What’s the first thing you think about when you’re trading in a mobile device? For most consumers, it’s the trade-in value. And with over $400 million returning to consumer hands each quarter, it’s understandable to focus on getting the most money possible for your old device.

HYLA Mobile began investing in the secondary device market in 2009. And almost a decade later, the market has become a multi-billion-dollar industry that continues to grow year on year. In fact, research from Counterpoint has shown that the fastest growing global smartphone market last year was for refurbished smartphones, which grew by 13%. 

The shift from subsidy models to equipment installment plans (EIP) was a rocky one for consumers (at least in terms of public perception of high-priced phones).

“The goods of today are the resources of tomorrow, but at yesterday’s prices.”—Walter Stahel, Founder of the Product-Life Institute.

The iPhone 8 was recently hailed the best-selling smartphone in the world according to Counterpoint Research. Despite being based on a four-year-old design, the iPhone 8 now outsells every other smartphone, including the more advanced iPhone X.

Every quarter, we analyze the millions of data points we’ve collected regarding the mobile device trade-in market. We examine the most-traded devices, the devices with highest trade-in values, total amount of money returned to U.S. consumers, and more.

It’s been quite the rollercoaster ride for US and China on talks of trade and tariffs. I am of course referring to the Trump administration who proposed a 25% tariff on some 1,300 Chinese imports, then agreeing to suspend the $150 billion in tariffs, but soon after said the US would move forward with tariffs on $50 billion of Chinese imports.

The pre-smartphone days gave the secondary mobile device market a bad reputation.

Locked into two-year contracts for devices, any accident led to an inevitable trip to the carrier to receive a refurbished device. Malfunctioning refurbished devices caused reporters and bloggers to create content all about the dangers of embracing the secondary market.

Prior to Apple’s earnings, there was a lot of industry discussion about what its results would reveal, and how well the iPhone X had done in terms of shipments. According to newly released CIRP data, Apple’s iPhone 8 sales made up 23% of total iPhone sales for Q1, while the iPhone 8 Plus accounted for 21%, putting the lower-cost models at 44% of the market. CIRP stated that the iPhone X share fell from 20% to 16% in the December quarter, while combined sales of the iPhone 8 models rose three percentage points in the same period, up from 41%.

About a year ago, the topic of wearables was becoming a hot topic and the sense of smartwatch trade-ins had to be on the radar as new devices were being released. The secondary market for watches hadn’t formed yet, but high price points and growing sales made it seem inevitable.