By Stu Woo
KC Lau wanted Samsung Electronics’ folding phone, but not at $1,900. So she found an increasingly popular workaround: the secondhand market.
Lau bought a used Samsung 005930 -2.02%decrease; red down pointing triangle for $500 on eBay three months ago. It’s working well. “I honestly don’t see why everyone doesn’t do this,” said Lau, a 55-year-old nanny in Phoenix. “I can have this phone and feel like I can still pay rent.”
More and more shoppers are saving money with secondhand phones—and their experiences can guide anyone looking to replace their current one. While most buyers still want a new device, those looking for an alternative will find that mobile carriers, retailers and even Apple AAPL -2.66%decrease; red down pointing triangle and Samsung themselves are stepping up their used-phone offerings.
Used devices represented 14.4% of global phone sales last year, and IDC projects that figure will reach 16.6% by 2029.
Driving the trend are people such as Lau, who want a premium experience without the price tag. Top-end Apple iPhone and Samsung devices that are a generation or two old are popular, said IDC analyst Anthony Scarsella.
“Instead of buying a new Honda Accord, you buy a BMW 3 Series that’s a couple of years old,” he said. While a new iPhone 16 Pro Max starts at $1,199, a secondhand iPhone 14 Pro Max can go for $500.
Another reason: “Phones are flat out lasting longer,” said Sean Cleland, an executive at B-Stock, a big platform for secondhand phones. “The glass is less likely to crack. The software, the operating system is getting longer support.”
In 2016, Americans held on to their phones for an average of 2.38 years before trading them in or upgrading, according to trade-in provider Assurant. That figure has crept up, to 3.64 years last year.
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