The Mobile Mountain Grows: Americans Hoard $47 Billion In Unused Mobile Phones, 39 Percent More Than Last Year
New York, NY (PRWEB) February 14, 2014 -- SellCell.com, the leading mobile phone recycling price comparison site in the United States, today released results from its new “2014 Mobile Mountain Study”, conducted by research agency OnePoll. The research found that one in two consumers (50 percent) say they have two or more unused cellphones in their household, with an overall average of 1.8 old devices. According to SellCell.com, the average handset is worth $91 when recycled online, meaning that American consumers, on average, are missing out on more than $160 in old devices sitting around at home. Collectively, SellCell.com estimates that Americans have approximately $47 billion* in unused mobile phones – a 39 percent increase from $33.8 billion that SellCell.com found sitting in American homes in 2013.
SellCell.com also found differences in old phone ownership between current iPhone and Android owners and the value each group stores in old phones. According to the research, SellCell.com estimates that Android owners possess over $16B in old devices ($16.93B)** and Apple owners have over $14B ($14.18B)***.
The research also provided insight into why Americans keep so much value in old phones sitting around. The most popular reasons included:
*Nearly 40 percent (39.5 percent) hang on to old phones so that they have a spare in case their current one breaks.
*36 percent say they “don’t know what else to do” with them.
*Nearly 1 in 5 Americans admit to being “too lazy” to get rid of their old phones (17.4 percent).
Gender also influences habits with old mobile phones. According to the research, men are the most trade-in savvy, with 37.7 percent turning in their old phones for cash by recycling, selling in a shop or selling online directly to a buyer, as compared to only 28.2 percent of women. Women are more likely (22.5 percent) to give their old phones away to a family member or friend than men (17.8 percent).
Taken as a whole, SellCell.com believes the data shows a lack of consumer awareness when it comes to understanding the value sitting in old phones have. Keir McConomy, founder of SellCell.com, comments, “This year’s Mobile Mountain study highlights how many Americans are still unaware of the money they can make by trading in their old mobile phone, which is largely due to the fact that Americans see phone recycling to be an overwhelming and time-consuming process. With the $47 billion that Americans are sitting on from old phones, SellCell.com addresses this issue by making the mobile phone recycling process as easy and rewarding as possible. Customers simply select their phone make and model and then receive a pre-paid envelope sent out to take care of the rest – no tricks or hidden fees attached. Even phones released more than two years ago are still quite valuable – for example, the iPhone 4S is worth up to $110 on the site.”
To learn more about SellCell.com or recycle your phone today, visit http://www.sellcell.com.
About SellCell.com:
SellCell.com is the USA’s no. 1 mobile phone and tablet trade-in price comparison site. The site compares prices from all the top phone and tablet buyers in the USA to help users get the most money when selling their old mobile or tablet device. Sellcell.com offers its customers a Best Price Guarantee; should the customer discover a higher price anywhere else, Sellcell.com will refund double the difference.
Notes to editors:
All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from One Poll. Total sample size was 1000, polling 1000 adults in the USA. Fieldwork was undertaken from January 31-February 2, 2014. The figures are representative of adults aged 18+.
*The estimated value of total unused phones in the United States (approx. $47 billion) was calculated by multiplying the average value for a mobile phone sold on SellCell.com ($91), by the total number of mobile phone users in the United States (287,924,000 according to Pew Internet), by the average number of unused phones in an American household (1.8) according to the survey.
**The estimate ($14.18 billion) was calculated by multiplying the total U.S. population (316.4 million), by the average number of devices iPhone owners have (1.97 according to the SellCell.com survey), by the average device value ($91, per SellCell.com), by the percentage of people that own an iPhone (25 percent according to Pew Internet).
***The estimate ($16.93 billion) was calculated by multiplying the total U.S. population (316.4 million), by the average number of devices Android owners have (2.1 according to the SellCell.com survey), by the average device value ($91, per SellCell.com), by the percentage of people that own an Android (28 percent according to Pew Internet).
Josie Cruz, Diffusion PR, +1 646-571-0192, [email protected]
Share this article