Second-hand and Refurbished Phone Market Takes Flight Amid Inflation Hike (theregister.com) 31
More and more cash-strapped people are opting to buy second hand and refurbished handsets in these tougher economic times with sales of used and refurbished devices estimated to have passed 282 million in 2022. From a report: The unit growth for those 12 months is some 11.5 percent higher than the prior year, and IDC number-crunchers have calculated compound annual growth of 10.3 percent until 2026 when shipments are forecast to reach 413.3 million. Anthony Scarsella, research manager with IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Phone Tracker, said the used market grew off the back of a 6.1 percent rebound in sales of new phones in 2021.
"Used devices demonstrate more resilience to market inhibitors than new smartphone sales as consumer appetite remains elevated in many regions," he said. "Attractive price points are critical for growth as cost savings remain the primary benefit," Scarsella added. "However, a high-end inventory struggle due to elongated refresh cycles in the new market has used prices growing 11 percent in 2022." North America was calculated to have shipped 73.5 million smartphones last year with the other 209.1 million devices sold into channels across the rest of the globe.
"Used devices demonstrate more resilience to market inhibitors than new smartphone sales as consumer appetite remains elevated in many regions," he said. "Attractive price points are critical for growth as cost savings remain the primary benefit," Scarsella added. "However, a high-end inventory struggle due to elongated refresh cycles in the new market has used prices growing 11 percent in 2022." North America was calculated to have shipped 73.5 million smartphones last year with the other 209.1 million devices sold into channels across the rest of the globe.
Where do trade-in phones go? (Score:2)
Re:Where do trade-in phones go? (Score:5, Interesting)
Many end up in developing countries. I am currently living in the Philippines, and "pre-loved" phone shops are common here.
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Outlet sales. No advertising, it's just for people who walk into a store and look for them. That way they don't cannibalize sales of new product.
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I don't know about apple.com, but most, if not all of the carriers sell refurbished phones (in the US.) I bought my first refurbished phone about 5 months ago. Mine is a $15 Samsung, but most people I know who have refurbs have iPhones, because the cost is so high to begin with. Not sure if they got them directly from Apple or the carrier.
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Apple sells refurb devices as well. In fact, it's linked from their main store page as a way to save some money.
Refurb Apple stuff is a good deal as you get all new accessories and the warranty is a full like-new warranty instead of a 90 day warranty.
And if Apple introduces a new device, the old devices it replaces all get shoved into the refurb store, so if you order quickly after that, you will effectiv
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For instance, I'm looking to buy a few year older MacBook Pro, ones I've seen from Mashable, etc..for like $250.
They aren't the latest and greatest by far...but I'm buying it solely to be a computer hooked to a camera on my camera stand to run Capture One tethered to my camera I used to scan film.
Would be great for that.
But other than this, the art
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The article talks about global figures. Food prices have doubled over 2 years in many places, for example Nigeria. I imagine food was already their main expense and people don't have much cushion in the budget.
In the US, they've had to hype up how "bad" the economy is in 2022 due to the election.
Apple has re-furb store (Score:1)
I've always wondered... apple and android manufacturers must pull in millions of phones a year. Do they trash them to ensure no loss of new sales?
For Apple at least, they have an obscure corner of the website devoted to returb products, which includes laptops and phones and pretty much all devices they sell.
It's not a huge discount over new but they also come with a warranty backed by Apple which is nice.
Things they don't consider good enough for refurb, Apple recycles for raw materials. They've stated be
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but I'm very suspicious of buying anything with a battery in it second hand.
Part of the refurb process is replacing the battery.
So you get a 2nd hand phone with a brand new battery.
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Most modern phones have good enough battery controllers that if you buy something that's about two years old (which is a common time when "latest and greatest" people buy a new phone and sell their old one to recoup some of the cost), you're not going to have a problem with battery having lost more than 10% of its stated maximum charge.
And since most modern top end phones (which is what you're going to be mostly buying on second hand market) have huge batteries, losing up to 10% isn't going to really matter
Replace it (Score:2)
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Slashdot being a tech site a battery swap should be trivial for most viewers. The tech-inept can pay for their choices.
Doesn't everyone buy their phones used? (Score:2)
S21 owner here. Purchased after market for 50% of the S22 price.
I did increase my "monthly" phone cost from under $10 ($250 phone for 30 months) to probably about $17 ($500 phone over 30 months) a few months ago.
Swappa FTW.
The warranty costs more, and we have multiple backup phones in case any of our primaries break (including a burner # that's in my car for tracking its location - it's a Kia...).
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I run a Samsung Galaxy S5 for years with Lineage OS. Some apps showed a warning when installed in Lineage OS (Whastapp, etc.) and some fail to install at all due to Lineage, but I always found an alternative app that I was able to install on Lineage OS.
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My most recent buy was used as I don't need a warranty. I keep my phones many years as they're now such capable appliances I don't have a use for a high end new phone. (I have computers for that stuff.)
I practice your multiple backup idea because being only one-deep on such vital devices is inconvenient and silly.
But they don't get updates (Score:2)
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>Thanks to the Android monopoly on non Apple phones there is no competitive market for updates,
Steve, is that you? I thought you were dead.
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Riddle: What Cost $1000 and Has No 2nd Hand Value (Score:2)
I Was Wrong (Score:1)
Just assumed everyone on /. knew about Swappa
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It's a bit odd but no surprise.
Slashdot quit being a tech site long ago and most people are helpless and generally unaware of how to buy used electronics efficiently.
But Still (Score:1)
My, in perfect condition G2 Go Phone is now worthless.
Nobody is supporting G2.
So how many second-hand phones will find the same end of life sooner than the buyer thinks?
G6, G7 G8 anyone?
I went this way, sort of. (Score:2)
I wanted a tablet that was well-suited for a life of wifi, without any data contract. I ended up with a five year old, refurbished Verizon Ellipsis for less than $60 and I'm pretty pleased. It's faster than my ten year old laptop, which is clearly evident watching video. The tablet remains somewhat responsive while running 1080p video, and doesn't drop many frames except in the first second or two of a video. The old hacked (to run Win10) Chromebook can handle no more than 720p without dropping frames, and