Glossary
Device grading
The standardised assessment that assigns a used device a cosmetic and functional condition, driving its price and its route through the workshop.
Grading answers two questions at once: what is wrong with this device, and what is it worth. A grade typically combines a cosmetic rating, scratches, dents, screen marks, with a functional result from automated diagnostics covering battery health, screen, cameras, ports, radios and storage.
There is no single universal grading scale. Marketplaces, insurers and ITAD operators each maintain their own, which is why a device graded "B" by one operator is not automatically "B" for the next buyer. Serious operations therefore maintain a mapping between their internal grade and each channel’s scale.
Grading consistency is a quality metric in its own right. If two technicians grade the same device differently, margin leaks in both directions: over-grading generates returns and disputes, under-grading gives away value. This is why grading criteria belong in written procedures and why grade decisions should be recorded against the serial number, not the batch.