How to offset the cost of your pricey new iPhone 5 by trading your old iPhone for cash

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
With Apple's US carrier partners charging existing subscribers higher fees for this year's iPhone model, AppleInsider took a closer look at trade in services that can help offset some of these added costs when you sell them your old iPhone.

While Apple's recycling program, which is run by PowerON, and Best Buy both offer gift cards to their stores in exchange for old iPhones, several other services provide cash in exchange.

The below comparison offers an idea of how much money customers can get for trading in their used iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S with some of the most popular services available. The trade in values shown are for iPhones in like-new condition, and as a result show the best-possible payment from each company. Actual trade-in values will vary for devices in worse-than-pristine shape, and you can click through the respective links to obtain a specific quote for the condition of your iPhone.

And since many iPhone users are unwilling to trade away their old iPhone until their new one arrives, many of the services offer to lock in trade value quotes for the next few weeks. For example, NextWorth, which is amongst the highest cash paying services, will lock in quotes for three full weeks -- meaning you can wait to send them your handset until your iPhone 5 arrives at your door.
MacBook Pro


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Current iPhone Trade-in Payouts (Oct 10th 2014)
iPhone 3G 16GB (AT&T or Unlocked) $12 $10 $0
iPhone 3G 8GB (AT&T or Unlocked) $12 $10 $0
iPhone 3G S 16GB (AT&T or Unlocked) $12 $10 $5
iPhone 3G S 32GB (AT&T or Unlocked) $12 $10 $5
iPhone 3G S 8GB (AT&T or Unlocked) $12 $10 $5
iPhone 4 16GB (AT&T or Unlocked) $105 $100 $50
iPhone 4 16GB (Verizon) $80 $75 $30
iPhone 4 32GB (AT&T or Unlocked) $110 $105 $50
iPhone 4 32GB (Verizon) $82 $77 $30
iPhone 4 8GB (AT&T or Unlocked) $100 $95 $50
iPhone 4 8GB (other) $55 $50 $20
iPhone 4 8GB (Sprint) $65 $60 $20
iPhone 4 8GB (T-Mobile) $70 $65 $20
iPhone 4 8GB (Verizon) $65 $60 $20
iPhone 4S 8GB (AT&T or Unlocked) $170 $160 $70
iPhone 4S 8GB (other) $130 $120 $50
iPhone 4S 8GB (Sprint) $150 $140 $60
iPhone 4S 8GB (T-Mobile) $150 $140 $60
iPhone 4S 8GB (Verizon) $150 $140 $60
iPhone 4S 16GB (AT&T or Unlocked) $175 $165 $80
iPhone 4S 16GB (other) $140 $130 $60
iPhone 4S 16GB (Sprint) $160 $150 $65
iPhone 4S 16GB (T-Mobile) $160 $150 $65
iPhone 4S 16GB (Verizon) $160 $150 $65
iPhone 4S 32GB (AT&T or Unlocked) $180 $170 $80
iPhone 4S 32GB (other) $140 $130 $60
iPhone 4S 32GB (Sprint) $165 $155 $65
iPhone 4S 32GB (Verizon) $165 $155 $65
iPhone 4S 64GB (AT&T or Unlocked) $185 $175 $80
iPhone 4S 64GB (other) $140 $130 $60
iPhone 4S 64GB (Sprint) $170 $160 $65
iPhone 4S 64GB (Verizon) $170 $160 $65
iPhone 5 16GB (AT&T or Unlocked) $280 $270 $110
iPhone 5 16GB (other) $210 $200 $80
iPhone 5 16GB (Sprint) $210 $200 $80
iPhone 5 16GB (T-Mobile) $250 $240 $80
iPhone 5 16GB (Verizon) $290 $280 $110
iPhone 5 32GB (AT&T or Unlocked) $285 $275 $110
iPhone 5 32GB (other) $215 $205 $80
iPhone 5 32GB (Sprint) $215 $205 $80
iPhone 5 32GB (T-Mobile) $260 $250 $80
iPhone 5 32GB (Verizon) $295 $285 $110
iPhone 5 64GB (AT&T or Unlocked) $290 $280 $110
iPhone 5 64GB (other) $220 $210 $80
iPhone 5 64GB (Sprint) $220 $210 $80
iPhone 5 64GB (T-Mobile) $270 $260 $80
iPhone 5 64GB (Verizon) $300 $290 $110
Although Amazon offers store credit instead of cash, we've included the retailer in the comparison chart along with the other cash-paying services because of its high trade in quotes and the broader selection of general merchandise that can be purchased with its store credit, as opposed to Apple and Best Buy, which only sell electronics.

