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AbyssImpact

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Aug 6, 2010
804
17
What do you guys think? iPhones are still at a high resale value, sales ranging from $450-$550 for the 16GB model.

Should I sell now and wait for an iPhone 5s or wait and let my iPhone 5 depreciate ~$100 when the 5s comes out?
 

AppleFanatic10

macrumors 68030
Nov 2, 2010
2,802
295
Hawthorne, CA
What do you guys think? iPhones are still at a high resale value, sales ranging from $450-$550 for the 16GB model.

Should I sell now and wait for an iPhone 5s or wait and let my iPhone 5 depreciate ~$100 when the 5s comes out?

When the iPhone 5S comes out I'm sure there are going to be a bunch of people who want one because the price will go down. I'd sell it when the 5S comes out because you might get more pontential buyers (people from other carriers, etc).
 

bozzykid

macrumors 68020
Aug 11, 2009
2,431
492
When the iPhone 5S comes out I'm sure there are going to be a bunch of people who want one because the price will go down. I'd sell it when the 5S comes out because you might get more pontential buyers (people from other carriers, etc).

The value will probably drop at least $50-$100 once the new phone is released. The main reason being Apple has generally dropped the retail value of the previous phone by $100 when they release a new one.

Also waiting until the 5S/6 is out means there is going to be more sellers (but less demand), so there is no way for it to hold the current value.
 

steve knight

macrumors 68030
Jan 28, 2009
2,735
7,180
If the resale value of your phone is more important then using it why have it at all? It does not really make sense. you have to sue a lesser phone in the mean time so it seems it does not matter if you have a iphone or not.
 

simply stunning

macrumors regular
Oct 26, 2010
212
0
If the resale value of your phone is more important then using it why have it at all? It does not really make sense. you have to sue a lesser phone in the mean time so it seems it does not matter if you have a iphone or not.

I second this. If he doesn't need an iPhone 5 for 4(+ -) months, then why does he plan on buying a 5S?
 

Am3r1ca16

Suspended
Jul 17, 2012
978
116
New York City
around october is when i'll sell my iPhone 4S and get the iPhone 5 since thats when the iphone 5 typically go for around $300 or so.and everyone is going to get rid of their old iphone 5 since they'll be upgrading to the iPhone 5S.

At least thats how i've been doing it for the past 2 years.

And funny because last year in october of 2012 i sold my unlocked iPhone 4 for $290 (which i originally bought on ebay for $243) for a iPhone 4S for $290 on Craigslist :D lol

And this is exactly what i plan on doing this coming October. I want the iPhone 5 already -.- lol
 
Last edited:

617aircav

Suspended
Jul 2, 2012
3,975
818
If the resale value of your phone is more important then using it why have it at all? It does not really make sense. you have to sue a lesser phone in the mean time so it seems it does not matter if you have a iphone or not.

Great point.
 

yegon

macrumors 68040
Oct 20, 2007
3,405
1,983
If the resale value of your phone is more important then using it why have it at all? It does not really make sense. you have to sue a lesser phone in the mean time so it seems it does not matter if you have a iphone or not.

Totally agree. Phones shouldn't be seen as investments.

Re: selling when the 5S arrives, far better to wait a month or two till after its release to sell the 5. First month it's a buyers market, second or third month after the market settles down and the prices rise. This has been the case every time I've upgraded and sold an iOS device.
 

CEmajr

macrumors 601
Dec 18, 2012
4,451
1,241
Charlotte, NC
Totally agree. Phones shouldn't be seen as investments.

Re: selling when the 5S arrives, far better to wait a month or two till after its release to sell the 5. First month it's a buyers market, second or third month after the market settles down and the prices rise. This has been the case every time I've upgraded and sold an iOS device.

You're absolutely right about that. Right after 5 came out I was able to get a 64GB 4S unlocked for $375 on eBay. 3 months later when I got an iPhone 5 I was shockingly able to sell it on eBay for $435
 

yegon

macrumors 68040
Oct 20, 2007
3,405
1,983
You're absolutely right about that. Right after 5 came out I was able to get a 64GB 4S unlocked for $375 on eBay. 3 months later when I got an iPhone 5 I was shockingly able to sell it on eBay for $435

Ha, nice one!
 

