When should I sell my 5s exactly?

Chrsanthny5 · Aug 16, 2014

Hey everyone
In my natural apple fanboy-ism, I'm insanely excited at the prospect of having a 5.5 inch iPhone 6 in just 6 weeks! I had some serious nostalgia looking back at the Verizon 5S shipping thread... all of us stalking our tracking #'s and even going so far as to crack numbers to track airplanes. Fun times!

cool: )

Anyway, I'm planning on selling my 5s on eBay after I unlock it, along with some accessories in order to at least recoup half of the costs of my off-contract upgrade next month.

I've never resold a phone before and I'm kinda confused with the timing of it all.
When should I list it exactly? If it sells 2 weeks before my new phone even ships, will I have to use one of my older phones in that time?
And last but not least, how much do you guys think I should list my starting vid for a pristine, like-new 64GB Gold iPhone 5s, in it's original box and a few cases incl.?
Thanks :apple:

JOSE891 · Aug 16, 2014

Chrsanthny5 said:
Hey everyone
In my natural apple fanboy-ism, I'm insanely excited at the prospect of having a 5.5 inch iPhone 6 in just 6 weeks! I had some serious nostalgia looking back at the Verizon 5S shipping thread... all of us stalking our tracking #'s and even going so far as to crack numbers to track airplanes. Fun times! cool: )

Anyway, I'm planning on selling my 5s on eBay after I unlock it, along with some accessories in order to at least recoup half of the costs of my off-contract upgrade next month.

I've never resold a phone before and I'm kinda confused with the timing of it all.
When should I list it exactly? If it sells 2 weeks before my new phone even ships, will I have to use one of my older phones in that time?
And last but not least, how much do you guys think I should list my starting vid for a pristine, like-new 64GB Gold iPhone 5s, in it's original box and a few cases incl.?
Thanks

What I usually do is lock in a quote from websites that buy phone like Gazzelle and lock in a 30 day quote, otherwise I just sell one week before the event.

cnotes2019 · Aug 17, 2014

Gazelle is a joke for a new phone. Swappa is pretty good but I would sell it ASAP either there or if you prefer eBay. If you want a quick sale I would say maybe $600 - $650. But sell now.

JoshGlzBrk · Aug 17, 2014

I would be selling it right now if you want to get the most money for it. Once the iPhone 6 comes out everyone and their grandma are going to be trying to sell their old phone.

You mention watching the Verizon shipping thread, but then go on to talk about unlocking. Just letting you know (if you don't already) that any LTE phone you purchase that is sold as a Verizon phone is already factory unlocked.

As for websites to use. Swappa seems to be the most popular right now.

thetechfixer · Aug 17, 2014

According to the Rumours the 4.7" iPhone is being released around September 9th and the 5.5 will follow later on, I need to sell my iPhone 5 as well and plan to do so around late August or Early September around a week before the Event. I would not go to Gazelle, either eBay, Swappa or Craigslist are your best choices.

cnotes2019 · Aug 17, 2014

thetechfixer said:
According to the Rumours the 4.7" iPhone is being released around September 9th and the 5.5 will follow later on, I need to sell my iPhone 5 as well and plan to do so around late August or Early September around a week before the Event. I would not go to Gazelle, either eBay, Swappa or Craigslist are your best choices.

I believe it's being announced on the 9th not released

I wouldn't touch cl ...

maflynn · Aug 17, 2014

If you're looking to extract maximum value, then you need to sell it before the iPhone 6 hits. The sooner the better. I went to sell my iPhone 4 after buying the iPhone 5, but the market was already flooded by then. The market value was dropping quickly and supply overwhelmed demand.

Eileen89 · Aug 17, 2014

cnotes2019 said:
Gazelle is a joke for a new phone. Swappa is pretty good but I would sell it ASAP either there or if you prefer eBay. If you want a quick sale I would say maybe $600 - $650. But sell now.

I used Gazelle in the past and never had any issues with them, butt lately I've noticed their offerings seem to be getting lower than they were before.

