iPhone X? 4 Ways to Sell Your iPhone

With Apple set to unveil the next-generation of the iPhone next week, the people at Flipsy.com dropped me the quick run-down of the various ways you can sell your existing iOS smartphone while you put the dollars together for the next model.

Swap it at the carrier

If you are using a locked iPhone you can try taking it back to the carrier and trading it in for a new iPhone. This is convenient, but you get paid in store credit which can take a while to be applied to your bill. However, the big no-no here is that on average carriers pay 30 percent less than you’ll get from a trade-in company – which makes a difference when you’re trying to get hold of the high-end model.

Online trade-in companies

You can get pretty good money from some of the online trade-in companies – this is where Flipsy wants your attention, as they offer a web tool that lets you compare how much different firms will give you for the device. As noted above, these places pay a little more and you usually receive the money in a few days. Click here to compare what big names including Gazelle, uSell, MobileFlyp and Buyback Boss will give you for your old iPhone.

Local electric stores

You can take your old device to one of your local electronics retailers (including Apple). While payment is instant (in the form of cash or credit) you are unlikely to get paid as much as you may receive from an online trade-in company. Flipsy also provides a handy little tool that lets you enter your zip code to find out which stores are buying iPhones in your area.

Sell privately

Sell it to a friend or via an online service like eBay, Gumtree, or whoever you prefer. You’ll make the most money by selling to someone directly, but there is a chance you might get ripped-off – especially if you don’t know what your device is worth. Flipsy.com says it “displays private market values for iPhone models, based on real-world sales, as well as historical price trends.”

What difference does it make?

When it comes down to it the difference in the amount of money you’ll get for your old device can be pretty high. Here’s a Flipsy-provided payout comparison for the iPhone 7 Plus (32GB black on the Verizon network), retrieved 8/24/2017.

• Private market: $673 cash
• Flipsy: $518 cash
• uSell: $369 cash
• AT&T: $350 credit
• Verizon: $349 credit
• T-Mobile: $335 credit
• Gazelle: $325 cash
• Best Buy: $275 credit
• ecoATM: $275 cash
• Apple Store: $260 credit
• Sprint: $200 credit

What are you expecting from iPhone 8/X?