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How To Get A New iPhone Every Year!?!

M

Mr. Incredible

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Sep 16, 2010
541
0
Southern California
A lot of members here have been able to get a new iPhone every year.

We get over 2,000 people viewing the iPhone forums on any given day, and I'm sure that not Everyone knows how to do this.

For the people that have been able to get a new iPhone every year, how do you do it?

Do you sell your old iPhone on Ebay, Craigslist, or Somewhere else? How soon do you sell your old iPhone? Do you use a Pre-Paid phone before getting the new iPhone? How much are you able to sell the iPhone for? How do you deal with the carriers when getting a new iPhone before your eligibility?

If you guys can share your experiences on how to do it, or even better, give step by steps on how do it, it will be very beneficial not only for me, but for Hundreds (dare I say Thousands?) of other iPhone owners as well.
 
Y

Yumunum

macrumors 65816
Apr 24, 2011
1,452
0
U.S.
I sell my phone on Craigslist after the new iPhone is announced. I price it at whatever seems fair/normal. Your carrier will not stop you from getting a new phone. You either put in your SIM card or you go to a Verizon store and ask for your phone service to be transferred.

It's pretty much a given that you WILL lose money if you're not eligible for upgrade (because you'll have to buy it outright) but if you ARE, you can gain money.
 
K

kre62

macrumors 68020
Jul 12, 2010
2,373
1,248
Mr. Incredible said:
A lot of members here have been able to get a new iPhone every year.

We get over 2,000 people viewing the iPhone forums on any given day, and I'm sure that not Everyone knows how to do this.

For the people that have been able to get a new iPhone every year, how do you do it?

Do you sell your old iPhone on Ebay, Craigslist, or Somewhere else? How soon do you sell your old iPhone? Do you use a Pre-Paid phone before getting the new iPhone? How much are you able to sell the iPhone for? How do you deal with the carriers when getting a new iPhone before your eligibility?

If you guys can share your experiences on how to do it, or even better, give step by steps on how do it, it will be very beneficial not only for me, but for Hundreds (dare I say Thousands?) of other iPhone owners as well.
Click to expand...

AT&T tends to move up iPhone users upgrade date, so if they do for you (dial *639# and then press call to see) then you can upgrade at the discounted price. From there its easy to sell your phone on the outlet of your choice, and buy the new one. Thats really all there is to it. Just be sure to remove the SIM from the phone. And also, in person cash exchange is best. So Craigslist is a good way to go.
 
bigred7078

bigred7078

macrumors 6502a
May 6, 2010
658
80
USA
Well its been covered several times already, but As a main account holder AT&T seems to give me an upgrade every year. When the new one comes out I upgrade. Once I have the new phone I sell the old one on Craigslist for the average going rate in my area. East Peazy Lemon Squeezy...
 
R

RedRallyeZ

macrumors regular
Nov 15, 2010
201
15
Ive always lucked out and had another line in my family plan eligible for an upgrade. Ill just do something nice for them, which so far has been something along the lines of install a Head unit in a car or hang a TV on the wall, and then ill take their upgrade. I profited from the sell of my 3GS and the purchase of my 4. The next upgrade my family has is September. Its on my dad's line and hes had the same flip phone for years, and has NO desire to switch, which definitely plays to my advantage....
 
vitzr

vitzr

macrumors 68030
Jul 28, 2011
2,765
3
California
I've had every new iPhone thus far. Each time it's thanks to AT&T. They're a great company that has always waived the eligibility rule and given me the upgrade price. I've enjoyed over 10 years with them. The customer service is great, I get unlimited data on the three lines I have, and only twice have they made mistakes on my bill. Each time they given me a very big cash credit for their mistake. Three years ago I added Verizon so I could try some of their phones. Each time I've bought a new Android from them, it's involved a lot of negotiating just for a 20% discount. Otherwise they're about the same.
 
R

RWil85

macrumors 6502a
Aug 2, 2010
587
169
vitzr said:
I've had every new iPhone thus far. Each time it's thanks to AT&T. They're a great company that has always waived the eligibility rule and given me the upgrade price. I've enjoyed over 10 years with them. The customer service is great, I get unlimited data on the three lines I have, and only twice have they made mistakes on my bill. Each time they given me a very big cash credit for their mistake. Three years ago I added Verizon so I could try some of their phones. Each time I've bought a new Android from them, it's involved a lot of negotiating just for a 20% discount. Otherwise they're about the same.
Click to expand...

Verizon gives nothing. I had to beg to move my upgrade up a month to acquire a Droid X a bit ago. Had several problems with it in the beginning and they offered little flexibility in what 'they could do for me'
 
S

staeit

macrumors member
Jul 4, 2011
81
0
It's even possible to do in Canada where we have 3 year contracts and quite often don't get early upgrades. The only phone you can really do it with is with the iPhone line because it holds its value for so long. Last year I sold my iPhone 3GS for $400, then bought a used iPhone 4 for $500. It was still in the box with the plastic, but I only put in $100 (cash, no tax) and upgraded to the next gen for $100 without renewing my contract. So I actually paid a lot less than you'd otherwise pay ($159+tax on 3-year activation) and I didn't have to renew my contract. Selling used, and then buying used has worked very well for me. It's more risky than purchasing brand new, but if you know what to check for you can reap some awesome benefits.
 
