Just last month Surplus.in was in the news as it was sketching up plans to cash in on the increasing demand of refurbished goods. It had drawn its own estimates about the growth in the segment in the next 5 years. The global market for refurbished smartphones is projected to reach 120 million units by 2017. The refurbished goods market, which is around $20 billion now could swell to $50 billion by 2020. At present, Surpluss sells refurbished devices from brands like Samsung, LG, Xiaomi, OnePlus One, HTC, Alcatel, and Xolo at affordable prices.
Now, Amazon is stepping into the refurbished smartphones sales owing to their raising popularity due to affordability. It has now started selling refurbished and unboxed products in strategic partnership with Surpluss. The partnership seems to working well, as orders for refurbished devices have already started rolling in.
“This partnership with Amazon will enable us to leverage their strengths and innovations in technology to reach out to wider set of consumers across India. The company has received more than 150 orders within a week of its Amazon debut,” says executive director of Surpluss.in, Tarun Bhardwaj.
There was always a place for something called ‘second-hand’ in the market. It has a large offline market in India, though unorganized. Same seems to be the case of refurbished products. The only difference being they’re re-worked upon, and have not been used by someone at length. They’re those which are used upto just about 20% of their estimated lifespan.
Last month we spoke about refurbished OnePlus One arrival on Overcart for Rs. 12,999. Now Surpluss will be selling Samsung and Xiaomi through Amazon’s marketplace. Further on it has plans to include Apple, One Plus, Motorola, Micromax and Lava in the future.
Earlier this month, Amazon announced its plan to start a pilot to sell brand-refurbished smartphones from brands like Samsung and Xiaomi. However, the credibility of those were that they were brand-refurbished. About this whole new segment of an outside company refurbishing phones is a new story altogether.
This introduction is going to be a difficult buying decision for the buyer, because each phone will have a difference, in matter of how well it is refurbished, or how long or how well it has been used by the previous owner. This purchase will be more convenient for the risk-taking buyers who are in a habit of purchasing phones from the black market.
The price is the major factor, which will pull crowd towards this concept. Refurbished phones will definitely magnet those who cannot afford high-end phones but have always wished they had one!
