Singapore may be a tiny red-dot in the world map. However, Singapore has recently been crowned as the richest country in the world, beating the likes of Norway and United States. As a tiny nation barely half a century old, Singapore has come a long way and overcome many odds. Blessed with no natural resources on its own, Singapore has only its human resources to depend on. Education is the key to Singapore's success story and it has one of the highest educated population in the world. Singapore has set itself as a benchmark in many industries. From the world's best airport to the world's first night F1 race. From being known as the greenest city in the world to the safest country in the world. With such population demographics, it is no wonder that the smartphone adoption in Singapore has been prolific. Smartphone (like iPhone) introduces countless conveniences and increases productivity.
Boasting a population of about 5-6 Millions (where 20% comes from monthly tourist arrival), Singapore boast some of the best infrastructure in the world. This small but rich nation has huge appetite for affluent lifestyle, particularly Gadgets. With one of the highest penetration rate in the world, majority of the population today owns at least one smartphone (yes, at least).
iPhone is one major digital lifestyle product that is feeding the hunger for Singaporeans to keep themselves up-to-date while on the move. From news reading to Facebook (stalking). From gaming to productivity. From tweeting to podcasting. The adoption of iPhone in Singapore is widespread and it is not uncommon to see a group gathering where everyone is holding on to no other smartphone but the iPhone.
The appeal of iPhone as second hand gadget is indeed phenomenal. Singapore is no exclusion. In the past few occasions of every iPhone launch in Singapore, response has been incredible. This is even when Apple does not have its official store presence in Singapore. While the celebratory launch parties in Singapore had been relatively muted as compared in other parts of the world, sales remain high when one consider the population size in Singapore.
Maybe it is the hot and humid weather that hinders the iPhone launch mania in Singapore. But nonetheless, hundreds of people are still queuing up in lines in various telco outlets when iPhone 4S was launched in 2011. Despite this, there are many who are not fancied by the cool factor of being the first to own an iPhone and are willing to wait. Given the high price and mobile contracts that comes with the iPhone, many have turned to secondary marketplaces such as forums or buyzell which is somewhat looking like a lighter version of craiglists singapore, in order to get a second hand iPhone, that is often in mint condition. In many cases, there are those who purchase the iPhone at a subsidised rate from telco like the singtel iphones and sell them in brand-new-in-box (BNIB) condition.
There are of course tips and tricks you need to look out for in order to fetch a good price for your beloved iPhone.
