have a 30-day right to return a product without giving a reason, and the partner covers the return cost². Circular Online reports the same 12-month warranty and free 30-day returns⁵.

Warranty claims follow a set route. The merchant provides a return label, and the product can be sent back free of charge². If the customer sends the product without the label, the cost liability passes to the customer².

The partner also sets some prices. The FAQ says the partner might adjust the price if delivery is to a foreign country².

Taken together, the partner funds returns and warranty claims while also controlling the price. A refurbisher therefore needs a reserve for returned and warranty-claimed units, not only a one-off refurbishment budget. Published data does not give a reserve size, so it must come from the seller's own return and claim history.

Refurbishment standards also affect cost. Batteries below set capacity thresholds are replaced automatically during refurbishment, at least 85 percent of original capacity for smartphones, 80 percent for other devices, or 90 percent for the Premium grade².

Is the seller route open to a small refurbisher?

Sellers must have an EU entity with a valid EU VAT registration certificate, be able to provide good product quality and customer service, and pass an internal document review before going live³. For a UK-only business without an EU entity, these requirements may rule out selling on the platform. This should be confirmed before time is spent on unit economics.

Partners are vetted by refurbed before they can sell, and at the start of 2025 there were about 300 of them, according to the company⁶. The sales process begins with an enquiry through a contact form, after which a sales expert guides the applicant through onboarding³.

Do not confuse the seller route with the UK sell page. That page is a consumer device trade-in service in which refurbed offers to buy a device the customer has stopped using, with free insured shipping and payment within 48 hours⁴. The trade-in page says it continues on Recommerce, a partner that evaluates and purchases devices⁴.

How should a seller work out margin?

A seller can estimate the margin on a listing by working through these steps, in this order:

1. Set sale price (set per listing; the partner may adjust it for foreign delivery²)
2. Deduct platform commission (no UK rate published)
3. Deduct acquisition cost
4. Deduct refurbishment cost
5. Deduct warranty and return reserve
6. Deduct shipping to get net contribution

Each step needs a sourced or measured input before a listing decision. Warranty and return terms are sourced². The UK commission is unpublished, and no source gives a typical sale price for a listing.

The following example is illustrative. All numbers are assumed for arithmetic and are not sourced.

The example shows sensitivity to commission and returns, not a forecast.

The example also excludes any separate platform fee. The sources do not confirm one for the UK site.

What would change the picture, and what should you watch?

The following scenarios are our interpretation of the evidence above, not sourced findings.

• Scenario A: a low, fixed UK fee. If refurbed publishes a UK fee schedule that is low and fixed, listing becomes more attractive for sellers with strong refurbishment costs and low return rates.
• Scenario B: standard commission plus a separate service fee. Thin-margin categories, such as older smartphones, could become unprofitable once the return reserve is deducted.
• Scenario C: EU entity required. UK-only refurbishers would need to look at other channels first.

Watch for these signals:

• The confirmed UK launch date, given the conflict between ChannelX¹ and Circular Online⁵.
• A published UK commission or fee page.
• Figures in refurbed's P2B transparency reports for complaint handling and response timelines³.
• Whether refurbed reconciles its profitability claim⁵ with the reported 2025 loss⁶.

Other marketplaces' refurbished-channel terms were not researched here, so this article does not compare channels.

The sources reviewed were checked on 23 October 2026. Terms may change, so confirm current terms on the official pages: refurbed's UK FAQ at refurbed.co.uk/frequently-asked-questions and the supplier page at supplier.refurbed.com.