Apple's recycled iPhones and iPads to go on sale in China on April 15
Used Apples, fixed and tested, will be sold through Taobao and Foxconn's online shops
PUBLISHED : Sunday, 12 April, 2015, 5:27am
UPDATED : Sunday, 12 April, 2015, 5:27am
He Huifeng [email protected]
Apple's recycled iPhones and iPads to go on sale in China on April 15
The first batch of recycled iPhones and iPads will be available for sale online on Wednesday, according to Apple supplier Foxconn, which is reselling the used gadgets as part of Apple's trade-in programme in China.
The second-hand devices - which have been tested and repaired after Chinese customers traded them in between March 31 and April 8 - will be sold on China's largest e-shopping platform Taobao as well as Foxconn's online shops from April 15.
Foxconn spokesman Louis Woo said the move was the start of a new market of genuine second-hand Apple products, making them more affordable for students and residents in China's second and lower-tier cities.
From next month, the recycled devices can also be bought from Foxconn's physical shops across China, Woo said.
Under Apple's trade-in programme that started on March 31, people can trade in previous-generation iPhones or iPads bought on the mainland or in Hong Kong, Macau or Taiwan.
Apple's Causeway Bay outlet said all three stores in Hong Kong were involved in the programme. Customers can trade their old iPhones for a gift card that must be used immediately to buy a more recent model.
Some internet users have cried foul over the marked difference between trade-in and resale prices. On the mainland, an old iPhone 5S can be traded for about 1,500 yuan (HK$1,900), but would be sold later at 2,099 yuan.
Woo, however, said the prices were reasonable. Foxconn would pay Apple for new electronic components if repairs were needed and the recycled products would also come with a one-year warranty, he said.
"The trade-in and resale prices are flexible and can be changed depending on the market's response," Woo said, adding that the programme would also help counter the rampant sales of counterfeit Apple products in China.
According to Woo, more than 50,000 iPhone units are sold each day in second-hand markets overseas. "More than 80 per cent of them would be sent to Hong Kong and auctioned," he said.
"Most iPhones would then be smuggled illegally into the mainland. They would then be taken apart, reassembled, polished and sold as brand new genuine iPhones through online and underground markets."
Woo said those who sold their iPhones to such traders were supporting the illegal manufacturing industry of counterfeit Apple products.
Additional reporting by Bryan Harris
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The deal
Model: you get; Foxconn's price
iPhone 5S: ¥1,500; ¥2,099
iPhone 5: ¥800; ¥1,399
iPhone 4S: ¥500; ¥899
iPhone 4: ¥248; ¥499
