Did You Know: The used mobile phones market is expected to grow to US$ 47 billion by the year 2031?
What if we tell you that you can take advantage of this massive bull market? Like, right now?
Yes!
You can add another stream of revenue to your repair shop software by selling used phones.
Let us explain with some tips for selling used phones.
Understand the Market
Due to rising costs, consumer demand for used mobile phones is increasing. This trend comes on the back of such issues as rising global inflation and the COVID-19 pandemic; among other things.
Multiple factors have bolstered the demand for pre-owned mobile phones – we’ve listed a few of the most prominent ones as follows:
- Newly released mobile phones come with higher price tags, making their affordability a popular issue.
- Low mobile phone prices allow people to obtain newer models – in line with their desire to keep abreast of the latest in tech.
- A lot of customers only want a certain cell phone model for a short period; making used devices an attractive option.
- Consumers have become increasingly conscious of the detrimental impact of cell phone production on their ecological environment. Making do with used phones, then, makes more conservation sense.
Now if you’ve got your finger on the market pulse, these points should be enough to convince you to include used phone sales in your offered services portfolio. The demand for such devices, as stated, is only set to increase.
Find Your Approach
Being new to the trade, we understand that you won’t know much about where to start. So it’s our intention to guide you on the operational layout of the entire occupation – from start to finish.
Broadly, the ‘selling used cell phones’ process can be divided into two phases:
Phase 1: Sourcing the best used phones to buy and sell in 2020
Phase 2: Selling them
So here goes!
Know the Sales Trends
Used smartphones can help grow your repair store. Before you jump onto any new thing, you obviously need to be on top of your market research game.
Research, of course, allows you to size up the sales and purchasing trends currently underway in the field – as well as those expected to take root. This knowledge provides a good, intuitive angle for strategizing sales. Focusing on procuring and displaying the exact models which make for a decent sell.
Enabling optimal resource allocation towards more profitable ends, in other words.
Another effective ideation technique is to conduct a customer demand survey on your social media platforms. This will help you to define your buyer persona – a crucial first step if you want to sell effectively.
To automate the process, you can resort to the use of a powerful POS software – which would allow you to generate an item-wise sales report. Also a one-stop solution for overviewing all manner of prevailing market sales trends.
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Always go armed with these insights.
Connect With Your Suppliers
The next step is to connect with a reliable supplier. Or several. Go for bulk orders – a no-brainer if you want to avail group discounts.
Further, when purchasing from wholesale suppliers, you can even get used phones from manufacturers – sometimes even at factory rates – at less than their retail prices.
Another benefit of getting devices from a supplier is that they come rigorously tested – for full functionality – by their in-house team of specialists. This scrutiny ensures that they arrive in excellent condition for resale.
The cosmetic brushing part of this treatment is a big plus, as you may guess. Minimizes your daily dusting effort – just ask any (grateful) storeowner.
Another benefit of shaking hands with a decent supplier is hassle-free purchasing. Not to mention the Safe-Return procedures and Money-Back guarantee provisions. A big save on time and energy.
Now we’re going to enter into phase 2; directly concerned with selling these used devices. You’ll need to maneuver smartly to safely go through this maze.
Attract Your Customers With Product Bundles
Consider the case:
A customer comes to your repair shop and wants to purchase a used mobile. You show them a good-conditioned phone. It’s evident that the intent-to-purchase is there. The walk-in, however, appears uncertain of the expenditure.
When faced with such a situation, your best bet is to offer a product bundle – also available as a sales feature in a good cell phone repair shop software.
For most people, the prospect of buying a device with a set of related accessories at a fraction of their individual purchasing costs is enticement enough.
So when you’re at this point in your sales journey, make it a point to take advantage of bundled offerings.
Tell Them When it’s Time To Replace The Device
A customer comes to you with a damaged mobile screen. You open the device and find an entire Pandora’s Box of problems lurking within; unknown to the client.
What’s more, you’re faced with the uncomfortable task of telling the customer that the repair price is higher than the current estimated market price of their device.
So how do you navigate these troubled waters – keeping both client and your accounts ledger happy?
Your soft, interpersonal, skills come into play here.
Guide the client on the merits of replacing the device instead of repairing it. Give them a breakdown of the costs associated with both approaches, showing clearly how they stand to benefit from the former.
The said process will also help you to develop a good rapport with your customers. It will promote clarity, letting them know that they can trust you.
Avail The Chance To Upsell
As we all know, not all used phones come with accessories. This is your chance to play the emotive provider – and upsell!
Realize that no customer wants to purchase device-and-accessory from two different locations. So in a manner of speaking, you’re kind of doing them a – if mutually beneficial – favor. 😉
Consider Phone Depreciation an Important Factor
According to research:
Apple devices lose 41% of their initial value in the first 12 months (on average) of use, while a Samsung mobile phone loses 64% during the same period.
So when dealing with used phones, bear in mind that the regular releases of new devices make old ones quickly outdated. This trend, eventually, affects the phones’ prices. As a result, you need to set their prices accordingly.
Create Awareness – Break The Stereotype
A lot of customers, for natural reasons of concern, don’t like the chink of used gadgets. They harbor the stigma that the cell phones falling under this category are somehow tainted and faulty – resulting in a breakdown of functionality. Even when everything appears to be working in perfect order, they still feel tensed by an imagined, looming threat of an eventual fault. Sometimes, this apprehension, for reasons purely psychological, can even turn into a self-fulfilling prophecy.
As a salesperson offering used phones, you need to make them cognizant of the ground reality.
Specifically, you need to inform your reluctant customers of the rigorous testing meted out to the said devices – following which they should perform as well as new.
Devise a Good Marketing Strategy
You did your research, received your supply package from your chosen vendors, and established a new source of income. The final piece of this jigsaw, however, is to market your business effectively.
The ultimate goal of a good marketing strategy is to let people know about your new business.
So launch a well-worked out social media campaign.
Your agenda behind the endeavor should be to let people know that you have something new to offer.
Get going with the buzz creation. Be interactive with your audience. Whip up hype regarding what’s in store – and why they should pay attention.
For this, you can put up all manner of creative content on your social media platforms. You can also send emails and text messages to your customer with the help of your repair shop software, ensuring that they know what you’re selling.
You can also share the experience of your satisfied customers on your social media handles.
Trade-In Repair Shop Software: The Ultimate Solution
We’ve talked about all the various solutions you can resort to overcome obstacles while selling used mobile phones. But here’s the ultimate fixer: repair shop software!
Take RepairDesk – a complete, end-to-end, repair shop software interface that not only provides you an incredible array of operational inroads towards systematizing your repair business – in terms of inventory, POS, and tickets management – but also allows you to sell pre-owned devices.
Specifically, the trade-in module in your point of sale software helps you buy and re-sell pre-owned mobile phones to your customers. Further, you can also manage the inventory of trade-in devices.
Neat, right?
The Final Word
Put in a nutshell, the cell phone repair business, when done right, is a lucrative venture.
It can be made even more profitable if you, as a shop owner, decide to sell used phones as part of your services retinue.
Just be sure you heed the actionable advice implied in the pointers above – and go in informed.
Don’t overlook the commonsense basics; even after you’ve raked in some sizeable revenue from this avenue.
