CExchange Sees Huge Trading Volume on iPhones

CExchange.com offers up a very handy service – it provides electronic trade-in, recycling and asset recovery services, a platform that enables its customers to buy up older mobile phones (in addition to myriad other types of electronics) that mobile users may be stuck with in the middle of contracts when new smartphones are emerging that they would much rather have. In the meantime, the market for the majority of older smartphones remains quite hot, so that trades end up working on both ends of the buy-sell spectrum.

CExchange currently works with over 40 customers (including eBay, Walmart, Crutchfield, US Cellular, and the Microsoft Store) that are in the business of handling electronics trades and services, and one valuable thing that CExchange comes away with from its customer relationships is extensive and timely data on what is being traded. The data is gathered in a report dubbed the Trade Interest Index, and it tracks trade-in activity and interest across the CExchange customer base as new products – in our case today, smartphones - are announced and released.

As the iPhone 5 moved from rumor to official release, and as the official on-sale day of September 21, 2012 rapidly approaches, iPhone trade-in rates have gone through a very interesting pattern. CExchange uses predictive data tested against years of device re-selling and trade-in programs to evaluate how current trade-in interest compares to announcement-day of the iPhone 4, the types of devices most commonly “ditched” today for the latest and greatest, and the real time conversion rates resulting from today’s actual iPhone 5 announcement.

Relative to the iPhone 5 announcement, CExchange has made note of the following trends:  

• On the day of the announcement: Following a quiet morning, mobile phone orders jumped up nearly 70 percent day over day as soon as the iPhone 5 announcement was unveiled, confirming that customers know that prices typically drop post-announcement and are ready to commit to selling now. Tuesday, September 11 2012, was already up 60 percent from the previous day.
• On the day of the announcement: Following the announcement of the iPhone 5’s specifications, all other manufacturers brands dropped in trade interest by 50 percent day over day! What does that say? Perhaps the competitors are less than impressed with the iPhone 5 features?
• As of September 17 2012: Current trade volume shows that of all iPhones being traded for the new device, 75 percent are iPhone 4 and 4S devices, with the iPhone 4S comprising 30 percent and the older iPhone 4 making up 45 percent.
• CURRENTLY, as we write:  Almost 85 percent of all trades for the last two days have been iPhones!

Is it the larger screen, faster processor, SIRI or other features that are driving interest in the iPhone 5? Unfortunately, the CExchange data doesn’t provide such insights. What it does do, however, is tell us that trade-in interest is huge and that there is absolutely no doubt that there is truly unparalleled interest in trades for the iPhone 5. It foretells an unprecedented impending launch.

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