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Advice about selling iPhone 3GS Black (32GB) on Ebay? (First time seller on Ebay)

S

SethRogen

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 8, 2009
263
0
A few hours ago I put my iPhone 3GS on ebay. I've been buying from ebay for years, but never sold anything.
I have no idea what price. Right now I started the bidding at $200, but I think that might be to high to start if off like that. I did the bid for 3 days because I wanted to get the Lost Complete Series Blu-Ray Collection ASAP (hopefully on Tuesday) lol.

I can still edit my price, since no one has bided on it yet.

Here is what I'm offering, Apple iPhone 3GS Black (32GB) in Like NEW CONDITION, iOS 4.0.2 Software, perfect screen (absolutely no scratches anywhere on the iPhone 3GS).
Includes original box, headphones and USB cable / wall charger. In Great condition, Belkin Grip Two-Toned Vector Case for smartphone - Black, white Silicone (slight wear to the case)

I was thinking in the area of $150-$225 for a 3 day long bid?
Anyone have any suggestions? I see people buying it for over 400 dollars, so I don't want me missing out since I'm an ebay selling noob. :D

edit:
Ok I did some research....
I'm just wondering on some feedback for a first time seller...
How does this ad look....
I have zero bids so far, so I'm trying lol.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320578863832#ht_500wt_1154
 
Id change the starting price to .01 thats what I always do when I list an iPod or iPhone as an auction and it always goes to the price I want.
 
-Post VERY HIGHLY DETAILED PICS.
-Note that you don't accept returns.
-Don't accept any foreign bids (trust me)

At that starting price, you probably won't see any movement until the end of the auction. I think it's a little too high to start off with but since it'll definitely exceed that amount, might be okay just to leave it there. I would say JB it but you're at 4.0.2 so no go on that. That would actually increase the sale price significantly is it was JB'd and unlocked too.

Sit tight. Shouldn't have any issues getting close to $250-$275? The 3GS's are going for surprisingly high amounts these days. My colleague sold his 3GS for close to $400 but his was JB'd/unlocked. I sold my 3G for $200.
 
h1r0ll3r said:
-Post VERY HIGHLY DETAILED PICS.
-Note that you don't accept returns.
-Don't accept any foreign bids (trust me)

At that starting price, you probably won't see any movement until the end of the auction. I think it's a little too high to start off with but since it'll definitely exceed that amount, might be okay just to leave it there. I would say JB it but you're at 4.0.2 so no go on that. That would actually increase the sale price significantly is it was JB'd and unlocked too.

Sit tight. Shouldn't have any issues getting close to $250-$275? The 3GS's are going for surprisingly high amounts these days. My colleague sold his 3GS for close to $400 but his was JB'd/unlocked. I sold my 3G for $200.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the post. Is there a way I can automatically not allow foreign buyers or will just stating it be good enough?

Yeah I was thinking $200 is a bit high to start off. You don't think it would make a difference if I made it between $150-$199? What's a good ideal price I should put it at for a 3-day auction? Lol maybe I should just make it $199 just so a 1 in the front would attract buyers. :p
Also should I leave 4.0.2 out? I haven't officially done it yet, but I won't jailbreak it no matter what.
 
SethRogen said:
Thanks for the post. Is there a way I can automatically not allow foreign buyers or will just stating it be good enough?

Yeah I was thinking $200 is a bit high to start off. You don't think it would make a difference if I made it between $150-$199? What's a good ideal price I should put it at for a 3-day auction? Lol maybe I should just make it $199 just so a 1 in the front would attract buyers. :p
Click to expand...

When setting up your auction you can automatically exclude any foreign bids. Since you're past that point, easiest thing would just be to edit your auction and put big bold, noticeable letters stating that you will not accept any international bids. That should scare most of the scammers away. :rolleyes:

Lowering the initial bid price never hurts. People usually like things to start off low and let it build. Maybe you could drop it to $99 or something. I dunno. up to you really. But people out there already know what this is worth so, in the end, it's not going to make a huge difference IMO.

EDIT: Missed that you haven't upgraded to 4.0.2 yet. You should seriously consider jailbreaking it AND unlocking it. Takes you all of 5 minutes and it'll add maybe an extra $75 or so to your final sale price. Trust me, people will want a JB'd phone more than a regular one. Especially the 3GS for some reason. IF you still refuse to jailbreak it, then leave it at 4.0.1 so whoever gets it can still be able to JB it if they want to. If you leave it at 4.0.1 it'll actually have some greater value then if you upgraded it to 4.0.2.
 
SethRogen said:
Thanks for the post. Is there a way I can automatically not allow foreign buyers or will just stating it be good enough?

Yeah I was thinking $200 is a bit high to start off. You don't think it would make a difference if I made it between $150-$199? What's a good ideal price I should put it at for a 3-day auction? Lol maybe I should just make it $199 just so a 1 in the front would attract buyers. :p
Also should I leave 4.0.2 out? I haven't officially done it yet, but I won't jailbreak it no matter what.
Click to expand...

