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EBay/Craigslist or Apple Trade-in?

jbachandouris

jbachandouris

macrumors 603
Original poster
Aug 18, 2009
5,997
3,225
Upstate NY
I am obviously looking to upgrade my iPhone 4 to a 4S. The screen and back have no scratches, but the antenna band has the scratches caused by the Apple bumper.

Apple gives $200. If I sell it on eBay and get $300. By the time a pay the fees, I might make around $240. Craigslist, who knows.

I do have some accessories to add: 3 screen protectors, Apple bumper(black), Otterbox Defender (new), Belkin FM Transmitter.

So, since its not in 'mint' condition. Is the Apple deal the best deal for me?
 
jbachandouris said:
I am obviously looking to upgrade my iPhone 4 to a 4S. The screen and back have no scratches, but the antenna band has the scratches caused by the Apple bumper.

Apple gives $200. If I sell it on eBay and get $300. By the time a pay the fees, I might make around $240. Craigslist, who knows.

I do have some accessories to add: 3 screen protectors, Apple bumper(black), Otterbox Defender (new), Belkin FM Transmitter.

So, since its not in 'mint' condition. Is the Apple deal the best deal for me?
Click to expand...

Ill probably just go to apple in Nov. Simple, and easy. Ebay issues are not worth 40-50$ more for me.
 
I don't know how you figure you'll lose $60 through eBay. I can see shipping and selling fees being no more than $15.

The one annoyance is waiting for PayPal to release your funds.
 
jbachandouris said:
I am obviously looking to upgrade my iPhone 4 to a 4S. The screen and back have no scratches, but the antenna band has the scratches caused by the Apple bumper.

Apple gives $200. If I sell it on eBay and get $300. By the time a pay the fees, I might make around $240. Craigslist, who knows.

I do have some accessories to add: 3 screen protectors, Apple bumper(black), Otterbox Defender (new), Belkin FM Transmitter.

So, since its not in 'mint' condition. Is the Apple deal the best deal for me?
Click to expand...

eBay is charging you $60 to sell something for $300? I doubt it is that high. Then again i havent sold anything that expensive in a while but that does sound high.
 
If you have an unlockable baseband, unlock and jailbreak it... value goes up nicely.
 
jbachandouris said:
Nope. Upgraded to 5.0.

eBay charges 9%, but I'm not sure how much Paypal charges. That's why I'm here asking advice.
Click to expand...

I sold my 4 on eBay last week for 320. After fees (PayPal and eBay) and shipping I made 270. Less than I wanted but I needed to get rid of it.

eBay fees are 9% depending on category or auction/buy it now. PayPal is generally 2.9% +$.30 for the transaction.
 
throw it on Craigslist for $300 or better yet $325 see what happens. meet them in a public place not in your home. Police station is my favorite place to meet.
 
See here: http://www.rolbe.com/ebay.htm

About $40 in ebay & paypal fees if sold at $300. Adding a reserve price or setting the opening bid high may affect the listing fees slightly.

Unless you're in a small town, I'd tend to go with craigslist rather than ebay. No risks of the buyer trying to scam you claiming the phone wasn't in the condition advertised. Meet indoors in a public place in daylight (coffee shop, fast food place, etc) and have a friend with you if you're nervous, cash only, and be prepared to walk away if you get someone who tries to renegotiate while sitting there. Also expect plenty of emails from lowballers looking for desperate sellers, just ignore them. I've bought and sold lots of stuff on CL and never a problem; but I don't meet outdoors or at night etc.

The wholesalers (Gazelle etc.) are an option, but you pay for the convenience in a lower price.
 
deeddawg said:
See here: http://www.rolbe.com/ebay.htm

About $40 in ebay & paypal fees if sold at $300. Adding a reserve price or setting the opening bid high may affect the listing fees slightly.

Unless you're in a small town, I'd tend to go with craigslist rather than ebay. No risks of the buyer trying to scam you claiming the phone wasn't in the condition advertised. Meet indoors in a public place in daylight (coffee shop, fast food place, etc) and have a friend with you if you're nervous, cash only, and be prepared to walk away if you get someone who tries to renegotiate while sitting there. Also expect plenty of emails from lowballers looking for desperate sellers, just ignore them. I've bought and sold lots of stuff on CL and never a problem; but I don't meet outdoors or at night etc.

