If you're looking to trade-in a Samsung phone for a new one, you won't find a better price for your old phone anywhere else other than Samsung's online store. Trade-in values are consistently higher and Samsung bumps them up significantly when new devices are launched.

This makes it easier for customers to buy one of its premium devices without having to spend too much money, but what does Samsung get out of essentially subsidizing your next Galaxy phone purchase? There's far more to it than just that.

Canalys has shared some valuable insight on Samsung's trade-in strategy. It helps the company plug the value perception gap with Apple. Many surveys have shown that iPhone's tend to have higher resale values compared to Galaxy S devices. This reduces Samsung's pricing power and harms its competitiveness in the second hand market.

One of the ways Samsung drives trade-ins is by providing enhanced trade-in values, particularly when it launches new premium devices. It typically provides $100 or more above the market value for its old phones when they're traded in for a new flagship like the Galaxy S25.

Samsung can reduce the price customers have to pay out of pocket for its new flagship phones. This helps boost sales and support higher average selling prices for phones. Customers won't mind a higher price tag if they can easily justify the difference they need to pay after trading in.

The proof is in the pudding. From 2022 to Q1 2025, the global average selling price for Samsung phones has increased 45% from $389 to $528. This strategy has also helped push Samsung's share of devices above the $600 price mark from 18% to 32%.

The company also offers region-specific upgrade programs, like the Galaxy Club in the US and UK, which provides customers with a guaranteed 50% buyback value for their old device within 15 months, while enabling customers to get the phones on 0% financing.

Samsung's various trade-in programs not just make it easier for customers to get new premium models, it also provides the secondary market with more premium used phones, bringing additional users into the ecosystem with many of them ultimately jumping on the same upgrade cycle to keep it going.