India, Sept. 12 -- Indians have always lived with contradictions. Splurge on the newest iPhone then haggle ferociously with the vegetable vendor over a hundred rupees. I grew up in a world where "used" or "refurbished" meant second-class. A hand-me-down was tolerated, never flaunted. That cultural hangover is real.

And yet, one in five smartphones sold in India today is refurbished. The pre-owned market is already pegged at about $5 billion, with the organised segment expected to double by 2030. This is no longer a sideshow. It is a market force powerful enough to bend the strategies of the world's largest tech companies.

Nakul Kumar, co-founder of Cashify, puts it starkly: "India has always been a second-hand-first market." He argues t...