Back Market IMEI and serial number tracking: the requirement and how to meet it

The requirement

Why Back Market ties a number to every device

Back Market's IMEI requirement exists because refurbished electronics carry a fraud and dispute risk ordinary new-in-box retail does not: a buyer can claim the wrong device arrived, a device can be reported lost or stolen after resale, or a warranty claim needs to be matched to the exact unit shipped. The IMEI, and the equivalent serial number on non-phone categories, is the one identifier that settles all three questions without argument. Back Market has stated that failing to provide it can result in penalties, and the practical cost is usually worse than the fee: an unresolved dispute with no IMEI on record has no way to be settled in the seller's favor.

Back Market publishes its current quality charter and penalty schedule to approved sellers directly; the figures here are the widely reported 2026 program shape, and the place to confirm specifics is Back Market Partner Support.

Two ways to capture it

API assignment or manual entry at packing

Both paths write to the same record: a serial number tied to a SKU and a specific order, so there is one place to look up which physical unit went to which buyer regardless of how the number was captured. Sellers running meaningful volume typically use the API path since it removes a manual step per package; smaller operations or SKUs with less predictable serials use manual entry without losing the record-keeping.

Bulk upload

Assigning serials in batches instead of one at a time

For sellers who receive serial numbers in batches, from a supplier manifest or a refurbishment run, InfiPlex supports a CSV upload against a provided template, with a cap of 5,000 serial numbers per file. This is the fastest path when serials are known before the units are ever matched to an order: load the batch once, and each number is available to assign as orders come in, searchable by serial, SKU, or order number, with the ability to remove an entry if it was assigned in error.

What good tracking actually prevents

Disputes, warranty confusion, and audit gaps

The failure mode this guards against is not the compliance fee, it is the dispute with no way to resolve it. A buyer claims a different, older, or damaged unit arrived; without a serial tied to that specific order, the seller has no record to point to and the platform typically sides with the buyer. The same record protects the other direction: if a device is later reported lost or stolen and flagged on a blacklist, a seller with accurate serial records can show exactly which order it shipped against and when, rather than facing a blanket assumption of fault across their whole catalog.

How InfiPlex handles it

Both capture paths, one searchable record

InfiPlex's serial and lot number system supports both capture methods on the same account: assign via API for automated, high-volume flows, or enter manually at the pack station for everything else, with bulk CSV upload for batches known ahead of time. Every serial is tied to its SKU and its order, searchable at any time, and available to submit to Back Market within the required window. Submission mechanics for your storefront platform are on the Back Market IMEI number management KB article; the full integration is on the Back Market integration page.

Frequently asked

Questions, answered

The questions sellers ask when Back Market first asks for an IMEI or serial number.

Resources

Related pages and references

Selling smartphones or other devices on Back Market?

We connect Back Market sellers every week, including full serial and IMEI capture. Tell us your order volume and how your serials arrive and we will map the setup. Contact us, email info@infiplex.com, or call 888‑770‑0857.