Demand booming for secondhand smartphones

ISTANBUL

With prices of smartphones on the rise, consumers in Türkiye, especially young people, are increasingly turning to secondhand phones.

Smartphones have become almost inaccessible for many consumers due to the combination of several factors, such as inflation and high foreign exchange rates.

The secondhand smartphone market is very vibrant these days, said Faruk Kocabaş, the CEO of MediaMarkt Türkiye.

“Consumers are looking for cheaper alternatives in the face of high costs. They are turning to secondhand or refurbished smartphones. That’s particularly true for young people,” he said.

The refurbished smartphones are also known as renewed phones.

“Refurbished devices are purchased from the previous owner of the phone. If there are any cracks or scratches on the screen or any other damages, they are repaired by authorized Renewal Centers,” explained Kocabaş.

The main difference between a secondhand and a refurbished smartphone is that the former device has a 12-month warranty period, he added.

The average price of a new smartphone increased by 45 percent from around 11,000 Turkish Liras in September last year to 17,000 liras in September this year, said Mehmet Akif Özdemir, the CEO of Easy Cep.

He noted that financing options for new smartphones are limited, whereas consumers can pay for refurbished phones they buy in 12 installments, which makes those devices more accessible to consumers.

Each year, some 11 million new smartphones are sold in Türkiye, according to Özdemir. “The refurbished phone market is yet to grow in the country. This year, somewhere between 300,000 to 500,000 refurbished phones are expected to be sold,” he said.

“There is a large potential for the refurbished phone market to expand in the years to come. The number of new smartphones sold is forecast to increase to 12.5 million in 2030. The forecast for the same year for refurbished and secondhand phones are 2.5 million and 3.75 million, respectively.”