Nearly 70% of American smartphone owners have never sold their old phone. Here’s why

Key Takeaways:

• Nearly 70% of US smartphone owners say they have never sold a phone they no longer need.

• More than three in four smartphone owners in the US (77%) say trade-in value did not influence their purchasing decision or was not taken into account.

• Nearly one in five (18%) are not confident in the resale value of their smartphones.

With retailers offering tempting promotions, smartphones may be high on the wish list this holiday season. While the lure of a shiny new phone can be tempting, an important consideration that is often overlooked (especially during the holiday rush) is the resale value of your old device.

A survey by CNET in collaboration with YouGov shows that resale value is not a major consideration among Americans when buying a new phone. In fact, more than three in four (77%) smartphone owners in the United States said resale value did not influence their purchasing decision or was not taken into account. According to CNET’s survey, less than one in four respondents (23%) consider trade-in value when buying a phone. This finding highlights a wide range of priorities among consumers, indicating that the importance of resale value varies widely depending on individual needs and circumstances.

Read more: Are you thinking about a new phone for the holidays? Why sales value must be top-of-mind

CNET’s report arrives just in time for the holiday season while Americans tend to spend the mostsplurging on gifts and other holiday essentials. For this report, CNET surveyed 2,400 U.S. smartphone owners over the age of 18, regardless of age and demographics.

The survey results raise questions about whether consumers are leaving money on the table, especially given the importance of trade-in deals during the phone purchasing process in the US, as well as the growing market for used smartphones.

The US refurbished and used cell phone market was estimated to reach $8.67 billion in 2023, and is expected to triple to $26.67 billion by the end of 2031, according to Zion Market Research. The iPhone’s strong reputation for value retention makes it a favorite choice for buyers looking to maximize their investment. However, resale value depends on factors such as condition, age, timing and brand.

CNET’s findings suggest that privacy concerns and a lack of clarity around the resale process are key factors for many. This underlines the need for better education and stronger protections around digital privacy

Smartphone Resale: Why Do People Hold on to Their Old Smartphones?

The holidays are not only a great time to buy; it could also be a smart time to sell. Yet CNET’s survey, conducted in November, found that nearly 70% of U.S. smartphone owners said they had never sold a phone they no longer needed, either through a trade-in deal or otherwise.

The reasons consumers gave for not selling their old phones varied, but the results indicate that most respondents either don’t want to make the effort, have no guidance on where to resell them, or are concerned about privacy. Of those who haven’t sold their devices, 33% said they don’t believe the resale price they would get is worth it. Others cited concerns about their private data when it comes to selling their smartphone, with 31% concerned about private data being left on the device. Additionally, 26% of respondents in CNET’s survey said they are concerned about the process of completely deleting their data from their device.

In addition to getting extra money, selling used smartphones can breathe new life into old devices. Used smartphones are one of the biggest contributors to global electronic waste a 2024 UN report It is estimated that 62 million tonnes of mobile phones and devices have been thrown away in just one year – a figure estimated to increase by 33% by 2030.

Still, consumer concerns about privacy are very real, and it’s easy to see why. More than 1,500 data breaches have already occurred in the first half of 2024, including prominent ones at AT&T and Ticketmaster. According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, these breaches are estimated to impact approximately one billion people.

Phone makers like Apple and Samsung are aware of these concerns and have recently rolled out privacy updates to their devices. Through Android 15, Android devices recently received an upgraded factory reset feature that allows unauthorized users to restart a phone without knowing the device’s credentials. With Apple’s latest iOS 18 update, supported iPhones got a privacy boost, including the ability to lock and hide certain apps with FaceID or a password, among other security-enhancing features.

Despite these efforts, it appears that data privacy is still keeping most smartphone owners from selling their devices.

Consumer confidence in residual value: Is your old phone worth more than you think?

Consumer confidence often plays an influential role in determining whether someone will try to resell their old device. Nearly one in five (18%) smartphone owners were not confident in the resale value of their devices. Surprisingly, LG owners reported the highest confidence in resale, with 49% expressing confidence – a percentage that surpasses Apple (42%), Samsung (34%) and Motorola (32%), according to CNET’s survey. LG released its last smartphone model in the US, the Velvet, in 2022 after exiting the smartphone business in 2021.

This level of consumer confidence also varied across demographics, with younger generations, such as Gen Z and Millennials, reporting higher levels of confidence about the resale value of their smartphones than their older boomer and Gen X counterparts. 47% of Gen Z smartphone owners and 43% of millennials said they were confident in the resale value of their devices, with the percentage dropping to 34% for Gen X and 23% for boomers – the oldest generation of the pack. In fact, a majority of the last two generations never thought about the trade-in value of their phones, or 50% of Gen X and 59% of Baby Boomers. And almost half of respondents (47%) did not value resale value.

Overall, the results show that most smartphone owners in the US avoid selling unused phones, mainly due to concerns that the effort won’t be worth the time or money, along with data privacy concerns. Perhaps that is also why the majority of those same owners do not take the trade-in value into account when purchasing a new smartphone.

Methodology

All figures unless otherwise stated are from YouGov Plc. The total sample size was 2,518 adults, of whom 2,400 owned a smartphone. The survey was conducted online from November 4 to 6, 2024. Figures are weighted and representative of all US adults (18+ years).

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