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Epic Xbox Revie

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 15, 2010
788
7
Washington, D.C.
I am switching to Verizon on Thursday. What would be the most cost effective way to sell my current phone? eBay, Verizon, Gazelle, Craigslist? Something else? Any tips for selling in these markets? Thanks.
 
I am switching to Verizon on Thursday. What would be the most cost effective way to sell my current phone? eBay, Verizon, Gazelle, Craigslist? Something else? Any tips for selling in these markets? Thanks.

Ebay. Craigslist is also good but also can be a risk.
 
I've sold all my old iPhones on craigslist.

Like the others said, Cash deal face to face in public place. clean the phone of person stuff then make deal.
 
I've sold all my old iPhones on craigslist.

Like the others said, Cash deal face to face in public place. clean the phone of person stuff then make deal.
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Ebay will get you more for your money all day long.
 
Ebay will get you more for your money all day long.

True, but Ebay also has more ways scammers can easily scam you and less ways for you to avoid being scammed. Biggest thing is they pretty much insist you use Paypal, Paypal invariably takes the buyer's side (you have to be very wary and make sure you have all sorts of proof before sending it), and scammers know this and take advantage of it. And far as I know, you don't get much flexibility in choosing your buyer (whoever bids on it gets it).

Craigslist you still have to worry but you can decide not to sell to people who sound fishy or won't meet you (in a safe place). You get to see the person up front, they get to check out the device in person and decide whether to buy it, you get to see the cash upfront, and they can't randomly try to get their money back once the deal is done. Craigslist does have its own dangers but there are ways you can easily get around them. Ebay, not so much (though less likely to have actual danger of stuff like being mugged, just very easy to get scammed).

Craigslist though you will get a lot of people trying to lowball you. People on craigslist are looking for a deal (put it this way, they flagged off an ipaq I put up for sale cause they thought I was asking too much. I got more than what I asked for on craigslist on ebay with a buy it now option). And can be cranky about things too (as I said, they flagged off my ad cause they thought I was way overpriced. It's like, fine, if it's overpriced, no one will buy it or even bother to contact me about it, why make it so I don't even get a chance?). Ebay you get a wider audience and more likely (especially if it has a small following) to find some one who is looking for *that* product and not just anything that will do.

Pick your poison.
 
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Craigslist for sure. You may get marginally more money on eBay but after fees and the chance of getting scammed you'll almost certainly come out ahead with CL.

Cash in hand and meeting in a public place pretty much eliminates any chance of getting scammed on CL.
 
I just sold my iPhone 3gs, 32gb white for $341 a few days ago. It was mint, but eBay took $30+ and paypal took $10+ so I ended up with $290 or so. It was not JB or unlocked. It had 3.1.2 iOS i think. I never upgraded it because I had stopped using it due to ATT crappy service in the area I moved to. I sold a 3G 16gb iPhone on eBay in 09 for about the same price. Just look to loose 12% or so on the cost when its all said and done. It would be worth way more to JB it tho. Same phones were selling for $100+ more on eBay.
 
Be careful on eBay. Lots of shady people out there. One thing I've noticed on my last few listings are people who find it fun to bid up the price to a ridiculous amount and then cancel their bid literally at the last minute. And then there are the people who will bid from other countries even though you specify no international shipping. Also, no matter how much extra it costs you, track and insure. UPS will cost more but they are a billion times more reliable than the post office.
 
How common are the problems on eBay? Am I protected from these problems if I have signature delivery and insurance etc?

With that you should be fine. Protect yourself as much as you can because PayPal almost always sides with the buyer.
 
I wondering if there will be a larger amount than normal of at&t iphones that are on sale currently due to Verizon :p
 
I would say in the last 2 weeks it has increased from around 200 iPhone 4's, to 275... Not very many more...I'm sure that will spike next weekend, if I had to guess.
 
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