The smartphone business is in fixed movement, formed by the newest expertise launches, shifting provide chains, and a mixture of world financial elements. These modifications don’t simply impression new machine gross sales, they’ve a direct impact on the thriving secondary market, the place demand for reasonably priced and high-quality pre-owned gadgets is rising quickly.
On this B-Inventory Q&A, we join with Joe Dube, Director of Cell Accounts, to get his perspective on the present panorama of the pre-owned cell market, what developments he anticipates within the yr forward, and a few private insights from his journey within the business.
Should you needed to sum up in a single phrase, how would you describe the present state of the pre-owned cell market proper? Why?
Maturing.
The pre-owned cell market is getting into a brand new part of sophistication and scale. Stakeholders now acknowledge the immense alternative within the secondary market, and we’re seeing fast developments in how gadgets are sourced, assessed, and offered. Commerce-in applications are extra strong than ever, grading and triage processes have turn into more and more exact and environment friendly, because of improvements like AI-powered diagnostics and automatic inspection techniques, and carriers and OEMs are leveraging knowledge and analytics to optimize pricing and channel technique, maximizing restoration and minimizing danger.
This maturation is clear throughout the availability chain: from improved refurbishment requirements and shopper belief in pre-owned gadgets, to the rise of licensed applications and larger concentrate on sustainability. The market isn’t just growing-it’s evolving, with each hyperlink within the provide chain changing into extra analytical, technology-driven, and centered on extracting the very best attainable worth.
Any knowledge factors or developments take you abruptly in Q1?
Probably the most vital development in Q1 was a return to market normalcy. We noticed customary month-to-month depreciation charges within the 2–4% vary, with no main pricing swings or sudden shifts. In distinction to final yr, when the market noticed unusually robust pricing and fewer depreciation, significantly over the summer time months, in Q1 pricing adopted a extra typical sample of gradual depreciation, reflecting a extra steady setting.
What could be your primary piece of recommendation/or message for OEMs and carriers proper now?
My high piece of recommendation for OEMs and carriers is to take a very end-to-end strategy to the secondary market. It’s not nearly offloading pre-owned devices-it’s about understanding and optimizing each step of the method. Partnering with the precise specialists at every stage is crucial; the standard of your companions immediately impacts the worth you’ll be able to get better, your model status, and your skill to scale sustainably. By investing in robust, data-driven partnerships, you’ll maximize the lifetime worth of your gadgets and place your group for long-term success.
You had been lately the recipient of a “Professionals to Know” award. Do you will have any ideas you’d prefer to share?
I used to be actually honored to be acknowledged as a 2025 Professional to Know. The award displays the modern, data-driven strategy B-Inventory brings to the cell secondary market and the resale ecosystem. With the pre-owned cell market outpacing the expansion of the first market, and with developments in trade-in and resale applied sciences, we’re uniquely positioned to assist wi-fi carriers and OEMs maximize worth and prolong machine lifecycles. We allow our companions to navigate a quickly maturing market and unlock new alternatives for tens of tens of millions of pre-owned gadgets.
What would you say to your youthful self simply getting began on this business?
I’d inform myself that no person has all of it figured out-even the most important of firms aren’t at all times absolutely optimized. There’s at all times room to enhance, study, and develop. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, and don’t simply accept figuring out how issues are done- dig slightly deeper to know the why. That curiosity will assist you to see alternatives others may miss and make an actual distinction as you develop in your profession.
Trying forward, when you needed to checklist your high 5 ‘issues to observe for’ as an business in 2025, what would they be?
Trying forward, I feel there are a number of key developments set to form the pre-owned cell market. First, the impression of recent and proposed tariffs on imported electronics may considerably elevate costs for lower-grade gadgets and parts, significantly these coming from main commerce companions like China. This might speed up a shift towards extra home refurbishment and restore operations within the U.S., as firms search for methods to manage prices and reduce provide chain disruptions. If tariffs do drive up costs for brand spanking new and imported gadgets, we are able to anticipate to see elevated demand for restore providers and a renewed concentrate on getting essentially the most worth out of gadgets already in circulation.
On the identical time, the adoption of robotics and AI is reworking how gadgets are processed, triaged, and graded. Automated techniques are making evaluations quicker, extra constant, and extra exact, which helps enhance each effectivity and restoration charges. This development is prone to proceed, with robotics enjoying an even bigger function in each stage of the secondary market, from consumption to refurbishment.
We’re additionally seeing the business transfer past fundamental “buff and polish” beauty fixes. There’s now a a lot larger emphasis on substantial repairs and complete refurbishment, pushed by each shopper expectations and sustainability objectives. Consumers need high quality and affordability, and sellers are responding with larger refurbishment requirements and licensed applications that construct belief and command higher costs.
Unique gear producers, or OEMs, are additionally taking a extra lively function within the secondary market. They’re investing extra in trade-in applications, grading requirements, and resale channels, and by managing extra of the method themselves, they’re in a position to maximize the residual worth of their merchandise. That is all a part of the broader business maturation, as everybody concerned turns into extra analytical and strategic about extracting worth at each step.
And, lastly, shopper demand for pre-owned and refurbished gadgets continues to rise, fueled by environmental issues and the growing price of recent gadgets. Because the market grows, we’ll see much more innovation in round economic system fashions, with firms making recommerce a core a part of their sustainability technique.
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For a better have a look at our most up-to-date cell secondary market pricing knowledge and developments of particular top-performing fashions over Q1 2025, view our newest version of the B-Inventory Cell Insider.
