Resale value of Apple's iPhone 4 increased 10% since April, Galaxy S III dropped 27%

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
The resale value of iPhone 4 in the U.S. has actually grown by more than 10 percent since April, a new survey has found, while Samsung's smartphone lineup can't command the same used prices as Apple.

iPhone 4


Investment firm Piper Jaffray has been monitoring online auctions for popular Apple and Samsung smartphones since mid-March. Every week, analyst Gene Munster and his team look at the last 50 phones sold to determine a fair value for each.

Their data found that Apple's three-year-old iPhone 4 gained 10.31 percent in resale value on eBay since April. The iPhone 4S dropped by 11.85 percent, while the iPhone 5 slid just 3.75 percent.

During the same span, eBay prices of Samsung's Galaxy S III fell 27.32 percent, while the Galaxy Note II was off 35.54 percent.

Piper Jaffray's team also tracks the resale values of smartphones on the bidding site Taobao in China. There, the iPhone 4 also grew in value since April by 1.42 percent, while the iPhone 4 was off 14.32 percent, and the iPhone 5 fell 7.22 percent.The resale value of Apple's iPhone 4 has grown in both the U.S. and China since April, according to data from investment firm Piper Jaffray.

Again in China, Samsung's smartphones failed to hold the same resale value as Apple's. The Galaxy S III was down 24.17 percent, the Galaxy Note II fell 23.67 percent, and the company's latest flagship Galaxy S4 lost 14.39 percent of its resale value.

Munster said the fact that the iPhone 5 is holding its value better than the Galaxy S4 in China suggests that there is continuing support for Apple's flagship device. He sees this as important, with Apple "maintaining mindshare in the high-end market."

He's also encouraged by the fact that the iPhone 5 isn't rapidly declining in price, which could signal that customers are either waiting for a new model, or leaning toward Samsung's Galaxy lineup. The results are consistent with what Piper Jaffray found when it published the results of its first smartphone resale value index back in May.

Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook commented on the strong resale value of iPhones during his company's most recent quarterly earnings conference call. It's rumored that his company may join existing cash-paying trade-in services by taking trade-ins on used iPhones at Apple's retail stores, but Cook declined to confirm whether that plan is actually in the works.

"The residual value of an iPhone stays so high, and there is so much demand for it, and that makes the trade-in programs more lucrative to a win-win from many points of view," Cook said.
«13

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 52
    philboogiephilboogie Posts: 7,675member
    Another reason to get an iPhone. Happy to have a buyer for my 64GB 5.
  • Reply 2 of 52
    3eleven3eleven Posts: 87member
    I'm not sure why people use trade in programs. You get much more $$ from selling your phone on Ebay or Cragislist.
  • Reply 3 of 52
    Congrats Samsung,

    you only know that your products are really succesful if a news/fan site about your competition is actually posting half of its news about your company and products.

    It's the same impression that you get from Windows commercials about Apple products.
  • Reply 4 of 52
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Ithaine View Post



    Congrats Samsung,



    you only know that your products are really succesful if a news/fan site about your competition is actually posting half of its news about your company and products.



    It's the same impression that you get from Windows commercials about Apple products.


     


    Maybe that's why there are so many Apple hating trolls on AI. They can get more news about Samsung and Android here than on dedicated Samsung/Android web sites.

  • Reply 5 of 52
    dnd0psdnd0ps Posts: 253member


    But…But.. Samsung..

  • Reply 6 of 52
    jragostajragosta Posts: 10,473member
    lkrupp wrote: »
    Maybe that's why there are so many Apple hating trolls on AI. They can get more news about Samsung and Android here than on dedicated Samsung/Android web sites.

    Not at all. There's plenty of information on Android and Samsung products on the dedicated sites - much, much more than you'll see here.

    I think we're flooded with fandroids due to mental illness - a relative of narcissistic personality disorder. Basically, they think that the world should care what they think. It's the same reason that Mac sites were flooded with Apple haters and Windows fans in the 90s.
  • Reply 7 of 52
    dnd0psdnd0ps Posts: 253member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by jragosta View Post





    Not at all. There's plenty of information on Android and Samsung products on the dedicated sites - much, much more than you'll see here.



    I think we're flooded with fandroids due to mental illness - a relative of narcissistic personality disorder. Basically, they think that the world should care what they think. It's the same reason that Mac sites were flooded with Apple haters and Windows fans in the 90s.


    They can quote us, disagree with us, glorify or vilify us. About the only thing they can't do is ignore us.

