Used smartphones for W3m? As new phone prices soar, the secondhand market follows

Used iPhone hits 2.9 million won as new model prices climb

Secondhand phone prices push market transaction value up 760 billion won

Industry: rising new-product prices fuel 'premium used phone' trend

Customers browse the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max at the Apple Store in Myeong-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul, on Friday. [Yoon Chang-bin]

"Selling iPhone 17 Pro Max for 2.9 million won." — a listing on a secondhand trading platform.

As smartphone prices surge, even used phones — once seen as a budget-friendly alternative — are becoming expensive. The ripple effect of rising new-product prices has spread to the secondhand market, with high-priced listings well above 1 million won multiplying rapidly. Some used iPhones are listed for close to 3 million won.

With prices climbing for both new and used devices, consumers weighing a smartphone upgrade are facing a heavier financial burden than before.

According to the information and communications technology industry, the launch of the iPhone 18 Pro series this month has triggered a flood of high-priced listings for older iPhone models on secondhand trading platforms, with many exceeding 1 million won.

New iPhone prices have been climbing steadily. The iPhone 17 Pro Max (256GB, retail price 1.99 million won ($1,440)) was released more than a year ago, yet used units regularly appear listed above 1.5 million won. The 2TB model, which retailed for 3.19 million won, has changed hands for as much as 2.9 million won.

Customers line up outside the Apple Store in Myeong-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul, on Friday, the official launch day of the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max in South Korea. [Yonhap]

The phenomenon is not limited to Apple. The spread of AI has pushed up memory chip prices, lifting retail prices across premium smartphones. Samsung Electronics set the base retail price of its newly released Galaxy Z Fold8 at 2.28 million won. Apple's first foldable phone, the iPhone Duo, due out next month, starts at 3.29 million won. The era of paying 2 million to 3 million won or more for a single smartphone has effectively arrived.

The price increases for new devices have fed directly into the secondhand market. According to UPM, a B2B used-phone transaction management system, the average unit price of used iPhones rose consistently throughout the first half of this year: 580,000 won in February, 630,000 won in March, 660,000 won in April, 710,000 won in May and 730,000 won in June.

The average unit price of used Samsung devices has also stayed above 200,000 won. After climbing to 270,000 won in March, it has held in the 200,000-won range since. The monthly breakdown: 170,000 won in February, 270,000 won in March, 240,000 won in April, 230,000 won in May and 220,000 won in June.

Rising smartphone prices have caused total transaction value to grow far faster than the volume of used-phone listings. The number of used phones listed for sale rose about 11 percent, from about 5.53 million units in 2021 to about 6.164 million units in 2025, but the market's total transaction value surged 69 percent over the same period, from 1.1 trillion won to 1.86 trillion won.

The Galaxy Z Fold8, unveiled at Galaxy Unpacked 2026 held at Old Billingsgate in London on July 22 (local time). [Herald DB]

Industry insiders agree the trend is an inevitable consequence of rising smartphone prices, with some forecasting that used smartphones will soon routinely exceed 2 million won. "Used Apple products typically trade at 60 to 70 percent of the new-model price about a year after launch, while Samsung devices trade at around 50 percent," one industry official said. "As new-product prices soar, it is only natural that used prices rise alongside them."

Another industry official said, "With new-product prices already reaching the 3 million won range, we will see more and more used phones crossing the 2 million won mark going forward."

Meanwhile, smartphone prices are expected to keep rising for now as the cost of key components such as memory chips continues to climb.

According to market research firm TrendForce, contract prices for general-purpose DRAM rose approximately 93 to 98 percent quarter-on-quarter in the first quarter of this year. Contract prices for both general-purpose DRAM and NAND flash are forecast to rise a further 13 to 18 percent and 10 to 15 percent, respectively, in the current third quarter. IDC also projects that the average selling price of smartphones this year will hit a record high of $523, up 14 percent from a year earlier.

chami@heraldcorp.com