Great Deal?

[visim91]

I was in RadioShack today getting a PS3 for my older brother ($199 bundle).
The cashier happened to see my severely cracked iPhone 3Gs screen and offered to trade a new, in-box iPhone 4 for my 3Gs at a price of $40.

iPhone 4 = $116
iPhone 3Gs = $76
________________
Cost to me = $40


Is there any reason this is not a great deal?


Edit: No contract exclusive deal or other B.S. "catch" to this price. It is what is, lads.

 

[FreakinEurekan]

It's a decent deal, but of course it's going to come with a 2-year contract renewal.

$76 for a cracked-screen 3GS is pretty fair, considering the complete lack of hassle in selling it. Gazelle / eBay Instant would give you about $40.

 

[visim91]

It's a decent deal, but of course it's going to come with a 2-year contract renewal.

$76 for a cracked-screen 3GS is pretty fair, considering the complete lack of hassle in selling it. Gazelle / eBay Instant would give you about $40.

I left after purchasing the PS, and told him I would give him a call; he had said there was no contract involved, and I would simply slip my SIM from one phone to the other. I think I should call to confirm, if what you say is true.

 

[FreakinEurekan]

I left after purchasing the PS, and told him I would give him a call; he had said there was no contract involved, and I would simply slip my SIM from one phone to the other. I think I should call to confirm, if what you say is true.

No way it's non-contract. The iPhone 4 is $99 with contract, $549 without.

Not that being in contract is such a terrible thing, it locks you into AT&T for another two years but doesn't change your rate plan or anything. Your monthly bill won't change, neither will your minutes or data plan. I am on my 3rd consecutive AT&T contract phone and unless AT&T screws up royally or some other provider steps up their game in a huge way, I have no reason to consider leaving - so may as well get the $450 subsidy whenever it's available.

Unless you have a specific reason to not want to renew your contract, I would say the $76 trade-in is a fair deal.

Edit: Keep in mind new iPhone 4's are 8GB - your 3GS is probably 16GB (that was the most popular size, though you could have an 8GB). Consider if that's going to cause issues before you pull the trigger. You could get the 16GB iPhone 4S for $100 more, which will also get you Siri and the 8MP camera, if downgrading storage capacity would cause problems for you.