The wholesalers (Gazelle etc.) are an option, but you pay for the convenience in a lower price.
Click to expand...

Gazelle is not an option anymore $162. Apple trade-in $200.
 
Baggy Spandex said:
I don't know how you figure you'll lose $60 through eBay. I can see shipping and selling fees being no more than $15.

The one annoyance is waiting for PayPal to release your funds.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately eBay's fees really suck. I listed my 16GB iPhone 4 with a reserve price. I ended up selling it for $306 plus $12 for shipping. My fees to eBay were $30.77 and PayPal kept $9.52 for a total of $40.29.
eBay is probably the easiest way to do it but the fees make it almost not worth it.

And whoever bought it from me used an eCheck or something, so it took a few extra days for the money to become available. Craigslist takes a little more effort but it's the way to go.
 
TonyC28 said:
Unfortunately eBay's fees really suck. I listed my 16GB iPhone 4 with a reserve price. I ended up selling it for $306 plus $12 for shipping. My fees to eBay were $30.77 and PayPal kept $9.52 for a total of $40.29.
eBay is probably the easiest way to do it but the fees make it almost not worth it.
Click to expand...

Since my phone is not in new/mint condition, eBay doesn't seem to be the way to go. I've looked and used phones aren't fetching that much, even with accessories. Maybe Apple trade-in is the best option this late in the game.
 
jbachandouris said:
Since my phone is not in new/mint condition, eBay doesn't seem to be the way to go. I've looked and used phones aren't fetching that much, even with accessories. Maybe Apple trade-in is the best option this late in the game.
Click to expand...

Even with fees I made more than Apple would give, or eBay would offer for the Instant Buy. If you want to make the most money Craigslist is the way to go. If you want to make a little less money and not deal with the hassle of CL then use eBay.
 
TonyC28 said:
Even with fees I made more than Apple would give, or eBay would offer for the Instant Buy. If you want to make the most money Craigslist is the way to go. If you want to make a little less money and not deal with the hassle of CL then use eBay.
Click to expand...

In my area, there are too many of them out there. $350 ones are being ignored.

eBay trade in is $227
 
jbachandouris said:
In my area, there are too many of them out there. $350 ones are being ignored. Instant buy doesn't seem to be available anymore.
Click to expand...

Sorry, it's called Instant Sale. It's still there, just hover over Sell and it will be on the list.
 
jbachandouris said:
Just found it. $227 is the highest for a 32GB according to the page.
Click to expand...

Interesting, the prices have come down. Last week a like-new 16GB iPhone 4 was worth $260. Maybe for some reason eBay has realized that the secondary market for iPhone 4's isn't as good as they thought.
 
1) E-Bay, 2) Apple, 3)Gazell, 4)Local Electronics Store, 5) CL.

Even though e-bay charges are high, it gives little protection for buyer and seller. I sold two for $340 and $325 day before IP4S launch.

Apple Trade-In is always easiest option.

Issue with CL, you have to deal with a stanger face-to-face. Where to meet? How do you make sure $$$s are not fake?? Not a good idea. My 2 cents.
 
TonyC28 said:
Unfortunately eBay's fees really suck. I listed my 16GB iPhone 4 with a reserve price. I ended up selling it for $306 plus $12 for shipping. My fees to eBay were $30.77 and PayPal kept $9.52 for a total of $40.29.
eBay is probably the easiest way to do it but the fees make it almost not worth it.

And whoever bought it from me used an eCheck or something, so it took a few extra days for the money to become available. Craigslist takes a little more effort but it's the way to go.
Click to expand...

Final value fees for a $306 sales price for an iPhone would be around $17-18, not $30.77, since the iPhone is in the electronics category.
 
IDK where you are all getting these high ebay/paypal fees. I sold my iPhone 4 16g for $350 and my total transfered to my bank account was $339.55.
 
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