Bear

macrumors G3
Jul 23, 2002
8,088
5
Sol III - Terra
What do you guys think? iPhones are still at a high resale value, sales ranging from $450-$550 for the 16GB model.

Should I sell now and wait for an iPhone 5s or wait and let my iPhone 5 depreciate ~$100 when the 5s comes out?
Since you obviously don't need your iPhone, sell it, cancel your phone service, don't buy a new iPhone and save a lot of money.
 

asleep

macrumors 68040
Sep 26, 2007
3,686
1,574
What's the current US price range for a white iPhone 5 (AT&T) that's about 2 months old that's in excellent condition?
 

Marrakas

macrumors 6502
May 23, 2012
420
122
I just bought an open box Iphone 5 32GB for $640. Hoping to get back atleast $550 when I switch to the 5S.

Yeah I know, dumb move money wise, but I couldn't wait any longer, my current windows phone is killing me slowly.

I won't get the 5S though if it's not a huge upgrade on the camera and a small one on batterylife.
 
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makotoisle

macrumors 6502
May 31, 2012
256
26
To me, it wouldn't be worth not having a phone or using a different OS for the gap until the next phone is released.
 

exynos-octa

macrumors newbie
Jul 29, 2013
18
0
To me, it wouldn't be worth not having a phone or using a different OS for the gap until the next phone is released.
1-2 months?

I kinda wanna do it, just to see if I could.

If I could get what I paid for it, $600. I'd do it in a heartbeat.
 

The-Real-Deal82

macrumors P6
Jan 17, 2013
16,383
24,127
Wales, United Kingdom
I must be quite old fashioned as I keep my phones for the length of the contract. I can't see the point in selling them early just to have the most up to date iPhone. I'm pretty happy with my phone and am happy it'll handle iOS 7 nicely. :)
 

CEmajr

macrumors 601
Dec 18, 2012
4,451
1,241
Charlotte, NC
To me, it wouldn't be worth not having a phone or using a different OS for the gap until the next phone is released.

I agree. I sold my 4 a little over a month before the 4S was announced in order to get the maximum potential profit. Had to use an Android phone in the meantime and it was terrible. I'd just wait until after the new one is released to sell mine if you plan on upgrading.
 

R.Stoychev

macrumors 6502a
Dec 23, 2012
737
27
I must be quite old fashioned as I keep my phones for the length of the contract. I can't see the point in selling them early just to have the most up to date iPhone. I'm pretty happy with my phone and am happy it'll handle iOS 7 nicely. :)

I'm the same :), If the phone is "doing the job" for me I keep it
 

makotoisle

macrumors 6502
May 31, 2012
256
26
1-2 months?

I kinda wanna do it, just to see if I could.

If I could get what I paid for it, $600. I'd do it in a heartbeat.

What would you use in the meantime?

When the 5 came out, I trades my 4S for a GS3 about 2 or 3 months before with the thought that the GS3 was brand new and would fetch more money for resale when the 5 came out. The gentleman that traded me had just upgraded to the GS3 and disliked it so much he wanted back to a 4S.

While that was true, it was also a very frustrating 2 or 3 months and I decided, what's the point of buying an iPhone if I could only use it 9 months out of the year because I wanted top dollar for resell?

Maybe if I had an older iOS device I could fall back on I would consider it, but then you're still using an old device for a few months,and if I could live with it, why upgrade?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2
 

Ivabign

macrumors 6502
Mar 27, 2011
422
43
SoCal
The only thing that matters to me is "Will the sale of my current Apple iPhone cover the $199/299 up front costs of the subsidized cost on a new Apple iPhone?"

The answer is always yes...

So other than the monthly charge Verizon makes me pay for the subsidy, I never pay a dime for the up-front charges. Free iPhone every 2 years (every one since I am on a family plan and am able to move around the upgrades - lol)
 
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