However, it should be noted that the Amazon gift cards can be used on items available on the retailers main site, they are not valid for use at the Amazon Wireless store, which is the site that sells smartphones.

In the case of each trade in services, trade in values are subject to vary on a daily or hourly basis until they've been locked in.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 33
    EBay.
  • Reply 2 of 33
    Price? Pricey?

    In any case, this is a great idea for those of us with full high-capacity models who will have to shell out more just to keep all our stuff.

    Feel a bit of a mug paying apple so much more for increasingly-needed storage when USB drives & solid-state storage cards are so cheap now.
  • Reply 3 of 33


    Originally Posted by TimmyDax View Post

    Price? Pricey?


     


    It's right. Informal, maybe, but right. THIS, on the other hand… 


     


  • Reply 4 of 33
    The table shows Amazon is offering $500 for my black 64GB AT&T 4S but it's actually $450 when I follow the link.

    There's two problems with trying to do this:

    1) I get amazon credit. What if amazon doesn't sell the phone I want to get?
    2) I have to trade in before I can buy a new phone, leaving me without a phone. no way to really use the proceeds directly.
  • Reply 5 of 33
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    "How to offset the cost of your pricey new iPhone 5"

    Oh, so now AI officially labels Apple gear as "pricey" even though the prices are the same as last year. Why not just go ahead and call them "overpriced" like the trolls do and be done with it. AI is starting to become extremely annoying.
  • Reply 6 of 33
    lkrupp wrote: »
    "How to offset the cost of your pricey new iPhone 5"
    Oh, so now AI officially labels Apple gear as "pricey" even though the prices are the same as last year. Why not just go ahead and call them "overpriced" like the trolls do and be done with it. AI is starting to become extremely annoying.

    So either "pricey" doesn't mean "overpriced" or the trolls were right.
    Which is it?
  • Reply 7 of 33
    And Amazon can inspect the phone and say it "has lots of scratches" and cut the value by $100 or more. I wouldn't trust Amazon.
  • Reply 8 of 33
    Be nice is chart included factory unlocked phones also.
  • Reply 9 of 33

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by lkrupp View Post



    "How to offset the cost of your pricey new iPhone 5"

    Oh, so now AI officially labels Apple gear as "pricey" even though the prices are the same as last year. Why not just go ahead and call them "overpriced" like the trolls do and be done with it. AI is starting to become extremely annoying.


    Or the year before that, or the year before that, or the year before that...


     


    See what I did there? image


     


    I've noticed that the rumor sites, this and MacRumors. have kind of dropped the ball a little bit with reporting the facts from this event.


     


    "With Apple's US carrier partners charging existing subscribers higher fees for this year's iPhone model"  REALLY?


     


    MacRumors said that the adapters' shipping had slipped to October, when in fact they ALWAYS had been set for October...


     


    I know people make mistakes and I don't mean to be mean-spirited pointing fingers, but some major basic stuff was miscommunicated this year across the board.  


    Even other news sites were stating that the iPhone was going on sale at 12:01am without indicating what time zone.  Some people I know argued with me here in NY when I told them that it was really going on sale at 3am.  They were so sure that they were right because they read it on a website without actually doing some referencing.

  • Reply 10 of 33
    Avoid Gazelle at all costs. If you send them your device and then reject their offer, you won't get your accessories (such as headphones) back, making it less valuable when selling elsewhere.
  • Reply 11 of 33
    old-wiz wrote: »
    And Amazon can inspect the phone and say it "has lots of scratches" and cut the value by $100 or more. I wouldn't trust Amazon.

    All of them can and do do this.

    The only way to really get the money is to go in (assuming you have a warranty) and get your old dinged up phone swapped for a replacement. However Apple is wise to this and won't swap unless there is a verified hardware issue. If it can be software they will make you demand you erase it etc instead.

