iPhone retains $128 more value over time than Apple's competition, iPad worth $67 more

Posted:
in iPhone edited July 2015
A survey of secondary market pricing for dozens of smartphone and tablet models has found that the iPhone and iPad carry significant resale premiums over their competitors, which which is expected to bode well for Apple among customers looking to upgrade to the company's latest devices.

Cowen and Company


Analyst Timothy Acuri of Cowen and Company looked into resale values of 40 different smartphone models and 23 different "premium" tablets released over the last four years. His data found that the iPhone carries an average premium of $128 over competitors, while the iPad is on average worth $67 more.

"Our data suggests this is largely independent of the duration the product has been on the market, even (3 to 4 years) out when virtually all other competing values have virtually no value," Acuri said. "Given an extremely thriving secondary market, this premium is effectively a subsidy for consumers."

In his eyes, the data shows that the market places a great value on gaining access to Apple's hardware and software ecosystem. It also suggests that resales of Apple products could become a key driver for product upgrades, and could be a key factor in Apple maintaining pricing premiums.

There are a number of companies online, such as Gazelle, NextWorth, uSell, Amazon and eBay, that offer cash or gift cards in return for trade-ins of Apple products. A breakdown of product values through these partners can be found in the official AppleInsider Trade-In Guide.

While trade-in services offer quick convenience, Acuri noted that listing products on eBay or Craigslist will unsurprisingly yield the highest return on electronics, given the lack of an intermediary party.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 18
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by sog35 View Post

     

    The iPad numbers are BS.  You can't give away a 2 year old Android tablet. 

     

    Here are the Gazelle stats

    1 year old Nexus 10 - 16 GB $117

    1 year old Kindle Fire HD 8.9 - 16GB $39. LOLOLOLOLLLLOL

    1 year old Galaxy SAMDUNG 10.1 $76. LOLLLLLOOLOL

    1 year old Kindle Fire 7.0 - 16 GB $10 LOLLLLOLOL

     

    1 year old iPad4 - 16 GB $230

     

    Difference is $113 - $220


    Read---

     

    "While trade-in services offer quick convenience, Acuri noted that listing products on eBay or Craigslist will unsurprisingly yield the highest return on electronics, given the lack of an intermediary party."

  • Reply 2 of 18
    where is the actual study?
    is the graph it??
    I am guessing the pink ones are iPhone.
    but why so many??
    it's a bit confusing
  • Reply 3 of 18

    "There are a number of companies online, such as GazelleNextWorthuSellAmazonand eBay, that offer cash or gift cards in return for trade-ins of Apple products."

  • Reply 4 of 18
    danoxdanox Posts: 2,853member
    The resale value of Apple's used products are a lot higher across the board, part of the reason is because of the longer software support.
  • Reply 6 of 18

    Isn't it amazing how much some people will pay for old shit?

  • Reply 7 of 18
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by sog35 View Post

     

     

    That BS.  How the hell do they know how much a product actually sold for with private parties?  All they can see the list price or auction price on ebay/craigslist. 

     

    The prices I listed were Gazelle prices (not a trade in service).  They are talking about trading in your phone with your carrier of at an Apple store.


    You don't know sold prices for Craigslist, but you can see the sold prices for completed listing on eBay (you have to select it in the left column). But seller must take into account all the fees associated with using eBay (eBay 10%, Paypal ~3%, shipping if included).

     

    There are no fees with Craigslist, but it can be more of a hassle (making appointments with buyers, meeting at a safe public location, etc.).

     

    Of the other services, Amazon tends to pay the most, but you have to be willing to accept credit to your Amazon account or a gift card. 

  • Reply 8 of 18
    akqiesakqies Posts: 768member
    Isn't it amazing how much some people will pay for old shit?

    It is but I also shows that even with electronics that we tend to see as disposable if you don't let bean counters design your products and you make a quality product with quality materials it will outlast it's weaker competitors.
  • Reply 9 of 18
    herbapouherbapou Posts: 2,228member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by BNZ V3 View Post

     

    Read---

     

    "While trade-in services offer quick convenience, Acuri noted that listing products on eBay or Craigslist will unsurprisingly yield the highest return on electronics, given the lack of an intermediary party."


     

    Indeed.  here are my recent upgrades using kijiji, a canadian resale website with free ads.

