Cream, a limited edition trading platform, launched a used smartphone purchase service in partnership with Likewise, a mobile distribution company, last month. When a user receives the expected purchase price and sends a used phone to a distribution center, the customer will check and deposit the final purchase price. Cream will sell the used smartphone through Cream Repubisi service in the first half of this year. “More than 90,000 people have checked the price of their smartphones in just 10 days,” a Cream source said.
The used phone market is rapidly growing amid “phone inflation (smartphone + inflation).” As the price of the latest smartphone approaches 2 million won, the demand for “buy secondhand” has increased. As various companies have entered the used phone business, it is easier to compare used phone prices than before, and this is thanks to the ease of buying and selling. According to a survey of 1,228 people conducted by Park Jin-hwan, an assistant researcher at the Information and Communication Policy Institute, 34.5% of respondents said they had experience in selling used phones and 30% said they had purchased used phones.
Companies that are strengthening the used phone business range from telecommunication companies to used platforms. Companies have introduced various services such as calculating used phone prices and issuing certificates for deleting personal information by utilizing artificial intelligence technology.
MediaLog, a subsidiary of LG Uplus, launched ‘Sello’, a used phone purchase platform, in January last year. After checking the estimated estimate, you can apply for collection by visiting courier or convenience store courier. One year after its launch, Cello has exceeded 1 million subscribers and 100,000 purchases. KT has also been operating ‘Goodbye’, a used phone purchase platform, since 2021 through KTM&S, a subsidiary specializing in distribution. Direct transactions between individuals are also possible on the app. Mintit, a subsidiary of SK Networks, purchases more than 1 million used phones every year.
Joonggonara is holding a used phone purchase event until the 29th of this month in partnership with the online used phone transaction service ‘Phone Gabi’. If a used phone is inspected, it will pay 5,000 won to Naver Pay and 10,000 won to complete the sale. A company official said, “The ratio of used phones accounts for about 10% of all transactions in Joonggonara.” Lightning Marketplace also released ‘My Phone Market Price’ service in 2020. The total smartphone transactions at Lightning Market increased 54% compared to 2019 last year.
Telecommunication companies have also introduced unique services targeting the market. Last month, LG Uplus introduced a service that allows customers who purchase new Galaxy phones to switch batteries for free when they hand over their previous Galaxy phones to their children under 14. SK Telecom opened a pop-up store in Seoul in November last year and sold used iPhone and Galaxy phones.
The reason behind the revitalization of the used phone market is the increasing price of smartphones. The price of the iPhone 15 series launched in October last year is up to 2.5 million won, and the price of the Galaxy S24 series launched last month is up to 2.13 million won. In other words, it is more advantageous to sell it to buy a new phone rather than putting it in a closet after it is used.
Concerns over personal information leakage have decreased as the number of used phone transactions using well-known companies such as KT has increased, and young people have become accustomed to self-sufficient phones (smartphones that have not opened communication) that buy smartphones directly at online malls.
As used smartphones are becoming increasingly popular overseas, some say that they cannot sell them due to lack of supplies. According to market research firm IDC, the global used smartphone supply reached 309.4 million units last year, up nearly 10 percent from the previous year. Analysts say that as consumer wallets are thinning due to the economic slowdown, demand for expensive new smartphones has shifted to used phones. “As smartphone replacement cycles in most advanced countries have exceeded 40 months, the used smartphone market is running out of stock,” IDC said.
SOPHIA KIM
US ASIA JOURNAL
