Apple court win triggers resale price drop for Android, Samsung devices
The resale market for Android-based smartphones is reportedly suffering from Apple's $1.05 billion patent trial win on Friday, with at least one major resale site seeing a flood of customers dumping their Samsung devices.
According to online electronics resale site Gazelle.com, the amount of people unloading their Samsung handsets jumped 50 percent over the past three days, causing a 10 percent drop in prices for the devices, reports MarketWatch.
Thought to be driving the second-hand sales is Apple's convincing win against the Korean electronics giant, which was found to have violated of six of Apple's design and utility patents.
?Consumers seem to be jumping ship,? said Gazelle.com chief gadget officer Anthony Scarsella. ?We expect this trend to continue, especially with this latest verdict.?
Experts say the recent Apple v. Samsung court decision is creating instability in the Android market as consumers are uncertain about upgrading their devices. Because smartphone users become accustomed to how their device operates, a sudden removal or change in features could put off would-be upgraders.
?Android customers are no longer sure of that,? said president of TechBargains.com Yung Trang, in regard to a stable Android feature set.
Another resale site, NextWorth.com, notes the price drops will add to the already low resale value of Android devices. For example, the Samsung S II sells for the same $199 on contract as the a 16GB iPhone 4S, but currently holds a $90 resale value. In contrast, iPhone 4S sells for as much as $300, allowing NextWorth.com users to make a profit on the carrier-subsidized price.
The situation is likely to get worse for Android handset makers, and more specifically Samsung, as Apple is currently going after a sales ban of eight smartphones made by the Korean company.
According to online electronics resale site Gazelle.com, the amount of people unloading their Samsung handsets jumped 50 percent over the past three days, causing a 10 percent drop in prices for the devices, reports MarketWatch.
Thought to be driving the second-hand sales is Apple's convincing win against the Korean electronics giant, which was found to have violated of six of Apple's design and utility patents.
?Consumers seem to be jumping ship,? said Gazelle.com chief gadget officer Anthony Scarsella. ?We expect this trend to continue, especially with this latest verdict.?
Experts say the recent Apple v. Samsung court decision is creating instability in the Android market as consumers are uncertain about upgrading their devices. Because smartphone users become accustomed to how their device operates, a sudden removal or change in features could put off would-be upgraders.
?Android customers are no longer sure of that,? said president of TechBargains.com Yung Trang, in regard to a stable Android feature set.
Another resale site, NextWorth.com, notes the price drops will add to the already low resale value of Android devices. For example, the Samsung S II sells for the same $199 on contract as the a 16GB iPhone 4S, but currently holds a $90 resale value. In contrast, iPhone 4S sells for as much as $300, allowing NextWorth.com users to make a profit on the carrier-subsidized price.
The situation is likely to get worse for Android handset makers, and more specifically Samsung, as Apple is currently going after a sales ban of eight smartphones made by the Korean company.
Comments
How much does garbage resale for anyway? Didn't think you get much when just about every Android device is buy-1-get-1 free.
This just goes to show the value inherent in Apple products and how long-term that value lasts.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SolipsismX
I don't understand why that would happen because of the court case.
As the AI article notes, it has to do with the "...uncertainty in upgrading their devices."
Sounds perfectly reasonable to me: buying into both software and hardware updates could be in a state of flux while Samsung sorts out the mess it's got itself into.
It's been all over the news so a great many people that had no idea what was going on now know. It could actually turn out to be a blessing in disguise. Someone looking for a cheap alternative from buying a pre-owned iPhone might pick up a Android phone instead. I'd jump at the chance to pick up an international SGS ll for my girlfriend to replace her 3GS that's been acting up as of late.
Quote:
a state of flux while Samsung sorts out the mess it's got itself into.
and are continuing to dig deeper. Anyone seen this? they don't seem to learn - http://www.cultofmac.com/187428/now-samsung-is-ripping-off-apples-os-x-dock-for-their-windows-8-machines/
The problems with your existing Samsung device are probably not made worse by this case: Android ALREADY delivered few (and badly late) software updates to most people.
But that's been the case with Android-based devices from day one. And it's not like there devices stopped working so were these just back up smartphones or are they planning to buy a new smartphone right away despite the next iPhone is almost a month away from being released. I can see people not buying another Android phone but you tend to keep using such devices until you get another device, not several weeks before.
I can help with that. The prevailing opinion is that Sammy will have to send out an update to remove the infringing features. Though many Sammy supporters have said things like, "No one buys a phone because of pinch-to-zoom." The fact is that people did not buy Android phones in large numbers until such features were added. And they will most certainly get rid of those phones when they no longer have those features.
I checked Gazelle and a flawless 16GB iPhone 4S on Verizon is $247 and Galaxy S III is $241. Little misleading of an post...
I'm surprised there is any resale value whatsoever for Androids. I thought Android fans were basically throwing them away after 6 months or so to get the next new model. If they are paying $90 they'll need to sell it for at least $130 or so to cover expenses. Who's buying them?
That's a SGS ll not lll. There was never a version of the SGS ll on vzw.
I've checked in the past and until the Android-based device was under a month old it was pretty damn low. It's amazing how well Apple's products hold their value for CE and also amazing that people by-and-large don't consider the resale value when considering the total cost of ownership.
Just checked historical sales on eBay. No notable change in Samsung Galaxy S III pricing... Maybe Gazelle is trying to influence short term resale pricing...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian Ward
I checked Gazelle and a flawless 16GB iPhone 4S on Verizon is $247 and Galaxy S III is $241. Little misleading of an post...
Samsung is DOOMED! LOL
But why compare the II to the 4S? The GSII dropped in price a long time ago. Looking at the newer phone would be a better measure in market reaction since it is still active. Seems like a fluff post.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SolipsismX
But that's been the case with Android-based devices from day one. And it's not like there devices stopped working so were these just back up smartphones or are they planning to buy a new smartphone right away despite the next iPhone is almost a month away from being released. I can see people not buying another Android phone but you tend to keep using such devices until you get another device, not several weeks before.
Yeah, it's strange. It's almost as if people are convinced that using Samsung phones has become illegal.
"Mom, you better get rid of your Samsung phone before you get arrested !!"
I'd like to know where they're resold. I checked ebay and craigslist and there's no noticeable drop in prices nor a great amount of phones available.
McFly, Hello,
Isn't the more likely answer that it has nothing to do with the court case but rather people who already wanted to trade in for a new iPhone in 2 weeks?
That's not a consumer led move, that's Samsung retailers dumping their phone stocks for some money before they are banned on Sept 20th. They don't want to get left with stuff they have to pay Samsung for that they can't sell!