  • Reply 8 of 52
    solomansoloman Posts: 228member
    Maybe because of the increased demand from people with cracked iPhone 4
  • Reply 9 of 52
    3eleven wrote: »
    I'm not sure why people use trade in programs. You get much more $$ from selling your phone on Ebay or Cragislist.

    I hear you. I have thought about it, too. I believe some people prefer to go to a store and get some money for their device and apply that money right there and then towards a new one rather than, say, post the device on eBay (some people don't have an eBay account or know how to sell on eBay), then wait (some people don't like having to wait at all), get paid via PayPal (which means the money isn't available right away), then pack and ship the device (there's cost involved in packaging and shipping), wait for the PayPal payment to actually go through, then transfer the money from PayPal to a personal bank account. And don't forget that besides shipping cost there's also the eBay fee. So... some people figure they rather avoid all that "work" and prefer the instant gratification of being able to go to a store, get some money "now," and apply it to buy a new device "now."
  • Reply 10 of 52


    This is exactly what I do....I can't wait to trade in my 4s for a 5c or 5s. Drop Sprint like I dropped ATT and maybe go with Walmart.

  • Reply 11 of 52
    abazigalabazigal Posts: 114member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by 3Eleven View Post



    I'm not sure why people use trade in programs. You get much more $$ from selling your phone on Ebay or Cragislist.


    Convenience, probably. I don't have to go through the hassle of putting up a notice, waiting for a buyer to approach me, and meet up with them (and run the risk of getting scammed). 


     


    With such trade-in programs, I expect the process to be a lot more streamlined. Walk in, get a new phone, trade in my old iphone, pay the difference. I can see a lot of people going for that inconvenience, especially if they are not all that comfortable with selling goods online. 


  • Reply 12 of 52
    mauszmausz Posts: 243member


    Increased 10% from ? and decreased 27% from ?


     


    How can you report relative numbers per device, without mentioning the previous absolute value

  • Reply 13 of 52
    solomansoloman Posts: 228member
    This is exactly what I do....I can't wait to trade in my 4s for a 5c or 5s. Drop Sprint like I dropped ATT and maybe go with Walmart.

    High end phone with low end service, I just don't get it.
  • Reply 14 of 52
    jungmarkjungmark Posts: 6,926member
    soloman wrote: »
    Maybe because of the increased demand from people with cracked iPhone 4

    A cracked iPhone 4 is still a better buy than a operational GS3.

    I heard that Sammy is anonymously buying all those used Galaxies and Notes to artificially increase the resale value.
  • Reply 15 of 52
    solomansoloman Posts: 228member
    jungmark wrote: »
    A cracked iPhone 4 is still a better buy than a operational GS3.

    I heard that Sammy is anonymously buying all those used Galaxies and Notes to artificially increase the resale value.

    Name your source.
  • Reply 16 of 52
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by dnd0ps View Post


    But…But.. Samsung..



     


    Easily explained by the Samdroids over on C|net. You see, since Samsung releases new, more powerful, more feature laden devices on a daily basis, of course the older versions are going to drop in resale value as vast hoards of people update their day old Samsung phones with the new ones. Apple only releases one crappy model per year so old iPhones are scarce and therefore more costly. It has nothing to do with quality. Samsung is the best hardware available so people always want the latest miracle device they come out with. Old Samsung devices are worthless in the face of the innovation engine steamroller that is Samsung.


     


    Go ahead, ask 'em. They'll set you straight.

  • Reply 17 of 52


    This accounts for at least part of the gains Samsung is making compared to Apple in new phone sales. There's a robust market for pre-owned iPhones and these don't show up in the new phone sales numbers. Whereas nobody wants a used Samsung.


     


    I went through three Android phones in as many years before I got my 4S, which I've now owned for almost 2 years (October). So, that's roughly 2 Android phones to one iPhone for a similar time frame.

  • Reply 18 of 52
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    soloman wrote: »
    Maybe because of the increased demand from people with cracked iPhone 4

    Shut up and go away.
  • Reply 19 of 52
    solomansoloman Posts: 228member
    Shut up and go away.

    Will not and you're unable to see the obvious truth.
  • Reply 20 of 52
    solomansoloman Posts: 228member
    jragosta wrote: »
    Not at all. There's plenty of information on Android and Samsung products on the dedicated sites - much, much more than you'll see here.

    I think we're flooded with fandroids due to mental illness - a relative of narcissistic personality disorder. Basically, they think that the world should care what they think. It's the same reason that Mac sites were flooded with Apple haters and Windows fans in the 90s.

    So what's the disorder of many on here that will quickly mention Android in the comments of an article that has nothing to do with Android? Now that's truly sad and pathetic.
Sign In or Register to comment.