“We don’t have hard data on teens buying and selling these products, but it makes perfect sense,” Bates said. “Teens just own more electronics today and because they do, they have technology that’s still working and they want to redistribute it. We see a shift in how people are using their tech. Teens like to get something newer before the old product is no longer unusable.”
And the demand is there from lower-income youths without deep-pocketed parents, said Lance Ulanoff, a technology columnist and reviews editor at PC Magazine. It’s like a “digital flea market for teens,” he said. “It’s a tiered system of teens. There are those that can get the latest and greatest and those that can’t.” He added: “It might be used, but if it still looks cool they’re willing to go with that.”
A review of listings on Web sites like Craigslist, eBay and MySpace, the social networking site, points to a secondary market of teenagers involved in tech gadget commerce. And sales are not limited to the Web. Many teenagers said they were also selling their old electronics to classmates, in the hallways of high schools and colleges.
Inside Bay Area – Teens turn profits selling used gadgets
Blogged with Flock
Joi Podgorny 