What this document is#
Rule 7(5) of the Consumer Protection (e-Commerce) Rules, 2020 requires a seller to ensure that the advertisement of goods is consistent with their actual characteristics. A grade is the shortest description we publish and it is the one most likely to be relied on, so this page defines each grade against measurements rather than adjectives.
This is the standard a disagreement is settled against. If a machine does not meet the thresholds below for the grade it was sold as, it is not as described, and that is a return.
Every grade here is sellable#
A+, A and B are positions on a scale of cosmetic condition and battery life. They are not verdicts. Every machine we list has passed inspection, whatever its grade; a B is not a machine that failed, it is a machine with visible wear and an honest description of it. We do not list anything below B. Buy the grade that suits what the machine is for.
The thresholds#
A machine is assigned the highest grade whose thresholds it meets on all counts. Every figure below is a measurement taken during inspection, not an assessment.
| Grade | Battery health, at least | Charge cycles, at most | Cosmetic score, at least | Screen defects |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A+ · Near-newIndistinguishable from new at arm’s length. No scratches, dents or discolouration on any surface. Screen is flawless. | 85 % | 300 cycles | 90 / 100 | None permitted |
| A · ExcellentLight use, visible only on close inspection. Up to two faint surface scratches under 10 mm. No dents, no screen defects. | 75 % | 700 cycles | 75 / 100 | None permitted |
| B · GoodHonest working condition with cosmetic wear you will notice. Up to three scratches under 10 mm and light edge wear. Fully functional and inspected to the same standard as every other grade. | 60 % | 1200 cycles | 60 / 100 | None permitted |
In effect since 2026-01-01. Read from the grade definitions the inspection engine uses, at the moment this page was rendered.
How each figure is measured#
- Battery health is the measured full-charge capacity as a percentage of the design capacity, read from the battery controller — not estimated from the machine’s age.
- Charge cycles are read from the same controller. A cell with high health and a very high cycle count is close to a decline you would notice, which is why the cap exists alongside the health floor.
- The cosmetic score is scored against a fixed schedule of surfaces and defect types — the count and length of scratches, the count and depth of dents, edge wear — rather than being a technician’s overall impression. The permitted defects for each grade are part of the definition and are held with the row above.
- Screen defects are treated separately from the cosmetic score, because a dead pixel is not a scratch and averaging the two would let one hide the other.
The grade is ours, not the supplier’s#
A supplier declares a grade when they list a machine. That declaration is not what you see. Every grade shown anywhere on this site — on a product card, in a filter count, on an invoice — is the grade our inspection assigned after the machine was opened and measured. Where the two disagree, the inspected grade is what the machine is listed and sold as, and the difference is a matter between us and the supplier.
Versions and effective dates#
Grade definitions are effective-dated. A machine is graded against the definition in force on the day it was inspected, and its inspection report records which one that was. Changing the thresholds does not retrospectively re-grade machines already sold. If we change this standard we publish it here under a new version and a new date.