Off Topic *** Does the color of a phone affect it's resale value?

[WoozyPolarBear]

Just looking to buy a phone off of Kijiji or Facebook Market Place. Maybe it's just me, but I think I've observed that certain colors of a phone can fetch a higher price than other colors of the same phone. Do you guys notice this as well? I've noticed that black or silver phones tend to have lower selling prices, but the special colors like Apple's project Red phones, or the Blue Samsung Galaxy Note 9 sell for a bit higher. Curious as to the reason for this.

[Kim1971kim]

I don’t know. Maybe one colour is more popular so they can raise the price and try to sell for more.

[jor123]

Don't give insurance companies any more ideas! 

---

@Korth wrote:

(And anyone who knows WH40K already knows that red wunz go fasta, it's a law of physics.)

---

[Korth]

(And anyone who knows WH40K already knows that red wunz go fasta, it's a law of physics.)

[Korth]

Apple demonstrated long ago that fashion sells better than tech sells.

And even Samsung (driven by tech specs) and LG (driven by tech features) and HTC (driven by tech price) have all emulated Apple-inspired fashion marketing successfully. 

They've also discovered that people are willing to pay premiums on conspicuous consumption. Veblen goods, Giffen goods, that sort of thing. Demand is naturally constant but Supply is artificially diminished to maintain inflated "value". Like diamonds. 

Yes, people will pay extra for bling. Thus a niche market for $2000 smartphones only fractionally superior (in terms of raw manufacturing costs or technical capacities) to $200 or $400 smartphones (which are themselves already overpriced).

Resale value is of course profoundly affected by original sale value. 

[jonfirlotte]

Black phones are too common which could be why they're worth less money, odd colors are more unique and could be worth more.

[cavemantoronto]

Standard color that most people have can be best. Yes, more common but when selling you don't want some colors that half the people might not want.

[Stirfiro]

Similar to a car I would expect. If you buy a black, white, or silver car you are likely to pay less because they look like base model rentals. 

[stonechucker]

Majority of devices are white or black, or a shade of gold or silver.  The actual colourful phones like ProjectRED, or the Blue for Samsung are generally limited in quantity, so yes, they’re asking price may be higher.  

When the home mini mini came out, I got the Coral colour from Google Store, as it was limited edition, and it happened to be the same price.  But it’s difficult to find the coral mini now.

A phone is worth only the amount the seller and buyer  agree to.  If you value a coloured phone more than a white phone, you’d pay the extra.

[luke11992]

Interesting, I can't say I've ever noticed that in the used market. On a related note, I've seen certain popular colours sell out faster (ie with certain colours of iPhones)

[WoozyPolarBear]

@Psygineer 

I really only looked at Apple iPhone Xr and Samsung Galaxy Note 9's. I didn't do much research, but just my observation was that all other things being equal, like condition, storage space, etc, that the black versions seemed more plentiful and therefore were a bit cheaper than the brighter colors.

[Psygineer]

---

@WoozyPolarBear wrote:

Just looking to buy a phone off of Kijiji or Facebook Market Place. Maybe it's just me, but I think I've observed that certain colors of a phone can fetch a higher price than other colors of the same phone. Do you guys notice this as well? I've noticed that black or silver phones tend to have lower selling prices, but the special colors like Apple's project Red phones, or the Blue Samsung Galaxy Note 9 sell for a bit higher. Curious as to the reason for this.

---

Only if the colour is a limited edition/rare colour would I see colour having an impact on price. Are you sure they have the same overall specs/condition? Like the Oneplus 6 in Silk White had higher specs than the black Oneplus 6 as an example. A cracked screen phone will sell for less than a uncracked screen. If the phone isn't a colour you like, cases/skins to the rescue!

[Luddite]

---

@WoozyPolarBear wrote:

 I've noticed that black or silver phones tend to have lower selling prices, but the special colors like Apple's project Red phones, or the Blue Samsung Galaxy Note 9 sell for a bit higher. Curious as to the reason for this.

---

Fashion is fickle. 

Be very careful buying used phones from unknown sources; many scams out there. Checkout getorchard.com; 3 friends have been happy with them.