iPhone & Samsung Secondary Market Pricing & Trade-In Data

At B-Stock, we eat, sleep, and breathe the secondary mobile market. As trade-in rates rise and more companies push devices to secondary sales channels  – including B-Stock’s B2B marketplace – the data generated is extremely interesting. We recently released our Q2 Secondary Mobile Market Insights that includes B2B pricing data for devices across model, carrier, condition, color, and SKU (check it out here if you haven’t) but for purposes of this blog, I want to take a deeper dive into pricing and trade-in data related to the iPhone XS and Samsung Galaxy S8 and S9 models. 

iPhone XS: Lowest Resale Value 

The number of used iPhone XS models hitting the secondary market jumped 85% in the last quarter. The last three months also saw used pricing for the XS drop 10% below average at nine months post launch. So, what caused this? The lackluster performance for the XS is due to the fact that 1) it was only a slight upgrade from the iPhone X and 2) there are no significant features that would drive a secondary buyer to want a used XS over a used X.

Here is what the data shows us and how it compares to other models:

• iPhone XS wholesale pricing for a secondary end user is averaging 60% of retail (70% of retail for second end user)
• In comparison, the iPhone 6, 6s, 7, XR and XS Max average(d) 66-68% of retail at nine months post launch (77% of retail for secondary end user)
• Used pricing for the iPhone X still continues to outperform previous and new models: at 21 months post launch, it’s wholesaling for 48% of original retail value (retailing for 58%); that’s 17% higher than previous models

If you’re curious: the top two used iPhone models sold across B-Stock’s marketplace are the iPhone 7 and iPhone X.

Samsung S10: Trade-In Effect 

The amount of people trading up to a Galaxy S10 created a record-breaking surplus of S8 and S9 models in Q2: the volume of S9 devices was up 224% quarter over quarter while S8 volume was up 177%. Trade-ins were driven mostly by customers being incentivized to trade up to an S10 model; here is the effect it had on the secondary market: 

• The S9 and S8 models have replaced the Note 8 and Galaxy S7 as the most sold used model 
• S8 pricing for a secondary end user is wholesaling for 23% of retail (retailing for 33%)
• S9 pricing for a secondary end user is wholesaling for 35% of retail (retailing for 45%)
• Most S8 and S9 devices were sold to secondary-market buyers in the US, Hong Kong, Brazil, and Russia

Large carriers are moving more devices through B2B channels for resale on the secondary market versus repairing and selling B2C. If you want to learn more about secondary market trends and how large carriers, OEMs, and buy-back companies are increasing the life cycle and pricing of phones via B-Stock’s B2B marketplace platform, please get in touch below. 

For even more data + insights, please check out all of our blog posts dedicated to Mobile.