Hankster

Hankster

macrumors 68020
Jan 30, 2008
2,474
439
Washington DC
vitzr said:
I've had every new iPhone thus far. Each time it's thanks to AT&T. They're a great company that has always waived the eligibility rule and given me the upgrade price. I've enjoyed over 10 years with them. The customer service is great, I get unlimited data on the three lines I have, and only twice have they made mistakes on my bill. Each time they given me a very big cash credit for their mistake. Three years ago I added Verizon so I could try some of their phones. Each time I've bought a new Android from them, it's involved a lot of negotiating just for a 20% discount. Otherwise they're about the same.
Click to expand...

Same here. ATT has always upped my upgrade date so I could buy the new iPhone at the $199 price. Once I had the iPhone for about eight months and they still let me upgrade at $199.
 
Y

Yumunum

macrumors 65816
Apr 24, 2011
1,452
0
U.S.
Hankster said:
Same here. ATT has always upped my upgrade date so I could buy the new iPhone at the $199 price. Once I had the iPhone for about eight months and they still let me upgrade at $199.
Click to expand...

Did you have to ask an AT&T rep and convince them, or was it something official that anyone could've taken advantage of?
 
Frenchjay

Frenchjay

macrumors 68000
Jul 6, 2010
1,840
28
I keep my IPhone in the best possible condition for the point of resale. I sell my IPhone privately and try and get the most money i can. Vodafone will charge 20£ for each month you have left on your contract. For me it will be 3-4 months worth of 20£ depending on the month of release. I will pay cash for this and the price of the handset if applicable and recoup the money from the sale of the IPhone 4.

I'm looking to get around 280-300 for my IPhone 4 because of the good condition and the extras that come with it.
 
S

Sean1218

macrumors member
May 22, 2011
42
0
staeit said:
It's even possible to do in Canada where we have 3 year contracts and quite often don't get early upgrades. The only phone you can really do it with is with the iPhone line because it holds its value for so long. Last year I sold my iPhone 3GS for $400, then bought a used iPhone 4 for $500. It was still in the box with the plastic, but I only put in $100 (cash, no tax) and upgraded to the next gen for $100 without renewing my contract. So I actually paid a lot less than you'd otherwise pay ($159+tax on 3-year activation) and I didn't have to renew my contract. Selling used, and then buying used has worked very well for me. It's more risky than purchasing brand new, but if you know what to check for you can reap some awesome benefits.
Click to expand...

On a 3 year contract, do you just put the sim card in the new phone and that's it? Also, do you know when/how often all the major carriers (bell, rogers, telus, maybe virgin mobile/fido/koodo) offer hardware upgrades? I couldn't find any info on this.
 
AnthonySmith

AnthonySmith

macrumors 6502
Feb 25, 2011
469
85
Southern CA
Since I pay over $100 per month for my service I basically get an upgrade every year. So I'll put it on eBay close to when it's due to be released. So I'll list it for seven days and do like 5 days handling and I buy the new phone during the handling time.
 
Nostromo

Nostromo

macrumors 65816
Dec 26, 2009
1,358
2
Deep Space
I'm with Verizon and you can upgrade every two years.

I haven't had an iPhone so far, and iPhone 5 will be my first. I get the $199 pricing minus $50 - some upgrade bonus, so the iPhone will cost me $149 ($249 for the 32 Gb version).
 
I

illini71

macrumors member
Dec 28, 2010
71
1
At&t you can upgrade iphone every six months for 450. That for any phone but i know the iphone is 450 on an early upgrade.
 
R

RWil85

macrumors 6502a
Aug 2, 2010
587
169
AnthonySmith said:
Since I pay over $100 per month for my service I basically get an upgrade every year. So I'll put it on eBay close to when it's due to be released. So I'll list it for seven days and do like 5 days handling and I buy the new phone during the handling time.
Click to expand...

I'm on VZW and have paid $100+ for years now..that seemingly carries no clout with them as I've thrown that at them several times.

Curious as to what carrier you're on/if any others have used that to their advantage?
 
B

burnside

macrumors 6502
Jun 8, 2010
474
14
My upgrade date has never been pushed up. Even now, I bought my phone in June 2010 and see an upgrade date of February 2012. If I was sure I could upgrade by the time the next iPhone is out I'd sell mine on ebay.
 
dast1g

dast1g

macrumors regular
Oct 23, 2009
215
0
Ireland
I just buy it . Over here in ireland credit phones are really big compared to america and that's what I use so I tend to keep my old iPhone and just buy the new one but I did sell my 3GS to get my iPhone 4 because I got an unlocked one which cost way more but I got a month earlier than the release in Ireland so thought it was worth it. But il probably keep the 4 this time and use it as a spare.
 
JetBlack7

JetBlack7

macrumors 68030
May 14, 2011
2,543
787
Portugal
I have every iPhone since the 3G (didn't have the 2G because it was an US only release) and honestly I work all summer long to be able to buy the iPhone every year, because I like to keep them like a collector's thing. Might even be worth something in the future. That's how I can afford them every year.

PS: I'm on Vodafone.
 
Last edited:
rorschach

rorschach

macrumors 68020
Jul 27, 2003
2,272
1,856
With AT&T, if your monthly bill exceeds $99 you can upgrade every 12 months instead of every 18.

So that's what I've done. Except for the first iPhone (which I bought in January 2008), I've bought every iPhone on the release date. Of course the first iPhone was not subsidized so I was able to buy the 3G only 6 months later.
 
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