Most people are familiar with local smartphone retailers and the major smartphone brands and carriers. What they may not know is how wholesalers play a vital role in connecting consumers with used devices. Wholesale smartphone distributors collect devices from carrier trade-in programs, big box retailers, and smaller sources, evaluate the devices for condition and functionality in a process called grading, and then list the devices for resale to retailers.
Distributors are positioned to monitor trends in smartphone demand and have a finely tuned sense of the most popular phone brands and the most reliable devices to stock for resale at any given moment.
Analysis of Popular Smartphone Brands
Trends in the secondary market mirror those of the primary device market. Devices make major inroads on the secondary market 12 to 24 months after initial release as consumers trade in their devices. The popular smartphone brand landscape in the wholesale market can be understood in tiers. Tier one has just two brands: Apple and Samsung. These two brands manufacture the top 10 best-selling devices and have been locked in fierce competition for the top place for over a decade.
Tier two brands are all part of the Android ecosystem and comprise OPPO, Xiaomi, and Transsion. Of all tier two brands, newcomer Transsion will be the least familiar to Western readers. Transsion sales are mostly in emerging markets, South and Southeast Asia, and are especially strong in Africa. Tier two is hotly contested in its own right. Competition is waged primarily on the axis of value-for-money—packing in the best technical specifications for the price.
An exploration of why and how Apple and Samsung have separated themselves from the pack could fill a special report of its own, but for secondary market participants, each brand has built a well-deserved reputation for quality and value retention. Many healthy secondary market retail businesses have been built by focusing on these two brands. Apple dominates the flagship tier, while Samsung has smartphones for every price point. Beyond tier one, the Android market continues to diversify, and it could be worth stocking devices from OPPO, Xiaomi, Google, and OnePlus, particularly for the mid-range and budget market segments.
Top-Selling Smartphone Models
As of 2024, Apple’s best-selling phones on the wholesale market are the various models of the iPhone 14 and 13, while top-selling Samsung phones are members of the Galaxy line-up, split between the mid-range A13, A14, A53, and A54, and the flagship S22 and S23.
Google Pixel phones make an appearance in the upper mid-range of devices, as well as handsets from OPPO and Xiaomi. The velocity of model appearances and disappearances is fastest in the mid- and budget segments, as these devices lack staying power and are rapidly replaced by newcomers.
Flagship devices typically sell best in the US, Europe, and China, while mid-tier devices are preferred in South America, Russia, and the Middle East. Budget smartphones do best in Southeast Asia, Central America, South Asia, and Africa.
Trends in Wholesale Smartphone Demand
The most popular phone brands fall into two tiers. At the top end of the market in tier one, we have stability, with Apple and Samsung steadily dividing the market between themselves year after year. The best Samsung series to focus on is in the Galaxy line-up, while any recent iPhone is a reliable seller. As of 2024, the most bought phone brand is the most famous phone brand, Apple.
There’s a tumult of competition in tier two, with swift entries and exits as mid and budget-segment Android manufacturers vie to provide the best technical performance for the price point.
Wholesalers in the West would do well to focus the majority of their buying on flagship and upper mid-range devices, while businesses that focus on emerging markets should divide their purchases among some flagship, many mid-range, and some budget devices.
Across all device segments, wholesalers should reserve a significant amount of their budget to capitalize on Fall and Winter purchasing opportunities. Apple maintains a late September release cadence for iPhones. Samsung Galaxy Z and Fold models tend to be released in late August to early September, and the Galaxy S series releases in February or March. These release dates for new devices drive a flood of trade-ins. Meanwhile, in winter, the post-holiday period offers a deep inventory of secondary devices as consumers dispose of their old phones.
Factors Influencing Wholesale Purchasing Decisions
We recommend wholesalers select their suppliers based on price risk reduction above all else, as it can be hard to recover from bad purchase orders. Focus on supplier reputation, longevity, device quality, and return policies and guarantees. Begin with small test orders that give you an opportunity to evaluate the quality standards of your supplier. Advance to larger unit volumes once you’ve determined the supplier’s quality standards are accurate and sufficient.
When determining what devices to stock, follow your internal data. This includes geography and your customer base. Past performance is an excellent guide to future wholesale purchases. If you’re primarily selling iPhones, expect that trend to continue. If your audience prefers budget devices, stock accordingly.
Forecasting Future Trends
Apple and Samsung will continue to dominate the high end of the market, especially in the US, Europe, and China. There will be a rapid churning in tier-two brands that compose the mid- and budget segments of the Android market. Anticipate the fall release calendar and post-holiday trade-ins to be the primary drivers of device availability on the secondary market.
Follow sales data on the primary market to stay on top of future secondary demand. Sales on the secondary market should continue to grow as a general slowing of technological advancement in the smartphone industry makes previously owned devices a better value than in the early days of the market.
Takeaways for Secondary Market Participants
The secondary market follows the primary market, composed of mostly Apple and Samsung. iPhones remain the best-selling flagship devices with the highest retail prices and margins. Samsung leads the Android pack, filling out the rest of the top 10 best-selling models. If you’re located in the US or Europe, you could easily fill your entire inventory with the most popular phone brands. Wholesalers focused on other geographies should pay attention to the mid-range device segment and stock many of the second-tier manufacturers such as OPPO, OnePlus, Xiaomi, and Transsion.
Regardless of your market focus, pay particular attention to demand trends in the primary market, as these are a preview of the future of the secondary market.
