iPhone 5 depreciation?

Retired Cat said:

...
How much do you think it is worth now?
...

Click to expand...

It's worth whatever the market will pay. You've done research and seem to have your answer.

Retired Cat said:

How much do you think it is worth now?

Click to expand...

I think if you traded it in to Gazelle, the value is $250-$260. On Craigslist, you could ask in the neighborhood of $300-350 for 16GB iPhone 5 units.

You can't compare technology with an automobile.

Retired Cat said:

Even automobiles typically don't depreciate this quickly! :-o

Click to expand...

The gadget and computer market moves at a different pace from the automotive world. I get that they're both "technology," but they can't be directly compared. I mean, driving down the freeway, you can still see 20-30 year old cars being driven regularly. How often do you see 10 year old phones that still work?

Retired Cat said:

I have a factory unlocked black/slate iPhone 5 16GB that cost $650 new.

How much do you think it is worth now?

Gazelle says the trade in value is $250-$260. Craigslist sellers are asking in the neighborhood of $300-350 for 16GB iPhone 5 units. Even automobiles typically don't depreciate this quickly! :-o

Click to expand...

You just found out on your own how much its worth.

It does appear that iPhones do hold their value much better than other smartphones though, Android etc. phones do seem to depreciate faster than Apple's handsets do. I recently bought an O2-locked iPhone 5 for £325 from a CEX shop in the UK which is a drop from the new price but still pretty good considering it's now a discontinued handset.

the 5 went down faster than most due to the 5c replacing it, instead of a new model, you got a new model and a remake of the last model, that came in at much less that the old model(retail contract wise).

cars aren't getting the same kind of upgrades each generation of iPhones are.

Retired Cat said:

I have a factory unlocked black/slate iPhone 5 16GB that cost $650 new.

How much do you think it is worth now?

Gazelle says the trade in value is $250-$260. Craigslist sellers are asking in the neighborhood of $300-350 for 16GB iPhone 5 units. Even automobiles typically don't depreciate this quickly! :-o

Click to expand...

Well the phone is used-even if it is in good condition the value deteriorates. And just because they don't make the iphone 5 anymore doesn't mean that it has any extra value.

It is probably worth +/- $300(just average price from research)
Remember gazelle has to make a profit off of what they buy from u when they resell the phone, whereas people on craigslist are buying the phone for themselves and don't need to make room for profit like Gazelle does.

Also, just BTW, what people are asking for on craigslist and what people are paying for the iPhones are two different things...

People on craigslist ask for more than it is worth hoping for a better deal but then they are talked down on their asking price by the customer.

Retired Cat said:

Old mobile phones still work. IMO the big problem is batteries, because they are usually proprietary and no longer made for old phones. I could find leftover stock, but after a few years even unused batteries are degraded. I think that may be part if the reason old phones are not worth much, capabilities aside.

Click to expand...

Batteries are a small part. It's consumer demand for the latest & greatest and ever changing tech that are the biggest reasons for the rapid depreciation. The 5 that you mention in your OP has a battery that is fine, right? Is its battery really driving down its value?

If you want absolute top dollar, sell it on EBay and open the auction up to international bidders since it is unlocked. But you have to be very careful about shipping, etc. to prevent fraud. I think you'd get around $400 though, and net around $370 (that's my semi-educated guess.)

There's a relatively high price disparity now between locked and unlocked, since it is no longer cheap and easy to unlock an ATT iPhone.

I bought a 64GB black ATT iPhone 5 recently on EBay from Gazelle for not much over $300 (there was a bonus EBay cash back offer so it will come out to right about $300 even.) It was marked as fair condition since there are some scuffs, but the glass was perfect.

GoBengals said:

the 5 went down faster than most due to the 5c replacing it, instead of a new model, you got a new model and a remake of the last model, that came in at much less that the old model(retail contract wise).

Click to expand...

Actually, it's worth more unlocked compared to the 4S after about the same time (but only if unlocked) as the $2 per unlock days are over. I got $500 for my at&t unlocked 32 gigs black some months ago, the highest of any previous used iPhones that I've sold unlocked.

sammy-boy said:

It does appear that iPhones do hold their value much better than other smartphones though, Android etc. phones do seem to depreciate faster than Apple's handsets do. I recently bought an O2-locked iPhone 5 for £325 from a CEX shop in the UK which is a drop from the new price but still pretty good considering it's now a discontinued handset.

Click to expand...

They do. I was looking at how much my galaxy S4 was worth as I've just got the iPhone 5S. I was shocked to see that it was only worth £190. It's a flagship Samsung device, which hasn't been out even a year and it's not worth much anymore. I've given it to my boyfriend, rather than sell it for such an insultingly low price.