Second-Hand Mobile Shop Business
सेकंड-हैंड मोबाइल दुकान व्यवसाय · सेकंड-हँड मोबाईल दुकान व्यवसाय
Buy used smartphones from individuals and traders, check and clean them, and resell with a short warranty, along with accessories.
Investment
₹4 lakh
Profit a month*
₹28,000
- Space
- 120 sq ft
- Staff
- Just you
*Operating profit before the loan instalment in year 2, at the assumed sales level. Change the assumptions in the calculator below.
A second-hand mobile shop buys used phones from people upgrading and from wholesale traders, checks them, does small repairs or cleaning, and resells them at a margin with a short shop warranty. Most used phones in India are sold as they are, without full refurbishment. Buyers are students, first-time smartphone users and people who want a better model than their budget allows new. It needs a small shop, cash to buy stock and a sharp eye for a phone's condition and real value. The margin per phone is small, so judgement in buying matters more than anything. The hard parts are stolen or locked phones offered for sale, hidden faults that appear after resale, prices that fall every month, and cash tied up in stock that does not sell.
Skills needed: Phone testing (battery health, display, sensors, network locks, account locks), pricing knowledge and basic repair skill or a tie-up with a repairer.
Profit calculator
Change the numbers to match your town2 phone/day: Used phone sold · 11 ₹100 of sales/day: Accessories sold (per ₹100 of sales)
Total investment
₹3.98 lakh
Your own money
₹39,773
Subsidy
—
Bank loan
₹3.58 lakh
Mudra Kishore
A typical month in year 2
| Sales | ₹4,14,700 |
| Raw material & packing | −₹3,70,370 |
| Electricity | −₹1,370 |
| Salaries | ₹0 |
| Rent | −₹10,500 |
| Other running costs | −₹4,200 |
| Operating profit | ₹28,260 |
| Loan instalment (EMI) | −₹8,346 |
| You keep each month | ₹19,914 |
After the loan is repaid, the EMI becomes your income too. Your own salary is not counted as a cost: the profit is your income.
Need this for a bank loan?
Turn these numbers into a full project report: cost of project, means of finance, 5-year profit and loss, balance sheet, repayment schedule, DSCR and break-even.
Make my project reportInvestment breakdown
| Machinery & equipment | Price |
|---|---|
| Glass display counter, wall racks and signboard | ₹70,000 |
| Computer for IMEI checks, records and billing | ₹35,000 |
| Testing tools, cables, battery tester and cleaning kit | ₹15,000 |
| CCTV and safe for stock | ₹25,000 |
| Inverter and battery | ₹20,000 |
| Machinery & equipment (without add-ons) | ₹1,65,000 |
| Rent deposit | ₹30,000 |
| Shop Act and other registrations | ₹3,000 |
| Opening advertising | ₹5,000 |
| Working capital 20 days of raw material, 0 days of credit to buyers, 1 month of expenses | ₹1,94,733 |
| Total project cost | ₹3,97,733 |
Typical market prices as of October 2026, from supplier listings. Prices vary by brand, capacity and city; always get 2–3 quotes.
Cost and margin per unit
| Used phone sold (per phone) | ₹ |
|---|---|
| Purchase price of the phone | 8000.00 |
| Cleaning, minor repair, box and charger | 200.00 |
| Material cost | 8200.00 |
| Selling price | 9000.00 |
| Margin before running costs | 800.00 (9%) |
Average of budget and mid-range phones. An industry analysis put retailers' margin on used smartphones at about 8–10%, and a business guide at roughly ₹500–3,000 a phone.
| Accessories sold (per ₹100 of sales) (per ₹100 of sales) | ₹ |
|---|---|
| Purchase cost of covers, glass, chargers and earphones | 65.00 |
| Material cost | 65.00 |
| Selling price | 100.00 |
| Margin before running costs | 35.00 (35%) |
Assumes about ₹2,000 of accessory sales a day at full capacity; the 35% margin is an assumption.
Space, power and staff
120 sq ft
Rented shop · rent ≈ ₹10,000/month
Small-town market rent for a small shop in a mobile market or busy road.
1 kW, single-phase
Bill ≈ ₹2,000/month at full capacity
You alone
Licences and registrations
Shop and Establishment registration
mandatoryWhen: Within the period your state sets after opening · Cost: Small fee; varies by state
Seller identity records for every phone bought
mandatoryWhen: Every purchase · Cost: None
Take the seller's ID proof, phone bill or box where available, and a signed declaration, and check the IMEI against the government's lost-and-stolen phone database. Local police often require dealers in used phones to keep this register; ask your police station.
GST registration
if applicableWhen: When turnover crosses the registration limit for goods · Cost: Free
Dealers in used goods can pay GST on the margin instead of the full price under a special scheme, subject to conditions. Take a CA's advice.
