Cell Phone Shipments Down 20% in 2009

With out a doubt Matt Richtel from the New York Times hit the nail on the head in his recent article "This Old Phone? Good Enough for Me." People in this challenging economic downturn, if that is what you want to call it, are pinching everywhere they can. And ultimately, a phone is a phone is a phone. If it dials out and can send a text, then it is probably good enough for today.

For cell phone recyclers and wholesalers, at least for the time-being this seems to mean that sales of used equipment are up. One thing we've noticed is that a lot of people are turning to pre-paid phones - in some cases we've seen sales from pre-paids quadruple from Q4 2008. Going month-to-month is a safe and easy change for people who have lost their job or who are insecure about committing that extra year contract.

Whether 2009 has you buying a brand-new iPhone or hanging onto that old piece with the cracked screen and duct-tape, I hope manufacturers and carriers are looking into their crystal balls to see how they can help consumers through this recession and prepare us all for a more positive outlook in 2010.

Stay with the White Elephant

It seems like everywhere I turn companies have decided to cancel their holiday parties this year. Citing dropping stock prices, sinking revenues, overall economy worries, etc., organizations of all sizes and types are joining the trend. Even companies that are doing well are forgoing the yearly festivities because they would be “inappropriate” or “insensitive” in this time of uncertainty and layoffs. Apparently scaling down from previous year’s party is not enough-

It is a tough decision.

Celebrating the holiday season has a very human basis to it that is independent of whether these are good times or bad. Companies can’t treat a traditional event, even one as unnatural and stilted as subjecting everyone’s spouse to my drunken 08 reflection and 09 outlook. You spend so much time around these people during the year that it is flat necessary to get a quick peak into who they spend all their other time with, and what they are like when they bring that new fiancé that nobody has yet seen. I understand not wanting to insult employee’s intelligence when they overhear sales totals, but what about your guys you can’t do without? Doesn’t their morale count?

Sure you have to be sensitive to budgetary concerns but that should mean scale back, not phase out.