Cosmin Popovici, CEO CreditAmanet: It is essential to guarantee the originality, the authenticity, and proper functioning of pre-owned products

The pre-owned luxury products market has experienced rapid growth worldwide, fueled by factors such as the highly competitive prices, the appeal of secure investments, and the desire to avoid long waiting lists at top brands like Hermès and Chanel, which limit the number of products customers can purchase each year. According to ResearchAndMarkets.com, the market is currently valued at $32.61 billion and is projected to reach $51.77 billion by 2026, with an estimated annual growth rate of 10%. “This trend is also present in Romania. Over the last year, we have seen an over 25% increase in the pre-owned luxury segment“, says Cosmin Popovici, CEO of CreditAmanet, the largest retailer of pre-owned luxury products on the Romanian market.

An important shift in consumer behaviour is also seen globally for recycled and reused electronics. The general trend of implementing sustainable practices, as well as many customers’ interest in buying high-performance electronics at low prices, are driving this market’s growth, which, according to Statista.com, will be worth around $66 billion by 2026. “In recent years, this trend has significantly increased in our country, too. We expect CreditAmanet’s sales of pre-owned electronics to grow by 50% in 2023”, says Cosmin Popovici.

However, the CEO of the company points out that it is essential that both pre-owned luxury goods and electronics come from reliable sources, and are thorougly checked by experts for authenticity and functionality. “At CreditAmanet, we provide a guarantee that all our products are 100% authentic and in good working condition. Luxury watches and bags, as well as diamonds, and pre-owned electronic products go through the hands of several experts, through successive stages of verification. Even the smallest signs of non-conformity can lead to their rejection. CreditAmanet’s experts are highly qualified in these areas and the company constantly invests in the training of its employees”, explains the CEO.

“Valuing diamonds is more than just an art – it requires serious skills “

With a significant increase in demand for pre-owned luxury products, customers want to be certain of the authenticity of their purchases. How is this achieved? “Valuing diamonds is more than just an art – it requires serious skills”, says CreditAmanet’s CEO. The representative of the leading retailer of pre-owned luxury products on the Romanian market reveals the complex process of validation for their luxury products: “We work with teams of experts that have the best skills to accurately validate the unique characteristics of each diamond, to distinguish the natural from the lab-created or moissanite. CreditAmanet experts hold GIA (Gemological Institute of America) international certification and diplomas accredited by the ANC (National Authority for Qualifications). This month we are organising another gemological training course, the only state-accredited one in the world, in collaboration with the Romanian Gemological Centre. We believe that investing in increasing the professionalism of the Diamonds Department team represents an actual investment in the company’s development.”

CreditAmanet’s CEO emphasises that the company’s experts have the skills and means to issue certificates of authenticity. They can determine the current market value of gemstones by accurately analyzing the cut, clarity, colour, and carat weight of diamonds using specific methods.

Luxury bags and watches go through the same complex evaluation process, which includes:

examination of the conformity of the inscriptions and distinctive elements of the brand in question;
testing the quality of materials;
verification of the functioning and authenticity of all parts of the mechanism at the representative office of the brand or at an authorised luxury watch centre; for handbags, the series are checked and they need to be correlated with the format of the brand, the model, and the period of production. For some brands and models, online authentication is also used and it is provided by specialised and internationally accredited companies.

In addition to authenticity and functionality testing, CreditAmanet experts also perform an analysis of the origin and history of the products, including checking unique series in international databases.

“We test the authenticity of electronics by checking their presence on the blacklist of lost/stolen products”

In recent years, the Romanians’ interest in buying pre-owned electronics has increased significantly. Mid-range and premium phones are among the most popular products of this type. CreditAmanet offers a 1-year guarantee on the electronics and grants a 14-day return period. But before the products go on sale, they are thoroughly evaluated. In addition to the proper functioning, “we test the authenticity of the electronics, and check whether they are on the black list of lost or stolen products or not”, explains the CEO of the company. CreditAmanet is currently running a Buy Back program, through which customers can purchase the latest electronic products in great condition at prices up to 50% lower than the launch price.

Every phone sold by CreditAmanet goes through a careful functionality verification process. From display surfaces, cameras and charging port, to speakers, microphones and 4G / 5G WiFi connections, every component is checked, as well as the IMEI and Serial Number on the Apple website (for Apple products) and on IMEI.INFO for other types of phones to rule out the possibility of them being lost or stolen.

Laptops go through a similarly complex functionality condition assessment – “with gaming laptops we have an additional verification step: we run stress software on them to see if the video card is within parameters”, explains Cosmin Popovici. “The pre-owned electronics market meets the customers’ need to access the latest products at much better prices than the launch ones. Moreover, it represents a sustainable practice which is worth encouraging because it prevents waste and recovers unused electronics that are still in good shape. However, it is essential to guarantee the originality, authenticity, and proper functioning of pre-owned products, whether luxury or electronic. CreditAmanet does this, based on the respect and partnership it has had with its customers for over 15 years”, concludes Cosmin Popovici.

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