Are you planning to sell your old phone to buy a new one? We all have that temptation of buying a new smartphone every year, and selling the old phone to help fund the new purchase is always a great option. But the question is how to get the best resale value for your phone? For this, two things are very important- to whom you are going to sell your phone and when you are selling it.
Apart from these two, there are certainly other factors that decide how much you will get for trading your old phone. The resale value of a phone mostly depends on factors like current price of that phone, condition of the phone and the brand value. Here, we will explain how using these parameters you can get the best price for your old phone.
When to sell?
First and foremost, it is the time when you decide to sell your phone that ascertains the resale value. In order to get the best value for your phone, you should sell it within 6 to 8 months after you purchase it. There are several reasons behind it such as no one wants to buy a phone that is about a year older and also within this much time a new version of the phone could be launched. The most recent phone models drop in value after the new model of the phone is released. So, try to sell your phone within 6 to 8 months from the date of purchase.
Current price of the phone
You should keep in mind the current price of the phone before you estimate a resale value for your phone. It is to be noted that most of the phones could offer only 50 to 60% resale value of their current price. So, do check how much it is selling for before you go to trade in your phone.
Condition of the phone
This is also an important factor which decides the resale value of your phone. Nobody wants to buy a damaged phone. So, you should consider your phone for the best price only if it is in very good condition. The most important thing is the display of the phone that should be intact and not have any scratches. You should use a screen guard or tempered glass to protect the display.
Functionality of the phone
Similar to the display, the functionality of the phone should also be good. The phone should not have any hanging issues or battery issues that people always ask before buying a second-hand phone. Moreover, you should have all the accessories maintained with it including earphones and charger, it will definitely help in getting good resale value.
Consider brand value
Next thing you should consider is the brand. The resale value largely depends on which brand’s phone you are selling. The brands that have been established in India for a long time and are considered reliable have a greater resale value than others. For example, Samsung definitely has more resale value than Xiaomi or Vivo.
To whom to sell your phone
Now, comes another important factor, to whom you should sell your phone. You have usually two options, sell it to a market person, a smartphone retailer or directly to a relative or a friend. To explain this point further, we are categorizing the phones in two categories- budget & mid-range phones and flagship or premium phones.
Budget and mid-range phones
In this category, there are phones priced between Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 30,000. The brands in this segment mostly include Samsung, Moto, Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo, OnePlus etc. If you have any of these budget or mid-range device, you should sell it directly to the buyers. Reason being, the retailer will definitely sell it further to a buyer and he will make sure he earns some profit out of it, so he will not give the value you are asking for. When you sell it directly to the user, he might be some known or anyone, and he can easily give the value you expect because of it being a budget or midrange phone.
So, if you are planning to sell a phone that is priced below Rs. 30,000, always sell it to a buyer directly. Moreover, for a smooth transaction, you should make the deal clear prior to the meeting and the buyer should know the price, condition of the phone and its accessories.
Flagship and premium phones
Then there are some premium and flagship phones, that also keeps updating and you want to change it with time. The phones from Samsung or Apple that are priced above 30k to 70k fall under this category. The premium phones must be sold to the retailers.
The reason behind this is also quite simple if you have purchased a phone for Rs. 60,000, you will expect it to sell for at least Rs. 30,000 – Rs. 40,000. So, if you try to sell it to a person, he may think with such amount of money he could buy a new mid-range phone that also comes with a lot of premium features these days. Whereas, a retailer could easily offer you the best value for a flagship since he knows he can sell it further with a profit. So, always sell a premium phone to a retailer.
Apart from, above-mentioned options, there are also options like online selling and exchange offers by e-commerce companies. Trading in your old phone instead of selling it to a person, if you’re willing to buy a phone from the same e-commerce store is also an option which is quite convenient too. Amazon and Flipkart offer exchange discount on select devices when you buy a new from the e-com stores. However, they may not provide the same resale value that you expected.
So, if you are eyeing a new phone and your budget is stopping you, do consider trading in your old phone. By considering the pointers mentioned above, you can get the best value for your old phone.
