Want the IPhone 4? Sell Your Old One

Jun 09
2010

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It didn’t take long for some current iPhone owners to decide they’re going to get the new iPhone 4–by selling their old iPhones and using the proceeds for the latest gadget.

Since Apple unveiled the thinner re-designed iPhone with a high-definition screen and a front-facing camera on Monday, consumer electronics trade-in and recycling Web site Gazelle.com said it has seen a spike in the number of people looking to sell their old iPhones.

A year ago when the iPhone 3GS was announced, Gazelle.com got 141 trade-ins of old iPhones on the first day. This year, it got over a 1,000 just on Monday, with 65% of them being last year’s 3GS model. The site believes the numbers on Tuesday were even larger. We saw “an incredible acceleration of business,” said Gazelle CEO Israel Ganot.

The way Gazelle works is that users can fill out a form with a few questions about the condition of their device before finding out how much the company is willing to pay. A 16 gigabyte 3GS that is in good condition, free of water damage and with the AC adapter and original cables was offered $201 as of Tuesday evening. The site says an iPhone 3GS could get up to $304, a 3G up to $141 and a 2G model up to $115–though they would likely have to be in perfect condition to receive the highest price. The user has 30 days to send the phone in.

Ganot says the price Gazelle offers will probably halve in a week’s time as more used iPhones become available, but the company expects to pay for more than 10,000 used phones in the next 30 to 45 days. Gazelle then sells the used iPhones through eBay or in international markets. If the phone is broken, it will still buy it and sell the parts to refurbishing companies.

For would-be iPhone 4 users, looking ahead to potentially trading up their devices next year, Ganot recommends keeping the phone’s screen well-protected and scratch free, holding onto the original packaging, and making sure the phone is up to date with firmware and software updates.

Computers-Plus