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Cape Town - Gumtree's new online tool is designed to help you determine how much your old cellphone is worth.
The eBay-owned classifieds site on Friday has unveiled the tool which collates all data on cellphones to determine a price based on make and model.
"It's a great way to recoup some money from your old phone to put toward a brand new one," said Claire Cobbledick, head of Marketing for Gumtree South Africa.
In SA, you might buy a smartphone for over R10 000, but be left frustrated when you want to upgrade as the value of the expensive gadget has all but collapsed.
Apple retailer the iStore recently announced that it would offer between R1 000 and R3 500 for Samsung Galaxy smartphones as part of a promotion to sell the iPhone 6.
Brand value
On the Gumtree price check tool, the average selling price for a Galaxy S5 is R4 661.91, while the lowest selling price is R4 195.72.
The platform also reveals that even previous generation phones like the BlackBerry Curve 8520 have significant value, pulling an average selling price of R456.22.
Modern expensive smartphones lose their value quickly. (Duncan Alfreds, Fin24)
A study by Havas Worldwide has shown that 43% of 16-35 year old participants considered the resale value before they made a purchase.
Gumtree also has a price checker for cars and property which helps buyers and sellers gauge the value of items on the platform.
"We do it for other high-value items like cars - why not do it for cellphones?" said Cobbledick of the cellphone price checker.
But beyond using the tool for buying used phones, the platform is useful for retailers.
"It's telling to see, for instance, how quickly certain phones are being sold after purchase or how much value consumers place on one brand as opposed to another," Cobbledick said, hinting that retailers could use the tool to manage their sales expectations.
Check out the Gumtree price checker tools here.
Gumtree also launched a tool that let's you value your used Apple Mac. Check out the infographic below on what your old Mac is worth.
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