How iPhone screen buyback payout and price lock work

The buyback money flow runs in six steps: you get an instant quote per model, the number locks for 14 days, you ship, every panel is graded one by one with a written report, you accept or dispute, then you get paid by bank transfer. Fixera, the trade name of Fonora OU in Tartu, Estonia, buys broken original iPhone and Samsung Galaxy screens from EU repair shops, and this page walks the whole chain so nothing on arrival surprises you.

How does the buyback quote work?

The quote is priced per model, per grade, and you build it yourself. Open the instant quote, pick the model, set how many units you have and the condition band you expect, and the total comes back on screen. No form to wait on, no rep to email, no gated list behind a one hour window. The number you see is the number Fixera commits to, and it is quoted ex VAT so the figure is clean before Estonia's 24 percent is applied on the invoice side.

You quote in bands because you are declaring what you believe you have. Cracked glass over a clean image is one band. A lined or shadowed panel is a lower band. If you are unsure, quote the mixed or unknown band and let the grading decide. The quote is an estimate of the batch, and grading on arrival turns it into the paid figure.

What does the 14 day price lock actually protect?

The 14 day lock freezes your rate against a market that moves weekly. Buyback rates track live refurbishing demand model by model, so an unlocked number can drift between the day you pack and the day the box lands. Once your quote is created it holds for 14 days, which covers the pack, the collection, and EU transit with room to spare. The rate you accepted is the rate applied to every unit that grades as declared, even if the wider market drops inside that window.

The lock does not freeze the grade. It freezes the price per grade. A panel that comes in worse than declared is paid at its real grade, not rejected from the lock. The window protects the euros, the bench protects the accuracy.

How do you ship the panels?

You ship with a prepaid EU label, and Fixera covers it for new buyback clients or any order of €200 or more. Wrap each panel so the glass and flex are protected in transit, keep models grouped so grading is fast, and drop the box. Transit runs roughly 1 to 2 business days nearby and 2 to 4 business days across the EU. The 14 day lock means normal shipping time never eats into your rate.

How is each panel graded on arrival?

Every panel is tested and graded individually, then written into a report unit by unit. There is no blind lump sum and no silent downgrade. Each unit gets a grade and a stated fault, so you can see exactly why a given panel landed where it did. Grading is the step that converts your declared bands into the paid figure, which is why the report exists before any money moves.

Fixera grades the panel, not the crack. A cracked front glass over a clean original OLED that still shows a full image and takes touch across the whole surface is a relamination candidate and sits high. The same model with a green line, a corner shadow, or burn in pays little, because that fault lives in the panel and cannot be refurbished away. Grades run across a published ladder, and every graded unit still shows a full image and takes touch. Dead touch is not a low grade, it is a reject. For the fault by fault ladder, read iPhone screen grades explained for sellers.

What can change the number between quote and payout?

The number changes only when what arrives differs from what you declared, and the report names the reason each time. Nothing is adjusted quietly. Here is what moves it and why.

Nothing on that list is a penalty. It is the difference between a self declared estimate and a bench measurement. A batch declared honestly lands on its quote. A batch declared optimistically lands where the panels actually grade.

What happens if you disagree with the grading?

You get a dispute route before any money moves. The report lists each unit with its grade and fault, so you review it against what you sent and either accept or raise the units you disagree with. Payout does not run until the grade is settled. This is the point of grading unit by unit rather than as a lump: you are checking a line item, not arguing about a mystery total.

When and how does the payout land?

Payout is processed by bank transfer the same business day the batch is graded, which is the day it arrives, once you accept the report. No holding period, no store credit, no wait for a second inspection. You send the panels, Fixera grades and reports, you accept, the transfer goes out. The figure paid is your locked rate applied to the real grade of every accepted unit, ex VAT, with the invoice documenting the batch.

Where does this leave an EU repair shop?

You hold a number you can trust from quote to bank. The instant quote gives you a price per model on screen, the 14 day lock keeps it steady while you ship, per unit grading with a written report turns your estimate into an exact figure, a dispute route sits before the money, and payout runs by bank transfer the same business day the batch is graded. Quote your models, pack honestly against the bands, and the figure you accept is the figure that lands.