Mobile Exchange in Nepal: Trade Your Old Mobile for New Smartphone

These days the mobile phone is a very important part of our life. We start our day by unlocking our phones to check messages and end our day by sending messages. Mobile phones have also taken over the life of ordinary Nepali citizens. People talk, chat, work and play on their phones. Most importantly, people are into smartphones because of their functionality. The smartphone trend has been growing and a lot of people own them. So as time passes phones get old, outdated and people want new models. Newer models have better power, new features, and higher speed. When we buy new phones, we need to be thoughtful about the old handset. This is where shops that provide mobile exchange in Nepal come to play.

When the phone you are holding gets old, slow, or outdated, you want to buy a new smartphone. Purchasing a brand new model is the natural choice for everyone but most of us have the issue of an old phone. We don’t have much use of the old phone and getting a good price in second hand markets like Hamrobazar or Facebook Marketplace is also hard. Actually, there are official programs like the Samsung Arkophone exchange service as well but that may not be enough. So there are many stores that provide mobile exchange in Nepal. In these shops, people can bring their old phones and trade them to get a new smartphone.

Mobile exchange offer in Nepal was a festival trend in the past. Shops used to do them during Dashain and Tihar. Moreover, they have mostly focused on Kathmandu valley. However, many shops outside the capital have also started to provide this useful service to people. In addition to smartphone exchange services, there are services like Arko Store to exchange TV, AC, fridges, and Washing machines in Nepal.

How the Mobile Exchange In Nepal Works

In previous years, only certain shops and companies used to run mobile exchange offer but now many shops have this. In this mobile exchange process, people simply need to bring in an old device, give it for valuation, select a new model and pay the lower price for the new phone. The shopkeepers evaluate the old mobile phone’s physical condition, damage, usage, launch date, and many other factors. They calculate the depreciation and provide the price they can offer for the older phone. Then the shopkeepers help customers choose a new model and provide the new smartphone at a lower price by reducing the evaluated price of the old device from the cost of the new device.

Also Read: Samsung Mobiles Price in Nepal

In the mobile exchange offer, customers need to purchase a phone from the shop and they can’t get cash. The shops only reduce the price of the new phone. For example, if you have an iPhone 11 and you want to get iPhone 13 Pro Max then you take your old iPhone 11 to a shop where an exchange service is available. There the shopkeeper evaluates the older iPhone 11 and provides a price. Let us suppose that the shop quotes Rs 40,000. Then you select iPhone 13 Pro Max whose MRP is Rs 1,91,000. So the shopkeeper reduces the MRP of the iPhone 13 Pro Max by the evaluated iPhone 11 price. That makes the total cost (1,91,000-40,000 = 1,51,000). This means you only need to pay Rs 1,51,000 and they take care of the older phone and you get a new one at cheap.

List of Shops That Provide Mobile Exchange in Nepal

We wanted to search for second hand mobile exchange in Nepal. Our work is mainly based in Kathmandu. So, we surveyed a few locations and checked places with exchange facilities. There are quite a few places that give mobile exchange offer in Kathmandu. The catch is you can’t sell the old phones and get away with the money. You need to buy new from them so it is called an exchange. Here is a list of shops or stores with mobile exchange facilities in Nepal. These shops sell new smartphones, and accessories, repair phones, and also provide exchange.

Requirements for Mobile Phone Exchange: Necessary Items

If you are going to exchange your old feature phone, bar phone, or smartphone for getting a new one, there are a few very necessary things. We asked in all shops, and they all have similar requirements or requisites. The things that you need with you to exchange your old phone are as follows.

1. Bill
2. IMEI Number matching original box
3. Government-issued ID cards (Citizenship, Passport, Driving License, Voter ID, and National ID)

Having all the original accessories is better because that can give an even better valuation. The most important part is having the bill or invoice with the original box. You can exchange imported mobile phones if you have a bill or receipt. It won’t matter if the phone is from a foreign country. You can exchange the mobile that you brought from any country in the world. However, network-locked or carrier-locked devices can be an issue if Nepali SIM doesn’t work.

Exchange, Second Hand Market, and Recycle System

Smartphone companies rapidly bring new models to the market. This development speed causes old phones to become outdated because new apps and software demand better hardware. So people need new phones quickly. In this consumer cycle, the biggest problem now is e-waste. People may just simply want to change their tastes or upgrade their devices due to necessity. This is where exchange programs come to help.

As we know, finding a buyer and the correct price in the second-hand market is a hassle. So shops that provide exchange services are a one-stop solution. They simply take the old devices, evaluate them and provide discounts on new purchases. They are an important part of the chain. If people want to purchase a second hand old phone, these shops can directly sell the old devices they bought. They can also repair and refurbish old devices to sell them at cheap. They can also use old devices as donors and their parts to fix newer ones. Finally, they can send the useless devices for recycling.

During the valuation, you might see some price differences. Some popular models get good value while expensive but unpopular models may get less value. We took a few of our phones for evaluation just for test and found that price will differ from place to place and some models really don’t get good value because of the less popularity even if they have power. So if you can take benefit of the device, use it, but if you are sure to sell, then ask various places so that you can get the best price.