Faruk Kocabas, CEO of MediaMarkt Turkey, highlighted the growing popularity of refurbished smartphones, describing it as “cheaper alternatives given the current high prices”. According to him, it was not surprising that people were choosing used smartphones. He also told Milliyet Daily that he expected the sales of used phones in the country to reach between 300,000 and 500,000 this year.

The falling national currency has made new smartphones too expensive for many Turkish consumers, especially the young ones and more people are turning to cheaper second-hand devices instead. Another reason for the high cost of new mobile phones is the higher ‘registration tax’ on foreign smartphones by three times in July.

The tax issue is also important because anyone who brings a smartphone from abroad, whether they are foreigners or Turkish citizens, has to register it and pay taxes within 120 days. Turkish President Erdogan revealed a plan in late September to help millions of university students buy a smartphone or laptop without paying taxes. However, he said that the plan would only apply to devices that were made in Turkey.