Is it time to pre-order the new iPhone XS / XS Max / XR already? We’ve created a guide on exactly how to sell your old device securely and without getting ripped off on price in the process.
If you are ready to preorder the new iPhone XS or XS Max, this is the guide you need. Especially if you recently purchased the iPhone X, and you do not want to lose out on the $999 you just put into it.
The best solution for you is to sell your old iPhone to help pay for your new one. Let’s see how you can get the most money out of that old iPhone today.
It’s possible to get a great price on an iPhone as opposed to other models as they are always in high demand and have excellent value retention. However, if you wait too long to sell your iPhone you are going to lose out on a potential profit as the announcement of a new device triggers a price crash.
IMAGE: PEXELS
The Best Solution – Sell Your iPhone As Soon As Possible
In fact, today is as good a day as any. As we close in on the preorder day for the Phone XS, your iPhone X declines and value. In fact, when a new iPhone model drops you can expect to see your current iPhone lose as much as $100 in value, to make matters worse old are models can expect to see up to a 20% decrease in their value.
The best thing that you can do for yourself is to use a backup phone or borrow a phone and sell your current phone right now. Understandably, that it is not the best option for everyone, so consider that many iPhone trade-in sites will give you up to 30 days before you are forced to send in your iPhone.
Recommended Steps To Take Before Selling
Regardless of whether you plan to sell your iPhone by yourself or to trade it in via a website or retail store, there are a few things you will need to do to keep your privacy and data secure. Most trade-in stores will delete your data anyway, but we always recommend doing it yourself.
Create a backup: One of the very first things you want to do is backup all of your essential data including your contact information, videos, photos and other important apps that may contain your data. Either via iCloud, iTunes or manually with something like Dropbox.
Remove Find My Phone: Once you have done this you’ll want to turn off the find my phone feature on your iPhone before you sell it due to the fact that it cannot be deactivated by anyone else. This can be easily done by opening the Settings application on your iPhone and heading over to iCloud and toggling the Find My Phone feature to the off position.
Delete your data: Once you have finished with these two steps you want to wipe the phone completely clean this includes signing out of all services, connected accounts and apps that you use. Now go ahead and open up the Settings App and go over to General Settings, click on Reset and then Erase All Content from your iPhone. Once you completed this step, you should go over to General Settings once again and click the Reset then Reset All Settings to ensure that the phone has been restored back to its factory settings.
You’ll typically get the most amount of money for your phone if it is in pristine condition, do not rule out selling it if it has some minor cracks or scratches. In fact, as long as the phone is in working condition you can typically get a decent amount of money for your phone. Check the value of your phone on SellCell.
What If My iPhone Is Damaged Or The Screen Is Cracked?
While a damaged phone will not get as much money as one that is in working condition it still can be sold. Many people think that they may be able to get more money if they do minor repairs on their phone, such as a cracked screen, however, it typically is not going to bring any more money in a retail trade environment, you may be better off to sell it to an individual. Our understanding is most iPhone buy-back companies look at excessive wear like scratches to completely shattered screens in the same way. There might be individual stores that might not care about that small scratch and will still pay a decent amount, always have a read of the condition grading text that’s on most device web pages or T&C’s.
Resale Option 1 – Trade-in Iphone’s Online
I searched online for some of the most recent trading options and found they are valued upon a variety of factors. Of course, the model in storage capacity is going to be the most important followed by the network carrier. If your phone is already unlocked and you have the deactivated the Find My Phone service, you can expect a significant price bump.
Tip: If you’ve had your phone for over 12 months you can call your network carrier and get your phone unlocked, they are legally required to do this in the US.
Here are just a few sample prices that we were able to find:
Apple’s Trade-Up Program
We visited the US Apple trade up store and found they will offer you money via a gift card to be used on the Apple shop, essentially to take money off the new iPhone purchase. The service works with a simple pop-up that lets you answer questions about the device to get an estimated quote once complete. You will need your phone to hand as they require the devices serial number.
Dependent upon the model and condition of the iPhone, we have found these estimated trade-in values by Apple:
- iPhone X – Max value $525
- iPhone 8 Plus – Max value $400
- iPhone 8 – Max value $350
*Prices valid as of 17th September 2018
We can’t provide direct links to these as the store operates in a pop-up, please visit Apple to pick your new phone and value your old one.
Bankmycell – iPhone Trade-in Comparison
BankMyCell is one of the best comparison sites for iPhone prices and services that a variety of stores offer. This company has pledged to its customers to only list trading stores that offer the very best in reputation, this simply means that you do not have to worry about finding the best price they have already done the hard work for you. In addition, they show specific pricing of the carrier as well as the conditions of the phone, once again unlocked phones proved much more valuable.
- iPhone X – Max trade-in value $595 – $650.50 with ‘ELECTRONICS10’ 10% extra code
- iPhone 8 Plus – Max trade-in value $503 – $553.30 with ‘ELECTRONICS10’ 10% extra code
- iPhone 8 – Max trade-in value $439 – $482.50 with ‘ELECTRONICS10’ 10% extra code
*Prices valid as of 17th September 2018
Tip: for the iPhones we valued, it looks like BankMyCell provided the best prices, earning you more than $100 on all iPhone models compared with Apple’s own service.
