Where to buy a second-hand smartphone in Seoul?

8/5/2013 1:43:49 PM

There are a huge amount of new phone shops almost everywhere, but I hardly remember where used phone stores are. Probably the reason will be simple–there’s no money in the used phone business.

Buying a new phone in Korea also means signing a contract (usually for 2 years) with a mobile service provider. It makes money for manufacturers, mobile service providers, and distributors (sellers). Buyers must use it and pay it for two years, or otherwise pay back a penalty for breach. For that reason, people could buy a phone at a lower price than its release price with some support from mobile service provider.

Thinking about buying a new phone without a contract. It is almost impossible in Korea. Manufacturers sell the phone only through mobile service providers with a contract. Even if there are some products to sell, you should pay its release price.

Then, if we brought a new one, where were the used phones going? If I want to buy used one (or want to sell my out-dated one), I’ll definitely go to on-line market. Actually, there are some well-known market and communities:

  • Gmarket / Auction : Both in the eBay family, usually phones are sold by phone brokers. Very little information or photos of used phones. Hard to figure out its conditions. Only supports Korean.

  • Joong-go-na-ra : The biggest on-line flea market forum in Korea. Sold by individuals. Based on Naver service (Korean portal). Be aware there’s many scammers! Only supports Korean.

  • Ppom-ppu : Well-known community for sharing information all about phones. User-based community. Sold by individuals. Only supports Korean.

  • Cetizen : Also a lot of used phone deals happen here. Sold by individuals. Only supports Korean.

I think these four are very lively communities for used phones. It is sad most communities only support Korean.

p.s. Speaking of pawnbrokers – we are very unfamiliar with ‘pawnbrokers’. In most cases other than very urgently needed money, we never go there.

Credit:stackoverflow.com‘

About me

Hello,My name is Aparna Patel,I’m a Travel Blogger and Photographer who travel the world full-time with my hubby.I like to share my travel experience.

Search Posts

Latest posts

Popular posts