I started it off at 99 cents for three days. You should jailbreak and unlock the phone, it'll greatly increase the value. I ended up selling it for $390 plus shipping. My phone was practically mint in perfect condition. You should start it off lower.
 
I just sold mine locally. it was 32GB black 3GS in nearly perfect condition with the box and original accessories and brand new earbuds. Also included a 2 free screen protectors and an incipio feather. I sold it for 350 on craigslist and the guy that bought it was thankful for the deal. Guess I could have gotten more. But I wasn't exactly fighting the emails off, and it took about 3 or 4 days before the buyer actually contacted me.
 
I haven't been follow the jailbreaking stuff. Your not able to jailbreak on 4.0.2 or as of right now and in the future you will be able to?

It won't even let me put I WILL NOT ACCEPT ANY INTERNATIONAL BIDS! in large, bold print...

Also, for the ones on ebay going for over $400 outside the U.S? Should I include Canada or anywhere else?

Sorry, again I never sold anything on ebay before, I'm usually just a buyer.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320578863832#ht_500wt_1154
btw, I changed it to $185.
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_0_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/532.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0.5 Mobile/8A306 Safari/6531.22.7)

List it at 99 cents with a reserve price slightly below what it's currently selling for (check the completed listings for your particular model and capacity).

Listing it at 185 is really no different from 200.
 
JayLenochiniMac said:
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_0_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/532.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0.5 Mobile/8A306 Safari/6531.22.7)

List it at 99 cents with a reserve price slightly below what it's currently selling for (check the completed listings for your particular model and capacity).

Listing it at 185 is really no different from 200.
Click to expand...

What's a reserve price?
 
SethRogen said:
What's a reserve price?
Click to expand...

It's the minimum that you really want for it. If the bids don't go over the reserve price, you're not required to sell it to the high bidder.

I just sold my 16GB black 3GS for $360 not even a week ago, and it wasn't unlocked or jailbroken. I started bidding at $199.99, and it was a 3-day auction.

No one can ever say an iPhone isn't a good investment. Buy it for $200, use it for a year, and make what you paid + $160? Can't beat that! :)
 
.99 cents to start out. It will NOT sell for that (unless a crazy fluke happens), and will probably get you around 250-300 by the end minus fees. You'll probably get your lost set out of it essentially.
 
Have you thought about doing a fixed price auction? The way I usually sell anything on ebay is to check the price of previously sold auctions to gauge what a reasonable selling price is. Then, I look at the current "buy it now" auctions to see what people are trying to sell for and then list my auction as a "buy it now" fixed price auction that's slightly below what everyone is selling for.

With 99 cent auctions, it's pretty hit or miss. A lot of bidding comes down to the last 5 minutes and if no one bids during that time you can get a low price. I recommend fixed as the way to go.

I guess the only problem is if you're a new ebay seller they won't let you do fixed price unless you either get a bunch of feedback or verify your identity. Lemme know if you have any questions

Good luck!
 
My 32gb completed tonight at $605AUD.
It was in almost perfect condition (full bodyguard) with all SHSH blobs saved on Cydia since 3.1 and legal unlocked. Threw in some random junk like car charger and screen protector to sweeten the deal. Out of warranty though.

I always start my auctions at $0.99 and time it so it ends at around 10:30 pm Sunday night (theory is people are bored on the weekend and look up eBay?)
 
Last week, I sold my jailbroken/unlocked 3GS (32GB) for $350 locally via Craigslist.

I had all the original packaging and in-the-box items. You should be able to get the same or more on eBay.
 
Interstella5555 said:
Might want to change the first picture, I wouldn't be enticed to buy that phone.
Click to expand...

Why? I was just trying to show what the phone looks like on, but I used a blank photo just to show the screen has no scratches....
And how does it look faulty? Should I just show my home screen? I showed other pictures including the box it was bought in to show it's real... Or should I make it any of the other photos I currently have?

I'm about ready to make an insane reserve price, just to not sell it on ebay and just sell it on craigslist.... :(
 
SethRogen said:
Why? I was just trying to show what the phone looks like on, but I used a blank photo just to show the screen has no scratches....
And how does it look faulty? Should I just show my home screen? I showed other pictures including the box it was bought in to show it's real... Or should I make it any of the other photos I currently have?

I'm about ready to make an insane reserve price, just to not sell it on ebay and just sell it on craigslist....
Click to expand...

Show the home screen, the white makes it look like there's something wrong with the phone.
 
Interstella5555 said:
Show the home screen, the white makes it look like there's something wrong with the phone.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the help. I really appreciate it. I'll change the first photo. Should I delete the photo all together or just leave it as other photos you can view?
 
more detailed pics if you can. the "at arms length" pics don't really do it for anyone. They want up close so to see any flaws on the phone. Also, you mentioned the OS is 4.0. You might want to change that to 4.0.1 just to be clear. You might get some inquiries if the phone is running 4.0.1 or 4.0.2.
 
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