How to Get the Best Price for Your Old iPhone
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Want an iPhone 5? You're not alone.
Apple (AAPL) analyst Gene Munster predicts the company could sell 10 million iPhone 5 devices in just one week. Many Apple watchers have already declared the iPhone 5 unveiling to be the company's biggest and it could very well be the most-anticipated smartphone launch ever.
Apple, famously known for its culture of secrecy, has not officially released any details about the device, including its name. If the Apple rumor blogs are right, the world will be introduced to the latest iPhone device on Wednesday at a special event in San Francisco, Calif.
When that happens current iPhone users who want to upgrade their devices will be in a pickle: What will they do with their old iPhones? And what about non-iPhone users that want to switch devices but are locked in their wireless contracts?
[Related: On Eve Of iPhone Launch, Apple Hit With Another Manufacturing Scandal]
Users could try to sell their phones on popular sites like eBay (EBAY) or Craigslist, but there are sites specifically dedicated to buying people's old iPhones and tech gadgets. One such site is uSell.com. Like its top competitor gazelle.com, uSell.com allows individuals to sell their old devices for cash. USell.com has 15 partners, or buyers, in its online network and potential sellers can choose which buyer to sell their old gadget to at the best price.
For instance, the highest offer on uSell.com for a 16GB iPhone 4S that runs on the Verizon network and is in "good shape" (i.e. minor signs of wear) was $230, a few dollars less than the best deal on gazelle.com. iPhones on the AT&T network appear to sell for more money. The 16GB iPhone 4S model currently retails for $199.99 at Verizon Wireless stores but that price requires a two-year contract (the 32GB iPhone 4S model costs $299.99; the 64GB version $399.99).
Sergio Zyman, chairman of the one-year old uSell.com, says the iPhone has quickly become the site's best-selling product.
Consumers are "dying to have the latest phones," Zyman tells The Daily Ticker's Aaron Task and Henry Blodget. "The market continues to evolve into smartphones."
[Related: iPhone 5 Isn't The Only Factor Driving Apple Shares Higher: Eric Jackson]
More than 244 million iPhones have been sold around the world since its debut in 2007 but Apple's market penetration could be larger, Zyman says. A lot of the customers that shop on uSell.com are international smartphone users that do not have access to Apple's retail stores, he notes.
Zyman says his site also allows consumers who cannot afford the price of a new iPhone to join the iPhone frenzy by purchasing older models at a discount.
Apple's new iPhone marks the first hardware design change since 2010 and iPhone users are clamoring to get their hands on the reportedly bigger screen and thinner body of the iPhone 5.
Apple sold more than 4 million iPhone 4S devices within the first three days of the product's launch on Oct. 14, 2011. iPhones accounted for 43 percent of Apple's $108.2 billion in sales last year.
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