BEIJING - APPLE Inc said on Tuesday it had launched an online shop selling second-hand Apple products in China, offering discounts of up to 22 per cent, as it looks to beef up its business in the country.

These are products that were previously sold and returned to Apple and have undergone quality tests, the company's website said.

The refurbished products available on Apple's Chinese website ranged from a 308 yuan (S$66) iPod shuffle to an iMac computer costing more than 14,000 yuan.

'We kicked off the campaign at the end of last year,' said Huang Yuna, Apple's spokesman in China. She declined to give a figure of total used products available.

Apple has introduced similar deals in other countries, including the Unites States, the United Kingdom and Japan, for years, but second-hand purchase only makes up a small portion of its total sales.

US retailer Best Buy Co earlier this month started selling refurbished versions of Apple iPhone 3G that were priced about US$50 less than new ones in an effort to seek new ways to appeal to cost-conscious shoppers. -- REUTERS