Every quarter we compile data about the mobile device trade-in market. We look at the most-traded devices, the phones with the highest trade-in value, the money returned to consumers over the quarter, and more.

There’s a certain degree of consistency each quarter, but it’s good to have the baseline data to examine as industry trends come and go.

It seems like everyone has had "that" friend at some point in their lives. The one who stretches the limits of a “friends and family” discount at their place of work.

We might think this is harmless enough—after all, will a company really notice such a minor exception to the rule?

But no matter how you look at it, this is a form of fraud.

It seems like we’re just now starting to see the impact Apple’s iPhone 7 release has had on the secondary smartphone market. And yet, the latest-and-greatest iPhone is coming quickly.

Details about the iPhone 8 are still unclear, but it’s never too early to predict how the secondary market will react to the Q4 influx of used devices and trade-ins.

On April 22nd, we celebrated the 47^th annual Earth Day with the rest of the world. The modern environmental movement that started in 1970 has never been more relevant than it is today—especially as the volume of electronics in the world increases exponentially.

For the average consumer, purchasing a new smartphone might seem like the most complicated purchase they can make—maybe aside from a house or a car.

However, the complicated phone-buying process overshadows an equally mysterious process—trading in a used device.

With consumers trading-in their mobile devices more frequently when they purchase new ones, wireless carriers, retailers and OEMs have taken notice and started to include the sale of pre-owned devices in their promotional efforts.

For customers to qualify for some of the best deals for new devices, they must know how to trade-in their old devices.

The Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem of devices, both new and refurbished, has enabled communities, business and consumers to digitally integrate all aspects of their life and work functions.

I remember the last time I went in to buy a new mobile phone at a carrier store—the store was small, located in an outdoor mall.

Inside, there were three sales reps helping different customers and a few groups of people ahead of me, in line. It took about 20 minutes, for which I browsed in the crowded store, until someone was able to help me.

Many service providers today use trade-in and mobile phone buy backs strategies to incentivize customers financially or encourage them to donate their old phones to worthy causes.

One of the main challenges to programs like these, is being able to quickly answer a customer’s question—"how much?".

It’s especially difficult when the customer is standing right in front of one of your retail reps and a line is forming behind them.

Capturing a consumer’s attention is never easy. What's even harder—is to convince them to try something they haven’t even thought about.

That’s the battle retailers and carriers face as they try to convince consumers of the value of trading in used mobile devices.

A majority of consumers in the U.S., Australia and other countries, have been slow to embrace mobile buyback solutions and trade-in programs, and these devices end up forgotten in drawers or at the bottom of landfills, all over the world.