It appears that Apple's two newest flagship devices, the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus, are easily beating the iPhone 5S and the iPhone 5C in terms of resale value.
The latest iPhone models were officially made available to stores worldwide in September of last year (and then in October for the Chinese market), and then proceeded to become two of the best selling smartphones of all time. This resulted to record sales numbers for Apple, which managed to sell a staggering 74.5 million units of iPhones during the final quarter of last year, a 46 percent improvement over last year's figures during the same quarter.
But how will the new iPhones fare in the resale market? Gene Munster, an analyst from investment firm Piper Jaffray, monitored the new iPhones as well as the iPhone 5S and the iPhone 5C as they are being resold via eBay in the United States and via Taobao in China. Munster found that the latest iPhone models resold for a higher value compared to the previous iPhone models.
Used or second hard iPhones being sold online are nothing new, and nine months after their release, lots of iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus units are already appearing for sale in sites like eBay and Taobao. But what is remarkable is the marked increase in resale value for the newer models. Indeed, iPhone 6 units were selling on eBay for 72 percent of their original prices. For iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C models, they were selling for only 60 percent and 48 percent, respectively, of their retail prices (also at nine months after their launch).
In Taobao, China's answer to eBay, the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus were selling for 73 percent of their original prices, eight months after they were released. iPhone 5's numbers? They are at 65 percent and 53 percent for the iPhone 5S and the iPhone 5C, respectively, also eight months after launch.
Not many people may see the significance of studying the resale value of the iPhone 6. But it does indicate that despite being resold, the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus are still selling, and at a higher price at that. In other words, the demand for the devices are clearly high, even in the resale market. And the fact that the resale value is relatively increasing, it might suggest that consumers are willing to pay a higher price than before for an iPhone 6 being sold on eBay or Taobao. It is not clear though if this trend will continue, but for those who are thinking of selling their iPhone 6 units online, now may be the right time to do so.