    Course if you have Apple Care plus and haven't ever dropped it you could just smash the screen and forfeit $50 to get a pretty new one
  • Reply 12 of 33
    tylerk36tylerk36 Posts: 1,037member


    BestBuy will pay you for your iPhone.  They did for mine.

  • Reply 13 of 33
    This seems like a lot of extra work and risk to me. I have upgraded to every single new iPhone the day it came out (starting with the 3G for me as I live in Canada).

    Every single year when I get the new model, I sell my old one for $50-$100 less then Apple decides to then sell that older model for unlocked... it has never failed me yet and never taken me more then 2 days to sell it.

    So for example, when my iPhone 5 shows up in the mail I will put my iPhone 4S on Kijiji for $550 (Apple is now charging $599 for a new 16gb 4S and mine is in mint condition with packaging as well as a dock and car charger I can no longer use :P).

    Up until last year I was actually making money to upgrade as Rogers was offer existing iPhone owners new contract pricing to upgrade. So I would sell my old one for $400-$500 and then turn around and pay $200 to upgrade (renewing my contract of course). But since rogers now has significantly increased the price of upgrading this early I have just decided to buy the new model unlocked.

    So iPhone 5 will cost me roughly $250-$300 for a 16gb unlocked model from Apple (if you don't take into account the money I've gained upgrading to previous models)
  • Reply 14 of 33
    aaronjaaronj Posts: 1,595member


    I haven't ever traded my iPhone in before, because I always just skipped a generation.  So, when I moved from the 3GS to the 4S, I gave my old phone to my dad.  And it wasn't really worth it for the original iPhone.


     


    Anyways, this time I'm going to get the new iPhone (I'm sorry, won't call it iPhone5).  So, I'm wondering, for those with experience with doing this, what do you think is the best route to take?  I'm thinking I'll just stick with Apple, since I trust them already.  Thoughts, opinions?

  • Reply 15 of 33
    I want the new phone but not sure what to do with my blackberry. LOL
  • Reply 16 of 33
    "However, it should be noted that the Amazon gift cards can be used on items available on the retailers main site, they are not valid for use at the Amazon Wireless store, which is the site that sells smartphones."

    It should also be noted that Amazon, itself, does NOT sell the new iPhone nor iPad. As far as I know, it never has. Yes, you'll find the iPhone and iPad for sale on Amazon's site, but they are sold by third parties as part of Amazon Marketplace.

  • Reply 17 of 33
    kindredmac wrote: »
    Or the year before that, or the year before that, or the year before that...

    See what I did there? :lol:

    I've noticed that the rumor sites, this and MacRumors. have kind of dropped the ball a little bit with reporting the facts from this event.

    "<span style="background-color:rgb(226,225,225);color:rgb(24,24,24);font-family:'lucida grande', verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;line-height:normal;">With Apple's US carrier partners charging existing subscribers higher fees for this year's iPhone model"  REALLY?</span>


    <span style="line-height:normal;">MacRumors said that the adapters' shipping had slipped to October, when in fact they ALWAYS had been set for October...</span>


    <span style="line-height:normal;">I know people make mistakes and I don't mean to be mean-spirited pointing fingers, but some major basic stuff was miscommunicated this year across the board.  </span>

    <span style="line-height:normal;">Even other news sites were stating that the iPhone was going on sale at 12:01am without indicating what time zone.  Some people I know argued with me here in NY when I told them that it was really going on sale at 3am.  They were so sure that they were right because they read it on a website without actually doing some referencing.</span>

    Maybe I'm wrong, but I took this another way. I don't consider the price of the phone a "fee". I thought they were talking about the "upgrade fee" that AT&T charges to upgrade. Last time I upgraded, they charged $18. This time they want $36.
  • Reply 18 of 33


    Your prices for Gazelle on the AT&T iPhone 4 32GB are wrong.  The prices offered are the same as the Verizon ones (around $165).

  • Reply 19 of 33
    boredumbboredumb Posts: 1,418member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by glynor View Post


    Your prices for Gazelle on the AT&T iPhone 4 32GB are wrong.  The prices offered are the same as the Verizon ones (around $165).



    I noticed a lot of discrepancies, too.


    But, its just possible that the offers are dropping as requests come flooding in...supply and demand-related, perhaps?

  • Reply 20 of 33
    I might try Amazon. I've already got $200 worth of merchandise on pre-order.
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