Refurbishment presents opportunities for designers to improve the sustainability of new and old products via an experiment and post hoc interviews, this research investigates and explores how information about prior use -offered in a visual Ruth Mugge et al. The Design Journal 500(signs of wear and tear) or verbal (textual description) forminfluences consumers' evaluations of refurbished products. The findings show that visual information about prior use has a negative effect on consumers' evaluations of refurbished electronics. Furthermore, presenting consumers with verbal information on prior use can negatively affect consumers' evaluations of a refurbished product if no signs of wear and tear are present because it confuses consumers. If signs of wear and tear are present, verbal information about prior use will not influence consumers' evaluations.