Last week, B-Stock and Samsung hosted an insightful webinar about their collaboration in the secondary mobile market. The companies shared key data on both the American and global markets, highlighting the rapid growth of the secondary market, which is outpacing the primary market, according to IDC research. In a noteworthy announcement, Samsung USA revealed that they have selected Apkudo as their new trade-in triage partner for their American trade-in programs. Apkudo is known for its automated and robotized device processing and grading, offering unparalleled accuracy, consistency, and speed, as confirmed by Samsung.
B-Stock's role and growth
B-Stock, an American company, initially focused on managing liquidation and excess inventory for retailers, manufacturers, and other sellers. Over time, it expanded into selling traded-in consumer electronics and now claims to be the world’s largest B2B marketplace for pre-owned mobile devices, with thousands of buyers. Since 2017, B-Stock has sold over 34 million units, a testament to the scale of its operations and its successful partnership with Samsung USA. Founded in 2009, the company offers an online auction platform where businesses can sell surplus, returned, or unsold products in bulk to resellers and liquidators. B-Stock connects large sellers with a global network of buyers, optimizing the resale of items like electronics, apparel, and home goods. Its services aim to reduce waste and enhance revenue recovery for clients, including major retailers like Walmart, Target, Amazon, and Samsung.
Samsung partnership and CPO devices
B-Stock began its cooperation with Samsung in 2018, and since then, it has sold over 1.9 million devices for the tech giant, primarily Certified Pre-owned (CPO) devices. During the webinar, research from Circana revealed that 30% of all used and refurbished phones sold in the USA are CPO devices. A CPO smartphone is a used device that has been refurbished, inspected, and tested to meet the manufacturer’s high standards. These phones, which include returned models, used devices, or those with minor cosmetic issues, are restored to like-new condition and sold with a warranty. This process ensures the devices function properly, with all features working as expected.
Secondary mobile market trends
Other interesting facts shared during the webinar revealed that 11% of all smartphones sold in the USA are used or refurbished. Furthermore, Circana's data showed that the trade-in attached rate in the US has reached an all-time high of 30%, with brand-new phones seeing a staggering 40% trade-in rate. These figures highlight the increasing trend of trading in old devices for new ones, a phenomenon that other continents can only aspire to achieve.
Market

Trade-in

Repair