Udyam registration
recommendedWhen: Before applying for a loan · Cost: Free
Apply only on udyamregistration.gov.in.
How it works
- Inspect a phone offered for sale: body, display, battery health, cameras, network and account locks.
- Verify the IMEI and the seller's identity; record both.
- Agree a price; pay by a traceable method where possible.
- Reset the phone only after the seller removes their accounts; clean and test fully.
- Price, display and sell with a written short warranty and a bill.
Loan route
Mudra loan (Kishore)
Own money ₹39,773 · Loan ₹3.58 lakh · EMI ≈ ₹8,346
No collateral, no subsidy.
How Mudra worksPMEGP (new units)
Subsidy ₹59,660 (general, urban) to ₹1.39 lakh (special category, rural). EMI ≈ ₹6,955–₹5,564.
Own money 5–10%. Subsidy is held as a 3-year deposit, then adjusted against the loan.
How PMEGP worksAssumes 10.5% interest, 5 years including a 6-month moratorium. PMEGP was approved up to FY 2025-26. Check on the KVIC PMEGP portal that applications are open before you plan around the subsidy.
No collateral and no third-party guarantee (covered by the Credit Guarantee Fund for Micro Units).
Who buys and how to sell
Buyers
- Students and first-time smartphone users
- Workers and delivery riders needing a low-cost phone
- People wanting a higher model at a lower price
- Parents buying a child's first phone
- Other dealers (bulk lots)
Ways to sell
- A shop in the mobile market
- Online classifieds and local social media groups
- Exchange offers with nearby new-phone retailers
- References from repair shops
Season: Steady; more phones come in for sale after new-model launches and festival sales, and more buyers come at the start of the academic year.
Competition: Other used-phone dealers, online refurbished stores with warranties, and exchange offers from new-phone sellers. A local shop wins on trust, a real warranty and letting buyers test the phone.
Risks and how to handle them
Buying a stolen, blacklisted or account-locked phone
Check the IMEI and locks, record the seller's ID and refuse doubtful deals.
Hidden faults appear after you resell
Test every function, keep a margin for warranty repairs and tie up with a good repairer.
Stock loses value while it sits
Buy fast-selling models, price to sell within two or three weeks and cut the price early on slow phones.
Customer data left on a phone
Factory-reset every phone properly before display.
Tips from the trade
- Profit is made when buying: know the going resale price before you make an offer.
- A written seven- or fifteen-day warranty sets you apart from street sellers.
- Repairing and reselling phones with small faults earns more per phone but needs repair skill.
Questions people ask
How do I check that a used phone is not stolen?+
Check the IMEI on the government's lost-and-stolen phone portal, confirm the seller's identity and ask for the original bill or box. Refuse phones with account locks the seller cannot remove in front of you.
How much profit is there on a used phone?+
Published figures suggest about 8–10% of the selling price, or roughly ₹500–3,000 a phone depending on the model and condition.
How much investment is needed to start a second-hand mobile shop business?+
About ₹3.98 lakh for a small unit: ₹1.65 lakh for machinery and equipment, ₹38,000 for set-up costs and ₹1.95 lakh as working capital (stock, credit to buyers and one month of expenses). Prices as of October 2026.
How much profit can a second-hand mobile shop business make per month?+
At 55% of capacity, sales are about ₹4.15 lakh a month and operating profit about ₹28,260 before the loan instalment. After an EMI of about ₹8,346, the owner keeps about ₹19,914 a month until the loan is repaid. These are estimates; your prices, rent and sales decide the real figure.
Can I get a Mudra loan or PMEGP subsidy for second-hand mobile shop?+
With a project cost of about ₹3.98 lakh, the bank loan of about ₹3.58 lakh falls under Mudra Kishore. Mudra has no subsidy. As a new unit you may instead apply under PMEGP, where the subsidy is 15–35% of the project cost (up to about ₹1.39 lakh here for a special-category applicant in a rural area). PMEGP was approved up to FY 2025-26. Check on the KVIC PMEGP portal that applications are open before you plan around the subsidy.
What licences are required for second-hand mobile shop?+
Mandatory: Shop and Establishment registration, Seller identity records for every phone bought. Depending on your set-up you may also need: GST registration, Udyam registration.
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Sources
- Redseer: analysis of India's used smartphone market
- TelecomTalk: second-hand smartphone market size and how phones are sold
- Disytax: GST for mobile shops 2026, including the margin scheme
- NIIR: mobile repair and resale business overview
Prices as of October 2026. Prices here come from online listings and published guides and have not yet been confirmed with local suppliers. Profit figures are estimates from the assumptions above, not a promise of income.
Spotted an outdated price? Tell us. Data for this page: HowIndiaEarns.