Z8beema · Aug 17, 2014

cnotes2019 said:
Gazelle is a joke for a new phone. Swappa is pretty good but I would sell it ASAP either there or if you prefer eBay. If you want a quick sale I would say maybe $600 - $650. But sell now.

I would sell right now. An would use swappa if the phone is clean

ThatsMeRight · Aug 17, 2014

Sell before the Apple media event is announced. As soon as there is an official invite for an Apple Media Event, all media will jump on it and say "iPhone 6 to be revealed next week at special Apple Media Event."

So, if the rumours are correct, the unveil takes place at September 9. If correct, invitations will go out on September 2.

So... sell before September 2. After that date, a lot of people will know a new iPhone is coming in just a few weeks.

Chrsanthny5 · Aug 17, 2014

JoshGlzBrk said:
I would be selling it right now if you want to get the most money for it. Once the iPhone 6 comes out everyone and their grandma are going to be trying to sell their old phone.

You mention watching the Verizon shipping thread, but then go on to talk about unlocking. Just letting you know (if you don't already) that any LTE phone you purchase that is sold as a Verizon phone is already factory unlocked.

As for websites to use. Swappa seems to be the most popular right now.

Wow thanks, I didn't know they were unlocked already.

So what you're saying.. Is that I can advertise it as unlocked right now? OR is there a difference between unlocked and.. "Factory" unlocked. Sorry I'm stupid with this haha

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Eileen89 said:
I used Gazelle in the past and never had any issues with them, butt lately I've noticed their offerings seem to be getting lower than they were before.

Yeah I looked at Gazelle last night and saw they were offering me something like $350... Which is crazy low!
I remember when I was considering selling my 32gb 4s in "good" condition I was getting quotes of $250-$300.

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Thanks for the advice guys, I'll list it tonight/tomorrow!

juanrp · Aug 17, 2014

Never. Keep it as a fancy, expensive paper weight.

OR

you can be boring and keep it around as a back up.

Agent OrangeZ · Aug 17, 2014

Yesterday. Seriously. The best time to sell it is BEFORE the average consumer starts hearing reports from mainstream media that a new iPhone is coming. I typically sell between the time MacRumors starts reporting on rumored dates of Apple's keynote and the day Apple sends out the press invite. In the last few years, when Apple sent out the press invite, the national and local media reported "Apple to introduce new iPhones on September ___." Once the average consumer starts seeing these reports, the value of your iPhone drops. It drops even further when the iPhone 6 comes out and you try to sell your 5/5S after the fact. eBay and craigslist will be flooded with iPhones for sale that will compete with each other and drive prices down.

Chrsanthny5 · Aug 17, 2014

Just listed my phone with a variety of 5 cases and an Olloclip. Starting bid @ 430, buy it now @ 870.
Decided against Swappa, I have much more experience with eBay..

My biggest concern right now is... what i'm going to use for 3 weeks after I sell it.

Agent OrangeZ · Aug 17, 2014

Chrsanthny5 said:
Just listed my phone with a variety of 5 cases and an Olloclip. Starting bid @ 430, buy it now @ 870.
Decided against Swappa, I have much more experience with eBay..

My biggest concern right now is... what i'm going to use for 3 weeks after I sell it.

Well... I got $550 for my 5S and 2 cases... but I never start my auction with such a high bid. I think that discourages bidding. I always start it at $1 and let it ride!

sjperformance · Aug 17, 2014

I had 2 iPhone 5s to sale. Last week I sold my wife's gold 32gb that she used. She ditched iphone for a galaxy S5 and she is happy. Got good money for it. Now I'm still using my 16gb 5s. Ill sale it when I get my i6. The difference between now and then it's probably $50 less. I can live with that. Good thing is I'm pocketing the money since I used next to get her phone on att and doing the same for mine.

Chrsanthny5 · Aug 17, 2014

1080p said:
Well... I got $550 for my 5S and 2 cases... but I never start my auction with such a high bid. I think that discourages bidding. I always start it at $1 and let it ride!

Yeah, 430 may be too high.
But I included like $200+ worth of accessories so I'm not entirely comfortable with starting at $1 in this case.... I knocked it down to 100.

