Russians actively bought used and discounted smartphones in 2023

Citizens have been actively buying used and discounted smartphones throughout the past year, according to data from telecom operators and representatives of marketplaces and retailers. At the end of 2023, about 9 million such devices were sold in the country, Avito calculated. Mostly citizens buy used smartphones from Apple and Samsung. The increased demand for discounted Apple devices could be a consequence of the fact that the new iPhone 12th, 13th and 14th Pro version smartphones have already been sold out in the Russian Federation, and the demand for the iPhone 15 Pro for 190 thousand rubles. very limited.

At the end of 2023, sales of used and discounted smartphones in the MTS network doubled in physical terms and 2.5 times in monetary terms, a representative of the operator told Kommersant. According to him, the most popular smartphones in their network were the iPhone 11 and iPhone 12. A similar trend was observed at MegaFon. A company representative claims that sales of used smartphones in the operator’s network have increased fourfold in monetary terms and by 149% in physical terms. The most popular brand was South Korean Samsung. “65% of orders in the “discount” category are Apple mobile phones, the rest of the sales come from Samsung and other brands,” a Yandex Market representative confirms the trend. According to Avito, in total 9 million used smartphones were sold in 2023.

The reason for the increase in demand for used phones from well-known brands is the increase in prices for new ones and problems with their supply and maintenance, experts say. TelecomDaily CEO Denis Kuskov claims that due to the high cost of new Apple and Samsung smartphones, as well as the lack of a warranty from the manufacturer due to the freezing of direct supplies, Russians prefer to purchase new smartphones from Chinese vendors. “But sales of used Apple and Samsung devices are gradually growing: the cost of a used smartphone is several times lower than the price of a new gadget, and there is still a consumer desire to buy a device from these vendors,” he emphasizes.

At the same time, Kommersant noticed that large electronics networks such as M.Video, Citylink or re:Store do not have iPhone 12 Pro and 13 Pro smartphones available. Those that are on sale, for example on marketplaces, are not much cheaper than the new smartphone of the latest iPhone 15 Pro model. So, on Yandex Market, an iPhone 12 Pro with 512 GB costs 166 thousand rubles. At M.Video, the new iPhone 15 Pro with 512 GB costs 177–190 thousand rubles.

According to the founder of the Telegram channel “Surkov on Marketing” Alexander Surkov, due to the lack of offers for new smartphones iPhone 12, 13 and 14 Pro versions and the high price of the latest model of Apple smartphone, Russians turned their attention to the market for used devices.

Seller data confirms this. One of Kommersant’s interlocutors among retailers added that active demand for previous models of Apple smartphones was observed in December-January, during the New Year holidays, and “now retailers are selling the remnants of previous models of the Pro version of Apple smartphones.” M.Video-Eldorado says that, despite the fact that the previous generations of the Pro version have been discontinued, the “younger” iPhone 12 and 13 models are in demand among buyers as the most affordable options. The absence of Pro models of the 12th, 13th and 14th series of smartphones in the Citilink assortment is due to the official discontinuation of these devices by Apple, Pavel Rabotenko, head of the Telecom Mobile CL procurement group at Citilink, told Kommersant. “Because of this factor, these models will most likely no longer appear in Citylink,” says Mr. Rabotenko. According to him, the demand for Apple smartphones on their network in October-December increased by 62% in physical terms and by 71% in monetary terms compared to the previous quarter of 2023.

Timofey Kornev