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I got my 4S locked in at $175 at Gazelle for trade in until October. Amazon can get you around $185 for a 4S but it only give you a week to send it in, otherwise Amazon usually has some great trade in prices.

Gazelle's prices are plummeting. When I checked Monday, 4S was $215. Yesterday, it was $200. Now, it's $175.
 
OrangeOffer?

"Information about OrangeOffer.com was first submitted to Scambook on Oct 16, 2012. Since then the page has accumulated 15 consumer complaints. On average users reported $162.27 of damages. Scambook's investigation team reached out to this company a total of 5 times, Scambook Investigators last contacted them on Aug 09, 2013."

Anybody actually use these guys? I'm seeing all kinds of horror storied involving returned checks and no payments being made via PayPal.

I'd stick to something bigger if you don't want to go with Apple, like Gazelle or NextWorth.

NextWorth came in about $50.00 higher than Gazelle on my iPhone 4s's.
Also, use Facebook10 for an additional 10%.

iPhone 4s 16gb was going for $197.00
iPhone 4s 64gb was going for $245.00
 
Some insight on the program. The phone you're trading in has to currently be on a carrier plan. Meaning you cannot trade in your old 4 that is no longer on a service plan. You must also activate the phone there in the store. So you cannot buy a unlocked phone with no sim and just walk out of the store. It needs to be activated with either Verizon AT&T sprint or t mobile.

And it's a 1 for 1 program. You can't trade in multiple phones for multiple credits. Obviously.
 
"Information about OrangeOffer.com was first submitted to Scambook on Oct 16, 2012. Since then the page has accumulated 15 consumer complaints. On average users reported $162.27 of damages. Scambook's investigation team reached out to this company a total of 5 times, Scambook Investigators last contacted them on Aug 09, 2013."

Yeah, that's a little disconcerting. I was hoping my experience was not normal. Maybe I'll try someone else next time. And by the looks of the comments left on Scambook, my experience with them might have been good.
 
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I've got a quote from apple's website on a 16GB iphone 4 for $151 with good conditions. Not bad.
 
Gazelle's prices are plummeting. When I checked Monday, 4S was $215. Yesterday, it was $200. Now, it's $175.

It's still going down, depending on the memory size.

The interesting part: Verizon iPhones are a worth quite a bit less than AT&T. $165 for a 32GB 4S on Verizon, vs. $205 for the same on AT&T.

Prices for unlocked phones are the same as AT&T. I presume that's because they can unlock the AT&T phone and sell it in other countries. When did the iPhone converge to the same version for both?
 
not liking those ca$h-back figures...

They're only offering $120-$250?! That seems a tad too low.

Assuming you're returning an iPhone5 that is in good condition (i.e. functions properly, no damage/issues with the display, and cosmetically has normal, yet mild, scuffing) I don't see how Apple can justify a 65% depreciation in value of a product that is barely a year old?

FYI, you can visit Apple's "reuse & recycle" page online to get estimates here:
http://store.apple.com/us/browse/reuse_and_recycle
 
As I said in the post just above yours, I used them last year and it was easy. You print off a prepaid UPS label and drop it off. I was a little miffed about how long it took to get paid. I finally contacted them and got a check in the mail a couple days after that. I can't honestly remember how long it took to get paid, I'm thinking like 10 days after they received the phone, or like 2 weeks total from the time I dropped it off at the UPS store. I don't think that's their standard time, or at least not according to their website, so maybe my one experience was the anomaly.

Sweet thanks. I think this is the route I'm going. My iPhone is used for work and I'm currently using my own personal iPhone for it. I'll sell my 5, get a company issued 4S and buy the 5S when it comes out.

Thanks again for the info!
 
Hmm, much better deal in the UK through Apple - http://www.apple.com/uk/recycling/

They pay cash direct into your bank account rather than a credit note for a new iPhone.

I could get £210 (US$326) for my 32GB 4S in perfect condition. £50 (US$78) for my wife's 32GB 3GS (scratched back) and £75 (US$116) for my 32GB Wi-Fi iPad (1st Gen).
 
For phones that look and function brand new and you still got the box, your better off putting it on ebay. I will never again buy a phone on contract!
 
Sweet thanks. I think this is the route I'm going. My iPhone is used for work and I'm currently using my own personal iPhone for it. I'll sell my 5, get a company issued 4S and buy the 5S when it comes out.

Thanks again for the info!

Make sure you read what others have said on scambook.com, like darcsyd3r posted about on this thread. I'm actually reconsidering using them again.
 
Some of the prices on the machines aren't bad actually. Can any of this be done in store?
 
It's still going down, depending on the memory size.

The interesting part: Verizon iPhones are a worth quite a bit less than AT&T. $165 for a 32GB 4S on Verizon, vs. $205 for the same on AT&T.

Prices for unlocked phones are the same as AT&T. I presume that's because they can unlock the AT&T phone and sell it in other countries. When did the iPhone converge to the same version for both?

Never and prob will never be the same exact hardware.
 
I don't like either deal. Best Buy nor Apple. In both cases you have to sign a new contract and you can come out way better just selling it yourself.
 
Honest question:

Normally I would jailbreak and unlock my iPhone to sell on eBay. I'd net $350-450 depending, use the funds towards a full priced off contract phone every year. Got me off ETF's and other nonsense. My understanding is that new laws in play this year regarding unlocking smartphones have but an end to this or am I completely misunderstanding?

OT: BestBuy has a decent program now. Brother got $200 for his [crappy] 4, then switched from Sprint to a family plan on VZW, used his $200 to a new 5. If selling unlocked on eBay isn't possible or tedious, it seems many retailers are doing what they can to allow consumers to upgrade their existing devices without forking over extras. Maybe due to the overstock in 5's before the new models launch.
 
$336 for my good condition iPhone 5 16GB AT&T

That's actually pretty good. I'm anticipating fetching around $400-$450 on eBay, but it will need to be unlocked to get that value. Take into account the time to post and ship on eBay and then eBay fees and then the Apple deal looks pretty good.

I'm guessing Apple has an advantage in that they unlock the phones and then can sell overseas?
 
Never and prob will never be the same exact hardware.

Actually they are. All iPhones have the exact same hardware (the radio chip supports GSM/CDMA/LTE/etc), the firmware differs depending on carrier. This allows apple to manufacture one device for all current carriers.
 
Craigslist is so easy and you get so much more money. I don't see why you'd do any trade in deal. I sold an iPhone 4 32 gb on VZW for $250 just a couple weeks ago and a few months ago a VZW iPhone 4S 16 GB for $375.
 
Thats garbage. I sold my 4 for 225$ a couple weeks ago. Almost mint condition

Here's the difference: One is an offer from Apple, where you are offered $151, and you know you will get the money. One is an offer from an unknown person; you were offered $225, but you were lucky to get the money. (And you say your's was "almost mint condition", obviously that should pay more). One is no risk, no effort. The other is more risk, more effort.

Yes, you can make more if you take a risk and put in some effort. Sometimes it doesn't work.
 
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