How to Sell an iPhone 5?

[dessskris]

A few weeks ago my friend and I thought about starting an iPhone business - where we buy BNIB iPhones from eBay while cheap and re-sell them at higher prices. It sounded like a great idea we bought 5 phones within 2 days. A few days after that, it's revealed that iPhone 5S is gonna be released on 10 September! We were so shocked and panicking! And we also just realised that selling on eBay or Amazon might not work as we would have to pay 10% or 15% to the respective company and it means we'll have to sell it at much higher prices, which is difficult to achieve. So we put up ads on Craigslist and a few other ads sites, but we've only been contacted by scammers and we're desperate to sell those phones now

We bought each phone at about £400 and so in order to just earn our capitals back, we have to sell it at £450 on eBay. However recently the BNIB phones only sell at £380ish. It's even very difficult to sell at £400. Now we're doomed but don't want to lose the money we spent

Does anyone have any advice as to how I could sell them? I don't really mind not earning much profit as long as I could get back the money I spent on those phones... And I don't really want to use them because I'm waiting to buy a 5S myself (hence the thought of reselling them, in order to earn some profit to save for the 5S).

Any advice anyone? (Or anyone wants to buy those phones?) Please help... Thanks!

 

[bigjim83]

Not a great time to pickup iPhones. With the new release looming there will be more iphone 5 phones on the market then before. My only advice would be pickup some cheap cases to make it a bundle and that might help push the price up.

In my opinion the only real way to pickup iPhones cheap to resell them come from people who got them in a shady way. Not the kind of buying I personally like to do.

 

[CelestialToys]

A few weeks ago my friend and I thought about starting an iPhone business - where we buy BNIB iPhones from eBay while cheap and re-sell them at higher prices. It sounded like a great idea we bought 5 phones within 2 days. A few days after that, it's revealed that iPhone 5S is gonna be released on 10 September! We were so shocked and panicking! And we also just realised that selling on eBay or Amazon might not work as we would have to pay 10% or 15% to the respective company and it means we'll have to sell it at much higher prices, which is difficult to achieve. So we put up ads on Craigslist and a few other ads sites, but we've only been contacted by scammers and we're desperate to sell those phones now

We bought each phone at about £400 and so in order to just earn our capitals back, we have to sell it at £450 on eBay. However recently the BNIB phones only sell at £380ish. It's even very difficult to sell at £400. Now we're doomed but don't want to lose the money we spent

Does anyone have any advice as to how I could sell them? I don't really mind not earning much profit as long as I could get back the money I spent on those phones... And I don't really want to use them because I'm waiting to buy a 5S myself (hence the thought of reselling them, in order to earn some profit to save for the 5S).

Any advice anyone? (Or anyone wants to buy those phones?) Please help... Thanks!

I would be very surprised if you manage to sell these at a profit.
you need to concentrate on minimising your loss, the only way to do this is to get them on Ebay ASAP at the same price everyone else is selling them for and hope they sell before prices drop any further.
Use this as a learning experience, next time research what you are buying, it was no great secret that a new iphone would be coming out sometime in the next few months--this is the reason you got them cheap in the first place as ebay resellers are already dumping their stock in anticipation of the new phone.

 

[dessskris]

Not a great time to pickup iPhones. With the new release looming there will be more iphone 5 phones on the market then before. My only advice would be pickup some cheap cases to make it a bundle and that might help push the price up.

In my opinion the only real way to pickup iPhones cheap to resell them come from people who got them in a shady way. Not the kind of buying I personally like to do.

The making a bundle idea sounds great actually! I think I'll try that. Thanks for the suggestion!!

Yeah I've seen a great offer of iPhone 5 32GB for only about £300 each by some seller from the US advertising on UK eBay. But I don't wanna risk it being a scam so I didn't go for it

 

[Ann P]

You definitely didn't do your research before attempting this. Best thing to do now is to price check on eBay, see how much the auctions are ending at and use that as a start. Just take the 10% fee and try to sell these asap. You can also try to take the highest offer on Craig's List. Better luck next time...