     

    Upgrade ipad 3 32g 4g to ipad air 64g wifi:  ipad3 advertise at $400, sold $350 in less than 24 hours. Received around 30 responses.

    Upgrade macbook air 2012 to 27" imac late 2013: MBA advertise at $1000, sold at $900 after 2 days. Received around 10 responses.

    Upgrade late 2009 27" imac to late 2012 27" imac:  iMac advertise at $1100, sold at $950 after 5 days. Received around 10 responses.

    Upgrade iphone 3gs to iphone 4s: Advertise 3gs at $200, sold at $180 after 2 hours. Received 100+ responses.

     

    Looking at prices, duration and number of views on kijiji, its pretty obvious right there that android devices and PC's have horrible resale values.

  • Reply 10 of 18

    Also note that Target is giving out $200 for the ipad first gen.  I just did this deal last night.  It's an outlier but should be counted since it's a 6 day event and there's no limit to how many transactions they're doing.. unlike say a Black Friday $100 for an iPad Air type of deal where there's really only 3 at that price.

     

    I've been saying for a while now that the Apple products are actually less expensive to all my Android fanboy friends.  I'm glad there's finally a study that shows what I've been saying.  With resale in the picture I'm actually getting paid to upgrade my phone every 2 years!  I know I'm paying for it in the monthly fees but so is everyone (android) else and I don't see them getting paid to upgrade.

     

    I'd like to see a real study on the laptops, desktops, etc etc as well.

  • Reply 11 of 18

    No kidding, I have been doing that for free upgrade of my phone every 2 years.  Since the iPhone 5 is quite good, I may buy the iPhone 6 and sell it immediately to make it cover the cost and the phone bill as well.  Ka-chin.....

  • Reply 12 of 18
    homiehomie Posts: 44member
    I sold my 64GB AT&T iPad 3 for $450 October 12. That is 51% after 18 mos if I include the 7% tax I paid. Sure I could have spent half as much on a Kindle or Nexus. But I would have lost the same $400 through resale value. That makes the total expenditure almost dead even. I'll take the iPad thanks.
  • Reply 13 of 18
    akqiesakqies Posts: 768member
    homie wrote: »
    I sold my 64GB AT&T iPad 3 for $450 October 12. That is 51% after 18 mos if I include the 7% tax I paid. Sure I could have spent half as much on a Kindle or Nexus. But I would have lost the same $400 through resale value. That makes the total expenditure almost dead even. I'll take the iPad thanks.

    Both longevity of use through better materials, better construction, and longterm SW updates, as well as resale value of Apple's products are highly under considered by those that think Apple's products cost too much. Especially on internet forums where some people read about some component costs or Apple's profit margins without considering why Apple can demand a higher price or how Apple has invested billions in creating a much more cost efficient product.
  • Reply 14 of 18
    I sold my iPhone 3G a few months ago for £75 (less ebay fees).

    Great for me but the people buying these things for this amount must be insane. They quite clearly just want an Apple device over anything else. But that phone was seriously slow an annoying by the time I sold it. Couldn't even keep up with typing.
  • Reply 15 of 18
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by akqies View Post





    Both longevity of use through better materials, better construction, and longterm SW updates, as well as resale value of Apple's products are highly under considered by those that think Apple's products cost too much. Especially on internet forums where some people read about some component costs or Apple's profit margins without considering why Apple can demand a higher price or how Apple has invested billions in creating a much more cost efficient product.

    On top of that think of the environmental benefit of actually being able to buy, sell, and reuse equipment. Rather than making throw away phones that have little to no resale worth.

  • Reply 16 of 18
    fallenjtfallenjt Posts: 4,054member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by BNZ V3 View Post

     

    Read---

     

    "While trade-in services offer quick convenience, Acuri noted that listing products on eBay or Craigslist will unsurprisingly yield the highest return on electronics, given the lack of an intermediary party."


    Correct. No hassle for me at all on ebay: iPad 3 32GB sold within 24 hrs listing for $350. Gazelle gave me $230. Both I have to ship anyway. So I chose eBay and ship to a buyer. BTW, my iPhone 5 16GB was sold for $450 on eBay too.

  • Reply 17 of 18
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post

    Cowen and Company  

     

    image

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