Amazon starts selling used and refurbished phones in India
As Amazon fights against Flipkart for the top e-commerce spot in India, it is looking at old and refurbished phones for further expansion in the country.
Amazon India has launched a store on its website to offer Indian customers more affordable phones. These phones have been professionally “restored for working order” or were sold to Amazon partners by customers. These smartphones cost up to 25 percent less than their new counterparts.
The market for refurbished phones is considerably big in India with millions of people resorting to big brands for less price every year. "Over seven million refurbished smartphones were sold in India last year," Tarun Pathak, Senior Telecom Analyst at marketing research firm Counterpoint Research told Mashable India.
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The move comes a year after Amazon India began selling refurbished smartphones from Samsung and Xiaomi in the country. At the time, there was no dedicated section on the website to browse through all the refurbished phones.
On the Used & Refurbished Mobile Store, Amazon India is currently selling phones from a range of companies including Motorola, Lenovo, Xolo, Asus, OnePlus, HTC, Micromax, LeEco and others.
Amazon India says it checks with every customer to see if they have received all the items listed on the website and whether or not they are satisfied with the product quality. Amazon is also providing these customers with the ability to return the phone.
Amazon India is not the first e-commerce company in India which is offering refurbished and old phones to customers. Small local players such as Overcart and GreenDust have been offering similar services in India for a few years. Flipkart, India’s largest ecommerce company, however, doesn’t sell refurbished or old phones.
The market for refurbished phones is estimated to increase by 38 percent this year, Pathak added. “Until last year, the major source for refurbished phones was offline retail stores, but we are now seeing a growing contribution from ecommerce platforms and sellers such as Snapdeal and Overcart,” Pathak said. “Refurbished market is also gaining attraction because some of these players make even better margins on refurbished phones.”
Though Amazon India's move to ramp up its efforts for selling refurbished and old phones could help it win many new customers, it could also change how some perceive its brand name. For one, customers who strictly opt for newer products might become too cautious when buying a gadget from Amazon India. Amazon, however, sells "certified refurbished" and used smartphones in the US.
On a parallel note, Apple also wanted to sell refurbished iPhones in India to increase its market share in India by offering more affordable iPhones. The iPhone 7, for instance, starts from $900 in the country. The plan, however, was shot down by the Indian government as it felt importing used iPhones would increase electronic waste in the country.
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