Resales Of Old iPhones Could Increase In Next Few Years

Old iPhones have always enjoyed good resales through the years. But it appears that in the near future, resale figures for previous iPhone models may even improve. The reason: more mobile users nowadays are looking to upgrade their iPhones earlier than before, as more wireless carriers in the United States veer away from offering traditional two year agreements. The direct result is that the market for resold iPhones will become bigger, spurred by increased demand for used iPhone devices, especially those models that are just a year old.

Sarah Welch, the chief marketing officer of Gazelle (a retail company that specializes in offering trade in deals for electronic devices), certainly agrees. According to Welch, because of the increasing diversity of ways in which mobile users can buy or lease their handset has made upgrade cycles shorter. In other words, people now are upgrading to newer handsets much faster than before.

By offering early upgrade programs, American wireless carriers certainly help in encouraging this. Even the iPhone maker itself, Apple, is  joining in on the fun. When the company unveiled its two newest iPhone models, the iPhone 6s and the iPhone 6s Plus, the tech giant also took the opportunity to announce its new iPhone Upgrade Program, which allows mobile users to upgrade to a newer iPhone device each year. 

Of course, when a mobile user upgrades to a new iPhone, his old iPhone obviously lands somewhere. That somewhere is often eBay, Amazon, Glyde, Gazelle, and other websites that facilitate resale transactions. Despite being used items, iPhones are still best sellers, especially the iPhone 6 (which just turned a year old). Depending on the specific edition and configuration, used iPhone 6 devices could sell between $300 to $500, compared to its regular selling price of $550.

Interestingly on eBay, one year old iPhones make up about 43 percent of total iPhone sales made in the United States during the first half of September back in 2013, and we all know that September is usually the time when Apple introduces a new iPhone model. In the same period in 2014, one year old iPhones accounted for 50 percent, while this year, the percentage grew to 42 percent. Gazelle also experienced a similar rise in trade ins, from 28 percent in 2013 to 42 percent this year. 

Of course, there is no guarantee that the pattern will hold in succeeding years. Much will depend on a variety of economic, technological, and cultural factors. But remember that the iPhone has always been one of the most consistent sellers in smartphone history -- the same could be said of old, used iPhones, too.