The second-hand smartphone market is getting hotter and business opportunities are coming

The second-hand smartphone market is getting hotter, and Gartner, a market-research agency, predicts that by 2017 the global market for second-hand smartphones will reach 120 million, up nearly one-fold, with sales reaching $14 billion trillion.

While many fans are chasing the latest and most powerful smartphones, many consumers are starting to consider buying second-hand smartphones. While old phones have been used as a trading platform for second-hand markets, Gartner's data suggests that the second-hand smartphone market is maturing. Used mobile phones often fall into the hands of emerging market consumers looking for low-priced products, but things are changing now.

Many consumers in the case of tight money, the purchase of a single year, the price of the fall of second-hand smart machines seems to be a good choice, especially mobile operators began to reduce hardware subsidies, encourage users to buy the full value of mobile phones. It is also a good idea for consumers who want to buy the latest and most powerful smartphones to sell their already-used, but still high-end, smartphones back to their funds.

Meck Echeric Meike Escherich, a Gartner analyst, said: "Consumers in mature markets change their smartphones every 18-20 months, creating an unavoidable problem: What about old phones?" ”

Many companies want to catch on to this trend, such as Gazelle, an E-commerce company that specializes in second-hand electronic products. Last October, Gazelle started selling second-hand smartphones, and company CEO Chris Sullivan Chris Sullivan said the business accounted for one-fifth of its revenue by December last year. He expects the business to account for half of the company's revenues over the next three to 12-15 months.

"This is a huge market that is growing fast," Sullivan said. "He thinks Gartner's forecasts underestimate the size of the market and that the market for second-hand smartphones should be 20 billion or even higher by 2017."

Gazelle's own market research found that in the same family, one of the family members will continue to upgrade to the latest smartphone, the other members either use his second-hand mobile phone, or buy cheap mobile phones, and those who inadvertently lost their phones, but temporarily inadvertently upgraded consumers will also consider buying second-hand smartphones.

A driving force behind the popular trend of second-hand smartphones is that consumers recognise the real price of smartphones. In the United States, if you sign a two-year contract with an operator, you can get a basic iphone 6 at $199, but users must be bound for two years to produce a higher cumulative consumption. If the contract is not signed, the same iphone 6 will need 650 dollars.

Operators are rapidly reducing their subsidy models. T has completely eliminated smartphone subsidies among several of America's largest carriers; At&t and Verizon users are increasingly opting to pay for smartphone hardware to reduce subsequent user fees; Sprint launched a hire-machine project, Users can return their phones to operators after two years of use.

Echeric said the heat of the second-hand smartphone market would also have an impact on smartphone makers, as fewer consumers are considering buying new handsets. On the other hand, this pattern allows avid fans to keep changing their phones, and they usually stick with the same brand.

Indeed, consumers are becoming more aware of the fact that they can sell their old handsets before they buy a new phone, especially before the world's newest iphone or other manufacturer's flagship product. Gazelle's survey showed that only 9% of consumers sold second-hand smartphones in 2009 years, and by 2013 the ratio had climbed to 31%.

Gazelle said that the company used the second-hand car sales industry experience, the sale of products are tested. When Gazelle receives a second-hand phone, it first looks at its normal use and fixes the main problem, such as the screen and battery, before it is put on the site for sale.

In this industry, Gazelle is not a monopoly of the market, retailers GameStop and some mobile operators are also selling second-hand smartphones. But Sullivan said Gazelle had made a significant sale, so that the company had to keep looking for sources of second-hand handsets. Sullivan said he was considering buying some of the backlog of inventory products from operators and partners. "We offer a better price than the traditional retail market," he said. "This is a business opportunity for companies in the field." ”