Amazon Renewed: What It Means, How the Guarantee Works and How to Sell

You found the phone you want, it’s a hundred dollars cheaper, and the title ends in “(Renewed)”. Is that a used phone? A repaired one? Can you send it back if it isn’t right?

This guide answers that for shoppers first: what Amazon Renewed means, the four condition grades, what the guarantee covers, and whether it’s safe to buy. Then, for sellers, it covers how to get approved for Amazon Renewed in 2026, including a lower referral fee that started in October.

About the Author: Diana Walsh writes for the SellerSonar editorial team about Amazon selling models, fees, and account health. She checks every program detail in her articles against Amazon’s own help pages, and the listing examples against live Amazon listings.

What Does Renewed Mean on Amazon?

Amazon calls Renewed its “trusted destination for pre-owned and refurbished products.” In practice, a Renewed item can be one of three things:

• Refurbished: repaired if needed, then inspected, cleaned and tested to work to the original manufacturer’s specifications.
• Pre-owned: used before, then inspected and tested.
• Open-box: the box was opened, often a return, and the item was checked before going back on sale.

Who does the checking? According to Amazon’s Amazon Renewed help page, an “Amazon qualified and performance-managed supplier,” which is often a third-party seller rather than Amazon itself. The process usually includes a full diagnostic test, replacing faulty parts and a thorough clean. Every Renewed item is meant to be fully functional; the grade only tells you how it looks.

You’ll spot Renewed items by the title, which must end in “(Renewed)”, and by the “Visit the Amazon Renewed Store” link under it. Here’s a real one, captured on October 26, 2026:

One thing that confuses people: refurbished Amazon devices like Echo speakers, Kindles and Fire tablets are now labeled “Like-New” and sold separately from Amazon Renewed. If you’re buying one of those, check that product page for its warranty instead of assuming the Renewed Guarantee applies. For a one-line definition, see our Amazon Renewed glossary entry.

Amazon Renewed Condition Grades

Every Renewed item is sold in one of four grades. They’re all supposed to work perfectly. The difference is cosmetic wear, battery health and how long you have to return it.

• Renewed Premium: according to Amazon’s grade descriptions, no screen scratches and no cosmetic damage visible from 12 inches, a battery above 90% of a new one, and a 365-day return window.
• Excellent: no screen scratches, no body damage visible from 12 inches, and a battery above 80%.
• Good: no screen scratches, with light body scratches that are barely visible from 12 inches and can’t be felt.
• Acceptable: a few shallow screen scratches that disappear when the screen is on, visible body scratches, and up to three minor dents.

Good and Acceptable aren’t available for everything. Amazon’s Renewed quality policy allows those two grades only for cell phones, tablets, smartwatches, headphones and personal computers. A Renewed air fryer or power drill will be Excellent or Premium.

How much does the grade change the price? According to the amazon.com listings we checked on October 26, 2026, the same unlocked iPhone 14 (128GB, Midnight) cost $347.63 in Renewed Premium, $298.89 in Excellent and $262.57 in Good. So Premium cost about $49 more than Excellent, in exchange for the stricter cosmetic check, the better battery and a year to return it instead of 90 days.

💡 Expert Tip: For a phone or laptop you’ll keep for years, the battery line matters more than the scratches. According to Amazon’s grade rules, Excellent only promises over 80% of a new battery; Premium promises over 90%. If the Premium price gap is small, that’s usually where the extra money goes furthest.

What Does the Amazon Renewed Guarantee Cover?

Every Renewed item comes with the Amazon Renewed Guarantee. It’s mostly a return guarantee, not a classic warranty: if you’re not happy with the item, including when it doesn’t work as expected, you can send it back for a refund or a replacement. Returns are free.

How long you get depends on the item:

• 90 days for most Renewed items, according to the guarantee page.
• 365 days for Renewed Premium and Renewed Automotive items.
• 30 days plus 11 months on select items: Amazon’s standard 30-day return period, followed by a free 11-month limited warranty serviced by Asurion. That warranty only covers items delivered within the 50 US states, and it doesn’t cover accidents, misuse, water damage, third-party repairs or commercial use.

The product page shows which one applies, so check it before you order. After you buy, you’ll find the return window in Your Orders.

How to return a Renewed item

Go to Your Orders and click Get Product Support next to the item. If you don’t see that button and you’re still inside the return window, contact Amazon customer service.

