It doesn’t matter whether you are buying a used smartphone or selling a used smartphone — buyers and sellers share a common question: When will the price drop? Buyers often wait for prices to drop a little more, and sellers want to sell as quickly as possible.
Keep reading to learn more about the Galaxy S21 price drop history, and discover how much each of the models in the S21 family is worth. And if you’re unsure which model to buy, be sure to check out our Samsung Galaxy S Buyer’s Guide.
Samsung Galaxy S21 price drop history
The Samsung Galaxy S21 is the current generation of the Galaxy S lineup and was released for sale in January 2021. The Galaxy S21 family consists of a trio of smartphones, which include the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21 Plus, and the Galaxy S21 Ultra.
The original MSRP for the Galaxy S21 was $799. The Galaxy S21 has the lowest price out of these three smartphones, with the Galaxy S21 Plus coming in at $999 and the Galaxy S21 Ultra priced at $1,199. These three models were all released about six months ago, which means the prices haven’t dropped as much as the previous generation Galaxy S smartphones — but buying gently used is still a sure-fire way to save money.
January 2021 | February 2021 | March 2021 | April 2021 | May 2021 | |
Samsung Galaxy S21 5G | $595 | $593 | $598 | $599 | $590 |
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus 5G | $771 | $727 | $678 | $697 | $712 |
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (128GB) | $968 | $921 | $877 | $887 | $871 |
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (256GB) | $1,088 | $1,039 | $964 | $1,000 | $981 |
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (512GB) | $1,192 | $1,165 | $1,158 | $1,130 | $1,108 |
The above table shows the average sale prices for a used Samsung Galaxy S21 sold in the Swappa marketplace.
Buy a cheap Samsung Galaxy S21 on Swappa
Average sale prices tend to decrease over time for used smartphones. The drop in value may seem smaller if you look from month to month, however, when spread over time they can be rather significant. Not to mention, buying newish means massive savings compared to paying MSRP.
Using the Galaxy S21 5G as an example: In January 2021 the average selling price was $595, and five months later in May 2021, the average selling price was $590. It certainly wouldn’t be worth waiting five months to save five dollars, but when you factor in the original MSRP — you’ll get a solid bargain. The original MSRP for the Galaxy S21 5G was $799, and buying a gently used model in May 2021 for $590 means you would save about $200.
Overall though, several factors affect the value of a used smartphone, so even with a phone that was released in 2021 — you can save lots of money by waiting just a few months. Another example is the Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G. This model had an original retail price of $1,199, but the average selling price as of May 2021 was $871, which means you can expect to save a little over $200.
Some of the key factors that affect the value of a used smartphone include market demand, the condition, and the specs, such as the amount of internal storage space.
You can review the current price trends for each of the models in the Galaxy S21 family using the following links:
When is the best time to buy a Samsung Galaxy S21?
Right now is the best time to buy a used Galaxy S21. Used smartphones are always cheaper than retail — even when we’re talking about a six-month-old phone such as the Galaxy S21. In addition, buying immediately without waiting is also key if you lost your phone, or damaged it beyond repair. If you are planning to buy a used Galaxy S21, you should take comfort in knowing that you are saving lots of money as compared to the original retail prices.
You can subscribe to get an email alert every time a new Samsung Galaxy S21 listing is added by clicking on the “Subscribe” button on the following links:
When is the best time to sell a Samsung Galaxy S21?
This should go without saying, but if you’re selling something, you likely want to get as much money as possible. So…the best time to sell a Galaxy S21 is right now. As we’ve shown here in this post, the average selling price of a used smartphone decreases over time. This means the longer you wait, the less money you will get in return. Of course, market demand plays an important role when it comes to the value of a used smartphone, so a good time to sell is also when there are fewer models available for sale. It is also important to keep in mind that you’ll get more money by selling, as opposed to trading in.
It doesn’t matter if you are planning to buy a smartphone, or to sell a smartphone — both sides want to use a marketplace that is active and safe. The Swappa marketplace is active and equally important is that Swappa is safe, secure, and easy to use. Swappa’s policies are designed to protect buyers and sellers equally.
We encourage you to browse Swappa to learn more about how everything works. You can also reach out to our support team, who are available 24/7/365 if you have any questions. And after you finish checking out the site, make sure to also read some of the Trustpilot reviews (where we have a rating of Excellent) that have been left by other Swappa users.