KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 26 \u2014 Not too long ago, trading in a used phone was an ad-hoc affair, often involving a bit of haggling at a small, independent store.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Today, a new generation of professional second-hand retailers like CompAsia, Swapper Malaysia, and CEX have turned the trade-in market into a booming, mainstream industry, fuelling a surge in smart consumer habits and, for some, providing a desperate financial lifeline.<\/p>\n
This new, structured ecosystem is what brought 28-year-old digital marketer Viknesh Raj into a store last weekend. For him, upgrading is not a luxury, but a practical necessity.<\/p>\n
\u201cI shoot a lot of short videos, so my old phone just can\u2019t keep up,\u201d Viknesh said. \u201cNo point burning thousands on a brand new one when you can be smart about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
At a CompAsia outlet in Petaling Jaya, 21-year-old retailer Danish Kamal said this mindset is becoming the norm.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe iPhone 16 Pro Max costs over RM6,000 brand new. Here, you can get one for under RM4,000, and it still works perfectly,\u201d he said, pointing to the company’s motto of giving devices a second chance.<\/p>\n
However, he notes that the business is volatile, and prices for used phones fluctuate often.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery month, prices drop. Last month, an iPhone 13 Pro Max was RM1,380. Now it\u2019s RM1,220. Customers ask why, but that\u2019s just how it works,\u201d he explained.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Still, the business has shown no signs of slowing, with major spikes during festive seasons like Hari Raya and Chinese New Year.<\/p>\n
Beyond individual savings, this booming trade-in market also offers a partial answer to Malaysia\u2019s accelerating e-waste problem.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In 2024, the country produced over 55,000 tonnes of e-waste, with discarded mobile phones being a primary contributor. This year alone, it is estimated that Malaysia will generate approximately 24.5 million pieces of e-waste, primarily phones.<\/p>\n
The professionalisation of the second-hand market provides a crucial alternative to simply throwing these devices away, helping to extend the life cycle of used devices, keeping them out of landfills and contributing to a more circular economy.<\/p>\n
The darker side of the trade<\/p>\n
However, the benefits are not just environmental. For many, this formalised market serves a more immediate, and sometimes desperate, purpose.<\/p>\n
Kit Goh, CEO of Swapper Malaysia, said many customers now exploit instalment plans to generate instant cash.<\/p>\n
\u201cHonestly, most of them just want cash,\u201d Goh said, explaining that some customers traded in devices costing as much as RM6,000 new after paying off just several hundred ringgit to the lenders.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey get the full cash, but they\u2019ve only paid a small portion of the instalments.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chris, an administrative assistant at Qolaf Gadget, echoed this, saying most of his customers are looking to \u201cfree up money\u201d rather than get a new device.<\/p>\n
He reported seeing a rising number of people buying brand new phones on credit, often the latest iPhones, only to sell them for cash at his shop shortly after, calling this a sign of the market’s evolution driven by both necessity and opportunity.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes, people come in thinking they will get more by trading their device for cash, but they are surprised at how the prices really work,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Economic bellwether<\/p>\n
Both business owners see the second-hand market as a reflection of the broader economy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A new release, like the recent iPhone 17, always triggers a rush of older device trade-ins as people upgrade.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But economic pressure drives a different kind of behaviour.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen the economy is not doing well, more people sell their phones,\u201d Goh said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He added a crucial caveat: \u201cI wouldn\u2019t call it good for our business exactly, because increased selling does not necessarily mean more buying. It\u2019s all supply and demand.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 26 \u2014 Not too long ago, trading in a used phone was an ad-hoc affair,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":309812,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[64,63,175820,175824,203,175823,175821,175822,175825,105],"class_list":["post-309811","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mobile","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-compasia-trade-ins","tag-malaysian-festive-shopping-trends","tag-mobile","tag-pre-owned-devices-costs","tag-second-hand-iphones-malaysia","tag-smartphone-upgrade-strategies","tag-swapper-malaysia-insights","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/309811","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=309811"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/309811\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/309812"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=309811"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=309811"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=309811"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}