The second-hand smartphone market in Australia is worth a small fortune

That’s according to market research and internal data from popular e-commerce website eBay, shared exclusively with news.com.au which suggests Australians are sitting on a small fortune.

We’re a smartphone-loving society and we’re quick to upgrade to a new handset, meaning those who keep their devices in good nick can make a tidy return by reselling.

In fact, Aussies are sitting on about $8.6 billion worth of used smartphones, the data shows. And that number is expected to rise this year with the release of some big new devices.

Samsung’s new flagship device, the Galaxy S8 will hit stores on April 28and the highly anticipated launch of the iPhone 8 is expected to take place in September, providing a bump to the second-hand market.

“We expect buying and selling in the smart phone category on eBay to break records this year as Aussies get swept up in the hype that the 10th anniversary iPhone in particular is going to generate,” said eBay spokeswoman and trend watcher Megan English.

In 2016 alone, more than 154,000 pre-loved handsets and 421,000 mobile accessories were sold by Aussies on ebay.com.au. The most profitable phones were dominated by Apple and Google.

The top five most profitable smartphone models to sell right now on eBay.com.au are:

1. iPhone 7 Plus

2. Google Pixel XL

3. Google Pixel

4. iPhone 7

5. iPhone 6s Plus

A second hand 128GB iPhone 7 Plus in good condition will currently fetch around $941 while a used 64GB iPhone 6s device in good condition will sell for about $589.

According to market analysis firm Deloitte, in 2016 used smartphone sales generated more than $17 billion globally and researchers expect the used smartphone market to grow to four to five times the size of the overall smartphone market.

“The saturation of the smartphone market is a worldwide phenomenon, and is probably most pronounced in developed countries, such as Australia,” the company’s 2016 Mobile Consumer Survey report said.

But compared to our global counterparts, Aussies are more inclined to hold on to our old phones.

“Just one in 10 Australian mobile consumers are choosing to participate in the second-hand phone market, lagging the global average of 15 per cent and less than half that of the 22 per cent of UK mobile consumers making some money from an old device,” the report said.

Nearly half of Australian consumers surveyed (47 per cent) said they prefer to save their old device while 28 per cent said they shared their old device with friends or family.

While Deloitte expects to see the second hand smartphone market grow steadily this year it did warn that as phones become more homogenous in looks and capability, consumers may feel less compelled to trade up.

There are now “fewer visual cues to signify ownership of the latest model of smartphone” and as a consequence smartphone owners may no longer feel the same compulsion to upgrade.

This is largely why Apple does things like bring out a special edition red coloured iPhone, to target fans who see the device as somewhat of a status symbol.

For those thinking of upgrading and selling your handset, eBay has an online tool which gives you a trending price on the site for your handset depending on the specs, colour and condition of the phone.

Originally published as Aussies sitting on $8.6 billion goldmine