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So, you’re getting a new cell phone for your birthday, Christmas, or another holiday?
If you live in the US and are planning to upgrade to your first Smart Phone (or a better, fancier Smart Phone) on one of the major US cell phone carriers, you most likely will be following the sequence of events listed below:
- Go down to your local cell phone carrier’s store.
- Get a new Smart Phone at a significant discount, as part of a service contract extension deal.
- Hand the cell phone company your current phone as part of the phone exchange/service contract extension deal.
However, have you ever considered what happens to your old cell phone once you hand it over your carrier during the exchange? Do theyย sell used cell phonesย for a profit? Or, do they place the old phone in some type ofย cell phone recycleย program?
More importantly, have you ever wondered if you could you come out further ahead if you took matters in to your own hands and sold your old phone yourself?
The Secondary Cell Phone Market
Here enters the secondary cell phone market…
According to an article by Brighthand.com, only 3% of cell phone users recycled their old cell phones. Nevertheless, the article stated that of the people that did not recycle their phones, almost 44% left their old phones sitting around their home in boxes and/or drawers.ย Do you have any old cell phones in boxes or drawers at your house? I think I do!ย The rest of people either sold their phones on the secondary market or gave it to friends and family.
From these statistics, it is obvious that the secondary market for cell phones is alive and well these days. In fact, a Boston based studyย claimed that Smart Phones retain anywhere between 40-60% of their original value when sold in the secondary market. So, instead of simply letting your old phone sit around your house and take up drawer space, it could be very beneficial to search around the Internet in order to find a buyer for your old phone.
In addition, before automatically surrendering your old cell phone to your mobile phone carrier as part of an upgrade deal, it might also be prudent to compare the savings you’ll obtain with the upgrade versus how much you’ll make from selling your old phone to an independent party. You might just find that you can come out ahead selling the phone yourself. This could be particularly useful if you are dissatisfied and wanting to leave your current cell phone carrier anyway. At the very least, you’ll know you checked in to all of your options before proceeding.
How about you all? Have you ever sold your old cell phone in the secondary market? Or, have you merely exchanged your old phones for new models? Why did you choose the route you took?ย
Share your experiences by commenting below!
***Photo courtesy ofย http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_iFrSLlCGyCY/SN0AmchXfTI/AAAAAAAAAVw/2IkuOIkLOLI/s400/nokia-n78-phone.jpg
