The online sale of second-hand smartphones in the country rose 20% in September from July following the launch of third generation mobile broadband service.
According to the market insiders, this is the highest ever surge in the country’s online sale of old smartphones.
They said a large number of customers in Dhaka and Chittagong cities are looking for second-hand smartphones and the 3G-enabled devices and feature phones at the online stores to enjoy the service.
“The youths, especially the students, are using online sites for their purchases and sales. Following the launch of 3G, the sale of old smartphone handsets has surged at the online stores,” Eshita Sharmin, marketing manager of Bikroy.com, told the Dhaka Tribune.
Bikroy.com is one of the leading online stores in Bangladesh.
The Bikroy.com data in September showed that the posts of advertisement of 3G-supported smartphones have broken the previous records in Bangladesh.
In September, Bikroy.com witnessed influx of more than 65,000 smartphone advertisements across the country, rising from 58,000 in August and 55,000 in July.
“The users change their handsets frequently as they can have 3G-enabled handsets at as low as Tk4,000,” said Eshita Sharmin.
A total of 13,975 advertisements of Nokia smartphone were posted at the site in September.
The general price of Nokia smartphones is Tk7,140 while that of more sophisticated smartphones like iPhone is Tk26,800.
The data was analysed from 2,000 advertisements during the month.
Symphony and Samsung smartphones are also leading in posting advertisements.
“Out of total ads, 30%-40% handsets were sold,” said Eshita Sharmin.
“The advertisements continue to increase significantly as the number was 113,000 in third quarter, up from 79,000in Q2 and 43,000 in Q1.”
A frequent net surfer and owner of mobile phone vendor WinTel, Sazid Kamal said: “You can buy a second-hand iPhone 4 at Bikroy.com for about Tk20 000 while a new one is Tk42,000 on the regular market.”
“The most popular phone is iPhone 4 right now,” he added.
Source: Dhaka Tribune
