From that inauspicous beginning, cell phones have become common place; used smartphones even more so. The first to tap into the banquet of used phones were drug dealers and gangs. The phones could be used once and thrown away – much like today's “burner” phones.
Soon, non-profit groups started asking for used cellphones as a fundraiser. Red Cross, Wounded Warriors and even The Boy Scouts, along with other groups, have raised millions by turning used cell phones into cash.
Today, used cell phones is considered by some observers to be the largest market for mobile devices.
Overall, consumers will sell, or trade, over 115 million used smartphones globally in 2016. The second-hand market drives sales to the tune of more than $16bn dollars.
Despite the numerous services available to give users the chance to trade or reuse their used phones, most consumers still toss unused devices into the junk drawer at home.
A smartphone's second life is becoming increasingly important.
"There is a customer wish to update to have the most useful devices," said Ed Marsden, telecom lead for Deloitte, a professional services firm. "Savvy teens beg their parents to update their phone in the hopes they will, in turn, gain from an improved hand-me-down."
Besides the potential upgrade, smartphones hold enormous quantities of recyclable elements and plastics. Rare earth elements, principally quarried in China can be recycled and converted. Toxic metals, such as lead, can be disposed of correctly.
Deloitte highlights the second-hand demand as just one of several learnings it thinks will impact the telecom industry. Among its predictions:
• Evolving usage patterns
• Increased photo-sharing, and
The number of cell phone users in Latin America is growing but at a slower pace. eMarketer estimates the number of people, in Latin America, of any age, who owned, at least, one cell phone slid up only a little over 4 percent in 2014 to hit just over 395 million. Approximately a third of the users lived in Brazil. Mexico and Colombia were second and third respectively while Argentina's 30 million users came in fourth.
eMarketer expects that overall mobile phone growth rates will grow at a pace barely above population growth in the region. Mobile internet is the real growth story in South America. This means that the current levels of mobile device adoptions are almost full, and future growth will come from the substitution of feature-filled phones with those having more advanced Internet-enabled devices.
While Argentina is expected to add just over 7.9 million phone internet users by 201, the group of countries outside Brazil, Mexico Argentina is estimated to reach over 108 million by 2013 — up from 65 million in 2015.
The use of second-hand phones is an increasing trend in Vietnam including rural areas where the largest percentage of the population are farmers.
Many individuals, including the youth, are accepting second-hand phones with inexpensive sim cards. Nguyen Viet Hung says he can purchase a discounted sim for just VND 50,000. The same card would cost up to 170,000 with Vinaphone.
"It's easy for me to switch my cell phone whenever I like, and my buddies and I find it interesting," he says.
Hung's mate Minh Thai says that instead of using new, costly phones many friends find a second-hand mobile for their different shape and functions.
"I gather used second-hand phones. They don't cost over VND300,000 (approximately $13.00USD) each," said Thai.
When looking to buy a phone Hung and his friends don't have to look far. Thai says one can find a seller online instead of digging through old phones at a pawn shop. Thai does admit that collecting old phones costs a good amount of time. For example, "I lately had to drive from Ha Noi to Hai Duong to buy a very used phone for VND 150,000 from a friend."
Telecommunication charges in Viet Nam are cheap as in other countries in the region. Ninety percent of almost 157 subscribers are mobile phone users, and the normal density is 181 phones per 100 people — and there are 25 million Internet users.
"Internet and telecommunications have reached stable growth rates, but it is not developed equally among locales," says Dan Huu former head of the National Steering Committee.
"More incentive policies for companies to invest in the Internet and promote eGovernment, and other public online services, are necessary," he adds.
Based on a study of over 5,500 consumers in America, the technology research company Gartner discovered that almost two-thirds of phones are given a another life. While some are marketed as used, others are returned in as a trade-in for the next smartphone. Almost 25 percent of smartphones in America are presented to family members as hand-me-downs, and only 7 percent of smartphones are recycled.
Gartner reports that the replacement period is down to 19 months on average, and over 50 percent of the "geek" market replace their phone in under a year.
Gartner found that over 55 million renovated phones were marketed to a consumer in 2014 — a business worth over 7 billion dollars. The second-hand business is larger when the developing world market is included.
The market for used cell phones is volatile which makes the smart phone price all over the map.
Prices can range, on any given phone, from the ridiculously cheap to the almost-like-new price. Variables include age of the phone, features, condition and the city where the phone is sold.
Many services have developed to provide a "guesstimate" on the value of a given phone. Consult these online services and compare those prices with ones locally before buying — or selling — a used cell phone.