Potatochobit · Aug 18, 2014

you should have sold it last christmas if you wanted max value

sell it soon as u can if you have another option you don't mind using

it will still be valuable after iphone 6 is released but there will be tons more for sale then in the used market

I usually give my old phones to faimly members, they love them

Chrsanthny5 · Aug 18, 2014

Potatochobit said:
you should have sold it last christmas if you wanted max value

sell it soon as u can if you have another option you don't mind using

it will still be valuable after iphone 6 is released but there will be tons more for sale then in the used market

I usually give my old phones to faimly members, they love them

Yeah, I know but what's the point of getting a new phone if you sell it after 4-5 months to get maximum value and then wait another few months to get the new one.
So far my bid is up to $180 with 6 days left so it's getting there... I guess people really loved the cases I'm including!

----------

By the way-
I'm seeing mixed responses as to whether or not Verizon 5S's are already unlocked. Some are saying yes, while some are saying it doesn't work for T-Mobile and the phone does in fact have to be unlocked. Can someone clarify please?

BeeGood · Aug 18, 2014

I'm surprised at all the people saying sell it now.

OP, one thing to keep on mind is that the consensus is the 4.7 " phone will be available next month, but the bigger 5.5" phone will come later, possibly Q1 of 2015. If you sell your current phone, be mindful of the fact that it could be several months before you get the 5.5" phone.

Chrsanthny5 · Aug 18, 2014

BeeGood said:
I'm surprised at all the people saying sell it now.

OP, one thing to keep on mind is that the consensus is the 4.7 " phone will be available next month, but the bigger 5.5" phone will come later, possibly Q1 of 2015. If you sell your current phone, be mindful of the fact that it could be several months before you get the 5.5" phone.

Im probably late, but has this been legitimized beyond the basic run of the mill rumors?
Because from one end I've been hearing that they will be released at the same time, and from the other I've been hearing Q1 2015 like you said.

Regardless, if the only difference between the 4.7 and the 5.5 is the screen size, I'm fine with the 4.7. But if the 5.5 is the only model with a Sapphire display, has a better camera and other exclusive features, then we'll have a problem... lol...

BeeGood · Aug 18, 2014

Chrsanthny5 said:
Im probably late, but has this been legitimized beyond the basic run of the mill rumors?

Because from one end I've been hearing that they will be released at the same time, and from the other I've been hearing Q1 2015 like you said.

Regardless, if the only difference between the 4.7 and the 5.5 is the screen size, I'm fine with the 4.7. But if the 5.5 is the only model with a Sapphire display, has a better camera and other exclusive features, then we'll have a problem... lol...

Definitely rumors only, but I've heard more rumors along the lines of "delay" than I have heard that the 5.5 will launch in September, but if you are OK with the 4.7" phone you should be good.

And I agree, I won't be happy if the 5.5" phone has better specs and releases later! Hopefully it's the exact same phone with the exception of size.

richardbb85 · Aug 18, 2014

i dont get why people post the same question every year, just do the same as you did last year.....pretty simple

Chrsanthny5 · Aug 18, 2014

richardbb85 said:
i dont get why people post the same question every year, just do the same as you did last year.....pretty simple

What did I do last year?
Last year I was upgrade eligible, so... Different situation

Chrsanthny5 · Aug 18, 2014

BeeGood said:
Definitely rumors only, but I've heard more rumors along the lines of "delay" than I have heard that the 5.5 will launch in September, but if you are OK with the 4.7" phone you should be good.

And I agree, I won't be happy if the 5.5" phone has better specs and releases later! Hopefully it's the exact same phone with the exception of size.

I would gladly buy the 4.7 if the only difference is screen size. Unfortunately if the 5.5 comes out 4 months later, and it has tons of exclusive features, it'll be more like "settling".

Imo, if you're going to release a different model of a phone 4 months later, that model should not be the one with all the flagship features. The flagship model should come first. Imagine if the 5S came after the 5C.
If they wait a few months to release the 5.5, honestly that's all they should introduce... the larger screen.

When should I sell my 5s exactly?

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