Refurbished cell phones are those that are previously owned and have been returned to cellular companies after a period of use.  These phones have been completely restored to like new condition and any damage to the exterior of the phone has been fixed.  Essentially, the phones have been restored (or refurbished) to brand new condition, but since they've been used before they cannot be sold as 'new.'

However, some retailers will try to sell refurbished phones as 'new,' hoping to get more money for the phone that it is worth.  As a person shopping for a new phone, you need to be aware of these tactics.  The problem is that some refurbished cell phones are so difficult differentiate between brand new phones of the exact same model.

Unfortunately, there are no tricks to tell a used cell phone that has been refurbished from a brand new one.  You can try to find out when the phones in question were made and can ask if either of them are refurbished, but the truth is that if the retailer is willing to lie to you about whether or not the phone is refurbished, they'll likely lie about other things.

The best piece of advice I can provide is to shop from vendors that tell you up front that their phones are used or refurbished.  The advantage to doing this is that you'll get your phone for much cheaper than you would buying a new one (or a refurbished one being sold as 'new').