Before you send back a phone, tablet or computer, back up your data, turn off phone tracking, unlink your cloud accounts and do a factory reset. Amazon’s guarantee page is blunt about it: if you skip those steps, the device won’t qualify for a replacement or refund. For how returns work across Amazon in general, see our guide to Amazon’s return policy.

Is It Safe to Buy Renewed on Amazon?

Mostly, yes, as long as you buy with the grade and the return window in mind. You get a tested, working product for less than new, with a free return if it isn’t right. But it isn’t the same as buying new, and a few things catch people out.

What to check before you buy:

• The grade. “Acceptable” means visible scratches and possibly dents. If that will bother you, pay for Excellent.
• The return window on the product page: 90 days, 365 days, or 30 days plus the Asurion warranty.
• The seller. Renewed items are sold by qualified suppliers, not always by Amazon. The seller’s name sits in the buy box.
• For phones: the carrier. Make sure the listing says “Unlocked” or names your carrier.
• For phones: what’s missing. Amazon says refurbished phones aren’t guaranteed to keep their waterproof seal, and wireless devices don’t come with headphones.
• Accessories and the box. At any grade, they may be generic rather than original, and the item may arrive in a plain box.

The honest summary: Amazon Renewed is a good deal on electronics you’d otherwise buy new, as long as you treat the grade description as the contract. And use the return window if something feels off.

Amazon Renewed vs Refurbished vs Used

Sellers and shoppers mix these up all the time. Here’s how they differ on Amazon:

Renewed is basically “refurbished with a single set of rules”: one grading scale, one testing standard and one guarantee across every seller. Used offers are a different shelf. If you’re curious about other ways to buy second-hand on Amazon, see our guide to Amazon Resale and other Amazon returns for sale. To trade in your own old device instead, see how Amazon Trade-In works.

Selling on Amazon Renewed: Requirements for Sellers

This part is for sellers. Amazon Renewed is application-only: you can’t just list a used phone as “Renewed.” Amazon has to approve you first, and you have to keep meeting its quality bar after that.

Who can sell on Amazon Renewed

According to Amazon’s Amazon Renewed program overview, products must be inspected, cleaned, repaired if needed and tested by a manufacturer or a specialized third party. To apply in the US store, you need:

• Proof of supply: according to the program overview, manufacturers and brand owners provide trademark documents or proof of Brand Registry. Resellers and distributors provide paid invoices for at least $50,000 of qualifying refurbished products bought in the past 90 days (US and Canada). For Home Electronics, Tools, Lawn and Garden or Kitchen, the window is 180 days.
• Clean invoices: itemized with brand and model. Products priced at $15.00 or less don’t count toward the minimum.
• Apple products: if you want to sell Apple-branded items, invoices for $2,500,000 of Apple products in the past 90 days (US).
• At least ten photos of a real sample unit from all sides, screen on, plus the packaging. Staged photos or images copied from the internet get applications declined.
• An order defect rate of 0.8% or less over the trailing 60 days, if you already sell or once you start.

Other stores have their own thresholds. According to the same Amazon overview, it’s €/£20,000 in the past 90 days for the European Renewed stores (Germany, Spain, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden and the UK). You’ll still need a regular seller account too; our guide to the requirements to sell on Amazon covers that part.

How to apply

1. Qualify. Sign up as a seller or log in to Seller Central, and check you meet the requirements above.
2. Apply. Submit the Amazon Renewed application with your invoices or brand documents and the sample photos. Amazon says decisions are “typically made within 10 days,” though it can take longer.
3. List. Once approved, create Renewed listings with the Certified Refurbished ASIN Creation tool in Seller Central (Catalog, then Add Products, then “I am adding a certified refurbished product”). Some brands need extra approval.
4. Price. Follow the 5% pricing rule below, according to Amazon’s Renewed policies.
5. Fulfill. Ship yourself or use FBA. Merchant-fulfilled sellers have to opt in to prepaid return labels so their offers qualify for the Renewed Guarantee.

If you don’t qualify, you can still sell second-hand items as Used; our guide on how to sell used items on Amazon walks through it.

Listing and pricing rules

Amazon’s Renewed listing guide sets a few hard rules. Every Renewed title has to end with “(Renewed)”, and a Renewed ASIN can’t reuse the UPC of the new item.

