It's that time of year again! That special window where everyone rushes to shed their old iPhones in order to recoup a little cash before the new, maybe bigger, inevitably better iPhone rears its shiny head.
Fortunately, we're at a point now that you can get at least a little cash for Apple devices that are even a few years old. Some places will take as far back as an iPhone 3G. Here's where to get the most bang for your buck on your iPhone, elderly or otherwise.
If your iPhone is in good to mint condition and you have the box and most of the accessories than this is the place to go. This is where all the tech people who are good to their phones buy and sell for a respectable market value. As a seller the cost to you is only $10 which is recouped from your sale price. So if you are selling a iPhone 6 for $450, Swappa will take $10 and you will receive $440. Swappa only deals in PayPal transactions. Also, people who buy on Swappa are very very knowledgeable on smartphones. If you try to sell for too high, it will never sell.
As a buyer, Swappa tries their best to protect you by requiring sellers to enter in the IMEI number before they are able to sell the phone. This almost guarantees you are not buying a locked, stolen, or blacklisted (customer stopping paying for their contract and phone) phone. Also Swappa only allows sellers to sell smartphones that work, none of that for parts not working.
Good ole ebay where you can sell your smartphone no matter what condition it is in, broken screen, dented sides, or for parts not working. If Swappa is a semi-exclusive club that is easy to get into but not a lot of people have heard of, then eBay is the For Sale section of your local paper. eBay has the reach and community that Swappa does not so you will have a lot of potential buyers seeing your ad. You will also be competing with a lot of other sellers as well. With huge list of potential buyers, you can charge a higher than normal price for your iPhone in hopes that an inexperienced or unknowledgeable buyer will come along and pay your price. eBay charges 8% of your selling price as a fee which means if your phone sells for more than $100, the cost of you selling it will surpass the $10 of Swappa.
As a buyer on eBay be very very careful. Use the seller's past history and comments as a gauge whether it is safe to buy from them or not. On eBay you could be buying a locked, stolen, or blacklisted phone as there are no IMEI checks.
The used car lot of the wild west. If you don't want to pay any seller fees and don't want the hassle of shipping your smartphone to the buyer, then this is the place for you. Sell the phone in any condition but just know that pictures of your actual phone is how you will get noticed here. Set your price and don't forget to renew your ad every couple of days. Make sure to use the randomizer for your email address that way bots (programs) don't get your email address for spam purposes. If you choose to be contacted by phone, include it in your description of the item and mask if from the bots by putting "five 5 five one six 8 three". If you do get a buyer, please make sure to meet them at a neutral and very public location during daylight hours. Never agree to ship your iPhone to the buyer and use PayPal, strictly cash, not even a personal check. If the buyer is going to pay in large bills ($100's) then make sure to take a counterfeit pen with you to mark the bills or write down the license plate of their vehicle. If they hand you counterfeit bills, you don't want to be the one your bank calls the FBI on for trying to deposit them.
As a buyer on Craigslist make sure to meet in a neutral and very public place during daylight hours. Use $20's and bring a friend who can safely wait in the car to make sure nothing terrible happens.
Carrier stores (Verizon, AT&T), Apple, BestBuy, Wal-Mart, etc.
By far the easiest way to get money towards your new smartphone but most likely also the lowest bang for your buck. You don't need the original box, headphones, or charging cable, you just need a working phone that can charge. Depending on the condition of your phone (shattered screens can be a deal breaker) and how old it is (iPhone 5 will get less than a 5s) is how much you will get for your old smartphone. The biggest catch being it almost certainly comes in the form of store credit, not cash. If you know you are going to upgrade and just need the trade-in for a down payment, then this works just fine for you. Hand them your decent looking and working smartphone, they give you a price, agree, shop for your new upgrade, and walk out the proud owner of a brand new shiny smartphone.
No comments:
Post a Comment