The used products, offered on Apple’s Chinese online store, include iPod shuffle music players at 308 yuan each (US$45) and iMac personal computers priced at more than 14,000 yuan.

Apple, whose products are more expensive than its PC rivals, is struggling to gain a foothold in China. Last year its iPod line had a 4.3 percent share of mainland China’s portable media player market, according to Beijing-based consultant CCID Consulting. Apple does not release China-specific sales figures, but its share of China’s booming personal computer market is estimated to be well below one percent, according to analysts.

The used products, which have a one-year limited warranty, were returned to Apple by customers and went through strict quality tests before being put on the shelves again, according to a statement on the website.

The company started to offer second-hand products in China in December, Huang Yuna, a Beijing-based spokeswoman told AFP.

Apple has been selling refurbished products as special deals in countries such as the US and Britain for year