The price rule is the one that bites. Per Amazon’s Renewed program policies, a Renewed offer must be at least 5% below the current New price for the same product, and at least 5% below the next higher Renewed grade (a Good offer 5% under Excellent, for example). Break it, and Amazon can remove your Featured Offer eligibility (the Buy Box), take the offer off the catalog or permanently revoke the ASIN.

The 10% promotional referral fee

This is new, and none of the Amazon Renewed guides we checked on October 26, 2026 mention it yet. According to Amazon’s Sell on Amazon Renewed page and Seller Central, Amazon is running a one-year promotional referral fee for Renewed sellers: Renewed products in eligible fee categories pay a reduced 10% referral fee, applied automatically to qualifying ASINs. Per the Seller Central program overview, it runs from October 19, 2026 to October 18, 2027, then fees go back to standard rates. (The sell.amazon.com page dates the start to October 16, 2026.)

For a category that normally pays 15%, as many do on Amazon’s referral fee table, that’s five percentage points back on every eligible sale for a year. Check whether your category is eligible in Seller Central before you build a pricing plan around it.

🎯 Pro Insight: According to Amazon’s rules, the promo fee and the 5% rule pull in opposite directions. The lower fee gives you room to cut prices, but your floor is still set by the New price on the same product. If the New price drops, your Renewed price has to follow, promo or not.

Staying in the program

Approval isn’t permanent. Amazon’s Renewed quality policy (version 36 when we checked) measures every seller against these targets:

• Renewed return rate under 11.0% of items shipped, according to the same quality policy.
• Returns for product quality reasons under 3.5%.
• 1- and 2-star product reviews under 0.65% of orders.
• Average Renewed product rating above 4.0.

Renewed Premium has its own, stricter rules. Every Renewed product can qualify under Premium, but outside smartphones, laptops, tablets, smartwatches, fitness trackers and headphones you need brand authorization. According to Amazon’s Renewed Premium page, Premium items need batteries above 90%, approved high-quality packaging and a 365-day guarantee. And if you’re removed from Premium, Amazon says you can’t reapply.

How to Monitor a Renewed Listing

A Renewed listing is its own ASIN, often shared by several approved sellers, and its price is tied to a different ASIN: the new version of the same product. That makes it a two-listing job. You’re watching the other Renewed sellers for the Buy Box, and you’re watching the New price, because, according to Amazon’s 5% rule, your price floor moves whenever the New price does.

This is the kind of watching SellerSonar does, and here’s where its limits are:

• Buy Box and seller alerts: you hear when a new seller joins your Renewed listing, when one leaves, and when a seller changes price. Buy Box Won and Lost alerts (Premium plan and up) tell you who took the Buy Box and at what price. These five alerts are off by default, so switch them on under Alerts, then Delivery Settings.
• The New price: add the new version of the product as a competitor and you’ll get price change alerts and price history for it, which is your early warning on the 5% rule.
• Listing changes and suppression: title, brand and image changes, plus Buy Box suppressed alerts with a dated snapshot of the page. SellerSonar can’t tell you why Amazon suppressed something; that reason lives in Seller Central.
• Reviews: new negative reviews and rating changes, collected through the SellerSonar Chrome extension, which helps you keep an eye on the review targets above.
• Check frequency: according to SellerSonar’s plans, every 4 hours on Pro, every 2 hours on Premium, and as often as every hour on Business and Enterprise.

Our Buy Box monitoring page shows how the tracker works, and our guide to winning the Buy Box covers the strategy side.

Is Amazon Renewed Worth It?

For shoppers, Amazon Renewed is worth it on electronics you’d otherwise buy new, as long as you pick the grade on purpose and use the return window if something’s off. Premium is the safe middle ground between new and used: a better battery, a stricter cosmetic check and a full year to return it.

For sellers, it’s a demanding program to get into, with real invoices, sample photos and ongoing quality targets. But according to Amazon’s program overview, from October 19, 2026 to October 18, 2027, eligible Renewed sales also pay a 10% referral fee.

Final Expert Recommendations: If you’re buying, read the grade description and the return window before the price; they tell you what you’re actually getting. If you’re selling, get your invoices and sample photos in order before you apply, and set up a way to watch the New price on every product you list, because according to Amazon’s 5% rule it’s part of your pricing whether you track it or not.

If you sell Renewed products, SellerSonar can watch the Buy Box, the other sellers and the New price for you. Try it free for 14 days, with 5 ASINs and 10 keywords and no credit card.