Resale Option 2 – Selling Your iPhone Yourself
When you choose to sell your iPhone on your own you have the best ability to make a substantial profit, however, it is one of the riskier scenarios and can be a little more time consuming with all the listing, postage and packaging.
Selling On eBay
This is an excellent method if you do not mind putting in a little extra work as well as having to pay a small sale fee, eBay is a much better alternative than Craigslist. In addition, eBay offers its buyers and sellers purchase protection, which is something Craigslist simply cannot do.
So you may be asking yourself what is the downside of selling on eBay? One of the largest drawbacks of selling on eBay is the number of fees you will have to pay once your iPhone sells. Not only do you have to pay 10% of the final sale to eBay but if you use PayPal, you can expect to be charged at the rate of 2.9% or 4% if you’re selling internationally.
Check out the fee calculator here to quickly price your device
If you are unsure how you should price your iPhone, simply search for your model on eBay and look at the recently sold items. At the time of this writing, we have found these to be the typical going rates for used iPhones found on eBay.
- iPhone X – Listed price $799 – $695 after fees
- iPhone 8 Plus – Listed price $754 – $656 after fees
- iPhone 8 – Listed price $689 – $599 after fees
*Prices valid as of 17th September 2018
Other than the fees on eBay the other downside one must be careful of is buyer protection. eBay will typically side with the buyer in any quarrel or dispute, and there are some scammers out there that can take advantage of this. Make sure your listing is clear and send with tracked shipping to avoid these shady people.
Craigslist
Craigslist is one of the best places to sell an iPhone for instant cash. The funny thing with Craigslist is you will have no problem finding potential buyers, you will have a hard time with them showing up. For whatever reason, you will probably have a few people let you down once they have expressed an interest in your iPhone.
If you decide to use Craigslist, it goes without saying that you are going to have to be careful as these people are strangers. It is always best to execute the transaction in a well-known public area and ensure that the buyer understands everything about the phone including the condition, carrier options and price (so they don’t get you there and try to haggle).
Find your local craigslist in Google and benchmark on what other people are offering in your area.
Resale Option 3 – Swap Your iPhone For Store Credit
If you do not mind taking store credit as opposed to cold heart cash, there are several retailers who offer credits and gift cards in lieu of traditional payments. You simply bring your phone in for an appraisal and they will make an offer in the form of credit towards a new phone or another item in the store. Several major online retailers such as Amazon and Apple offer trading programs while many of the big stores and carriers offer in-store trade-ins. It is important to understand that the amount of credit you will receive will be based upon your iPhone’s condition and age as well as where you decide to swap it.
Best Buy Trade-In
Throughout the years, Best Buy has been one of the best retailers in the forms of trade-ins, however, the stores pricing seem to have dropped in recent months. In addition, you are going to receive a payout in the form of a Best Buy gift card. This is not necessarily a bad thing if you plan on buying something in Best Buy, however, it does limit your options.
Best Buy bases its trade-in appraisals based on the condition, capacity, and carrier of the iPhone. Here are just a few examples:
- iPhone X – Max value $520
- iPhone 8 Plus – Max value $400
- iPhone 8 – Max value $325
*Prices valid as of 17th September 2018
Note: Best buy do not offer unlocked pricing either, and they had the lowest quotes out of the examples in our research
Resale Option 4 – Selling iPhones In-store
While selling your device for a gift card, store credit or cash is not necessarily the most profitable option is typically the easiest and lets you purchase something in that store the same day.
Some examples of the pricing you can expect:
- ATM kiosks: iPhone X – $405
- Gamestop: iPhone X – $315 / $346.50 for Pro members
*Prices valid as of 17th September 2018
In Conclusion – How To Get The Best Price For Your iPhone
Always remember the most important tip is that you must sell your iPhone as soon as possible if you want the most money. As soon as a new iPhone model is announced, it is essential that you get ahead of the pack and try to sell or trade in your phone. Just keep in mind that many trade-in websites will lock in your price while allowing you 30 days to send in your iPhone.
It is important that you do not jump at the first offer that you find, take the time to search around town and online to find the best deal.
- Best Price: eBay – In most cases, you are going to find that that selling the phone yourself will provide the best cash offer, but come with some minor listing and shipping hassle.
- Best All Rounder: BankMyCell – Generally the online trade-in stores featured here will give you the shipping packaging, 30 days to send it and a pretty fair price.
- To Avoid: In-store, gift card trade-ins, trade in kiosks – these are by far the worst and you get the lowest value for your iPhone, these are for people desperate to get cash or credit on the same day and no one else.
We hope that you found this article helpful and informative in that it allows you to get the best price possible on your iPhone.
If you are interested in even more technology-related articles and information from us here at Bit Rebels then we have a lot to choose from.
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