Refurbished PS5: is it worth it, and where to buy one in the UK?

A refurbished phone is often far cheaper than a new one. A refurbished PS5 usually is not, because new consoles hold their price and the shops sell them at Sony's price or 99p under. We read Sony's own refurbished store and the refurbished rows on our PS5 pages on 10/10/2026. The short answer: one seller makes a refurbished PS5 worth it, and it is Sony.

Is a refurbished PS5 worth it?

Only when it costs clearly less than a new one, and on 10/10/2026 that was true of Sony's own refurbished consoles and of little else:

Sony's prices are its Certified Refurbished consoles, on sale that day. The eBay consoles came from business sellers with 30 days' returns, graded Very Good (the disc Slim and the Pro) and Excellent (the Digital Edition); coupons on two of the listings took them to £514.05 and £506.49. Read at source on 10/10/2026. Currys had the disc console at £569, out of stock.

So Sony's refurbished Slims saved £90 against Sony's own new prices (£569.99 and £519.99), and £89.01 against the cheapest new Digital Edition. The best refurbished disc Slim on eBay saved £40.04 against Argos, or £55.94 with its coupon. A refurbished Digital Edition on eBay cost more than a new one, and the cheapest refurbished PS5 Pro cost £10.95 more than a new one at Currys, which limits buyers to one each.

New consoles on eBay undercut the refurbished ones. On 10/10/2026 a sealed disc Slim was £499.99 with free delivery, £29.96 under the refurbished one, and a sealed Digital Edition (CFI-2116) £460.60, both from private sellers: the first takes no returns, the second 14 days with you paying the postage. That gives you fewer rights than buying from a business, but it shows how little a refurbished console saves away from Sony.

Where can you buy a refurbished PS5 in the UK?

Sony. PlayStation's UK store sells Certified Refurbished consoles: on 10/10/2026 the slim with a disc drive at £479.99, the slim Digital Edition at £429.99, both with 1TB of storage, and a 2020 PS5 with a disc drive at £449.99. Each comes with Sony's 12-month manufacturer's warranty, on top of your legal rights, and Sony says it may have minor cosmetic marks. It had no refurbished PS5 Pro.

The shops we compare:

• eBay. Refurbished consoles from business sellers, graded Excellent, Very Good or Good. The ones we read on 10/10/2026 gave 30 days' returns, and some listings carry a coupon.
• Amazon Renewed. Consoles from marketplace sellers under the Amazon Renewed Guarantee, a replacement or refund for a year if one is faulty (as our Back Market vs Amazon Renewed guide reported it on 17/09/2026). On 10/10/2026 musicMagpie sold a Renewed Digital Edition there from £509.99, graded Acceptable.
• musicMagpie. Sells refurbished consoles through its own site, eBay and Amazon, with a free 12-month warranty on its phones (its warranty page, read on 09/10/2026 for our musicMagpie guide); its eBay console listings advertised 12 months' warranty on 05/10/2026. Its own site showed a security check on 10/10/2026, so we read its eBay listings instead.
• Back Market. Refurbishers it vets, with a 12-month warranty and 30 days to return (its terms, read on 26/09/2026 for our Back Market guide). Its site showed a security check on 10/10/2026, and our PS5 pages held no Back Market console that day.

What do the grades mean on a console?

A grade describes how the console looks, not how it works: Excellent has barely visible marks, Very Good light scuffs, Good visible wear, and Amazon's Acceptable more again. A console from a business seller should work fully at any grade, so the grade mostly changes how it looks on the shelf, and on a console that sits under the TV, a lower grade is often the sensible saving. Sony does not grade its refurbished consoles at all; it says only that they may have minor cosmetic marks. Here is what each grade means.

Refurbished or second hand?

A refurbished console has been checked and comes from a business with a warranty or returns behind it; a second hand one from a private seller usually has neither, and gives you fewer rights. The difference, in plain terms.

Whichever you buy, check which PS5 it is, because "PS5" and "PS5 Digital Edition" each cover more than one console:

• The 2020 PS5. Model numbers start CFI-10, CFI-11 or CFI-12. It is the larger, heavier console: Sony gives its refurbished one as about 39cm tall and 4.5kg. The listings we read gave 825GB of storage.
• The first Slim. Model numbers start CFI-20. Smaller and lighter, about 36cm and 3.2kg with the disc drive, and 1TB of storage. Sony's refurbished Slims are this model.
• The Slim Digital Edition sold new today. Model numbers start CFI-21, with 825GB, the one Sony and the shops sell new at £519.99.
• The PS5 Pro. Model numbers start CFI-70 or CFI-71, with 2TB and no disc drive.

The cheapest refurbished "PS5 Digital Edition" on our Slim Digital page on 10/10/2026, at £540.59 from musicMagpie's eBay shop, was a 2020 console by its title, and eBay files it under the original Digital Edition. Read the title and the model number before the price.

Which refurbished PS5 should you buy?

• Sony's Certified Refurbished Slim Digital Edition, £429.99. The cheapest way into a PS5 from a seller with a 12-month warranty, with 1TB, more than the 825GB in a new Digital Edition.
• Sony's Certified Refurbished Slim with a disc drive, £479.99. The one to buy if you play discs: £90 under a new one, with the same warranty.
• A refurbished PS5 Pro. Not on 10/10/2026: the cheapest was more than a new one at Currys. Buy new at £789 or £789.99, or wait for a refurbished one clearly under that.
• A 2020 PS5. Only if it is clearly cheaper than a Slim: it is bigger and heavier, and plays the same games.

The refurbished rows in this box can be a 2020 console or a Renewed listing that does not name its model; on 10/10/2026 both cost more than a new Digital Edition. Our PS5 prices guide has every new price, and the PS5 Pro stock check where to find a Pro.

What to do

1. Start with Sony's Certified Refurbished store: £479.99 and £429.99 on 10/10/2026, with a 12-month warranty.
2. Compare any other refurbished console with Sony's price and with a new one on the same day; a refurbished PS5 is often dearer than you expect.
3. Check the model number: CFI-20 or CFI-21 is a Slim, CFI-10 to CFI-12 the 2020 console, CFI-70 or CFI-71 a Pro.
4. Buy from a business with at least 30 days' returns and a warranty, and check the controller, cables and disc drive are in the box.
5. If nothing is cheap enough, set a price alert on the product page with Refurbished ticked.