‘Bendgate’ Study: Damaged iPhone 6 May Lose $835 of Its Resale Value

According to a new study by leading used gadget marketplace uSell.com — which routinely processes thousands of used iPhones — testing your iPhone 6/6 Plus to see if you can bend it, is not only stupid, it can cost you big time.

uSell says the so-called “Bendgate” discovery that iPhone 6 enclosures may easily bend or break in your pocket has broader implications for consumers than at first believed.

According to uSell.com’s analysis, past versions of the iPhone have lost, on average, 88% of their resale value if bent or otherwise inflicted with extreme physical damage.

Based on the current price for a contract-free iPhone 6 Plus with 128GB of storage ($949), this represents an an average loss to consumers of $835 for a bent iPhone.

Moreover, according to uSell.com COO Nik Raman, there is another reason why the ‘Bendgate’ story has broad consumer implications: Based on a uSell.com survey conducted immediately BEFORE the iPhone 6 launch, 45.5% of smartphone users ranked damage prevention (dubbed the “Sapphire Screen”) as the #1 most requested feature for a new iPhone model.

Instead of delivering a phone that was harder to damage, RAman says Apple may have inadvertently done the opposite.

For more information, visit:
http://www.usell.com/sell/cell-phone/