Planning to upgrade your smartphone? These recommerce startups can come to your aid
When it comes to selling old devices, online classified sites like OLX and Quikr have been dominating the used smartphone/gadgets market. However, several recommerce startups have entered the space to organise the sector, and offer convenience to sellers. YourStory lists out five such platforms.
According to a Deloitte India report, the Indian used smartphone market is expected to grow at CAGR of 32 percent, and become a $4 billion market by 2020.
‘Recommerce’ is exactly the opposite of ecommerce, wherein a customer sells old devices to the company for a fair price. It is unlike a classifieds website, where customers have to post an ad and wait for someone to buy the device.
These recommerce companies adopt a more scientific approach to price discovery, giving a layer of convenience to customers. This scientific approach includes specially-designed software, which helps determine product prices based on metrics of age, wear and tear, followed by the market demand.
What makes recommerce interesting is its business model - C2B. In C2B model, a consumer selling his/her old devices to the companies is exactly the opposite of an ecommerce model, where companies sell products to the consumers. This business model caters to the same audience, which uses online classified platforms with C2C business models like Quikr and OLX, where users post an advertisement to sell new or old products.
These platforms offer an instant price quote. Sellers need to log on to the website, select the specific product he/she owns, and add extra information to determine the gadget’s condition. Based on metrics of age, wear and tear, followed by the market demand, a system-generated price pops up, which becomes a shipping label on acceptance.
Here are a few startups that are locking horns in the recommerce space.
Cashify: Headquartered in Gurgaon, the Cashify platform offers home pickup service and instant cash for selling smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles, desktops, TVs, and laptops. The platform enables buy-back and exchange across 25 cities. Launched in 2013 as ReGlobe by Mandeep Manocha and Nakul Kumar, Cashify has partnered with ecommerce marketplaces like Amazon, Snapdeal, offline retailers like Croma Retail, and is the official exchange partner for leading brands like Apple, OnePlus, Samsung, Xiaomi, and HP to offer sellers best value for their used gadgets.
YNew: YNew was launched by Hyderabad-based entrepreneurs Ram Nutakki and Mitesh Majithia in 2012. However, out of all the recommerce startups listed here, YNew operates on a slightly different model. The platform helps people to sell their gadgets by displaying the pre-owned and factory second gadgets (smartphones, laptops, desktops and televisions) in YNew’s showroom. Sellers willing to sell their used gadgets need to call YNew and inform them about the product. Their team picks up the product, tests it, refurbishes and certifies it. After this, the product is ready for sale at the YNew store. Once the product is sold, the seller will receive money within two working days. For buyers, refurbished products are offered at YNew. In addition to this, the buyer also gets a 30-day free service warranty against the product that he/she purchases from YNew.
Budli: Headquartered in Bengaluru, Budli was launched in 2013 in Kolkata. The platform trades in tablets, smartphones and laptops. Once a seller accepts system-generated price following the three steps on the website, Budli.in team collects the product from the customer's door and ships for inspection free-of-cost. They have tied up with reliable courier service providers to ship products to any part of the country. The condition of the used product and market price of a new model of the product are two of the many factors which govern the price of the product.
InstaCash: Initially launched as ZeroWaste by Prateek Goel in 2017, Jaipur-based Instacash allows users to sell used/old smartphones. Besides offering instant cash option, the platform also offers InstaCash exchange, and bulk deals. The platform is currently operating across 12 cities including Pune, Jaipur, and Chandigarh, among others.
GoZunk: Gurugram-based GoZunk.com was launched by two friends Mohit Bansal and Anubhav Adlakha in September 2015. GoZunk sells used mobiles with a three-month warranty, and a 15-day return option. The startup refurbishes old mobiles it buys from the market and end users. The three-month warranty covers all standard aspects like the original manufacturer warranty. GoZunk operates via an online-offline model, where the platform procures the used handsets online, and uses its offline network (which is GoZunk’s sourcing channel for old mobiles as well as a point-of-sale) to sell them, if the lot has not been sold online within seven days of procurement. The startup has built a strong network of offline vendors from Tier-II and III cities, including Allahabad, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, and Jaipur.
Besides these startups, there are companies like Atterobay, Extra Carbon, and Karma Recycling that have adopted a different approach as they focus on not only on procuring and collecting e-waste, but also recycling them. These platforms collect e-waste online and via B2B channel, and sends the trashed electronics to third party facilities for recycling.