 

[Lucille Carter]

Why would anyone grossly overpay for a iPhone 5 for a free case?

 

[dessskris]

I would be very surprised if you manage to sell these at a profit.
you need to concentrate on minimising your loss, the only way to do this is to get them on Ebay ASAP at the same price everyone else is selling them for and hope they sell before prices drop any further.
Use this as a learning experience, next time research what you are buying, it was no great secret that a new iphone would be coming out sometime in the next few months--this is the reason you got them cheap in the first place as ebay resellers are already dumping their stock in anticipation of the new phone.

Yeah I guess my best bet would be to sell on eBay... Otherwise I'll only face scammers I guess. I actually already knew it'd release some time in September but at that time there were no reliable rumour that it'll release on a certain date, and many said it'll only release in late Sept or early Oct. Turned out it's 10 Sept which is a lot sooner than I imagined When I bought those phones actually some BNIB would sell above 450£ or even 500£ close to the original price that's why it was very tempting to buy cheap and resell But yeah I was so stupid... I'll try to sell them at highest price possible!

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Why would anyone grossly overpay for a iPhone 5 for a free case?

Because some people think cases cost above 10£ and thus buying a BNIB iPhone + case for 400£ is worth more than buying a BNIB iPhone only at the same price?

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You definitely didn't do your research before attempting this. Best thing to do now is to price check on eBay, see how much the auctions are ending at and use that as a start. Just take the 10% fee and try to sell these asap. You can also try to take the highest offer on Craig's List. Better luck next time...

Read my reply above re: research.

I've only been contacted by scammers from Craigslist so far, but I'll try again

 

[CelestialToys]

A bit of advice for future business ventures: It is almost impossible to make a profit on anything bought from Ebay. Especially high cost consumer items like an iPhone.

To be honest you would be unlikely to make a profit even if there wasn't a new phone coming out.

As I said before, get them up on Ebay now for the current selling price, the longer you leave it the more you will lose. Currently it sounds like you are going to lose about £50 per phone, next week it could be nearer to £100 per phone, by the time release of the new phone is here you'll be looking at losing £200 per phone.

 

[CEmajr]

I've been buying/selling/reselling iPhones and other phones on eBay/Craigslist/Amazon etc. for a few years now. Here's a little advice:

- The prices for iPhones being sold on eBay is almost NEVER low enough for you to buy and make a profit by reselling on your local craigslist or even on eBay again due to the fees. So even if you bought the iPhones on eBay 6 months ago you still would have been likely to take a loss by trying to resell them on there.

- The only people who can buy phones on eBay and turn a profit for them are usually the ones who are either located somewhere in Asia or have a direct connection to someone in Asia who can sell them on the streets for far higher than what they sell for on eBay

- If you're wanting to buy phones to sell on eBay then Craigslist is a better source of products than eBay is. You would be surprised how little money people will let their phones go for when they're hurting or desperate for cash. In my experience this is the best source for products.

- When attempting to sell items on Craigslist you'll find that when it comes to NIB items that are worth over $300, you're only going to get responses from scammers and other resellers 80% of the time. It seems $300-350 is about the barrier for what average people feel comfortable meeting a stranger for.

- The room for profit in what you're trying to do is in the disconnect in pricing between eBay and Craigslist. Take a look at eBay sold listings and your local Craigslist and you'll see the difference in pricing. The price for trying to buy phones on eBay will always be higher due to the massive number of potential buyers you're competing against while Craigslist is confined to your local area. Also almost every person on Craigslist will accept a lower price for their phone than what they are asking in the ad listing.

- Used phones are where the money is. New phones are usually acquired through less than honest means and due to the fact that all 4 major networks here in the US now block lost/stolen/fraudulently acquired phones, one could get burned severely when an angry buyer on eBay finds that his phone stopped working 30 days from now due to being blocked. (not sure if that's the case in your country). Also with new phones there tends to be more money involved so the Craigslist encounter with a buyer/seller could potentially be more dangerous than just buying used phones from average people.

There's more things I've learned over time but too much to type for now. Just take your loss as a lesson learned and try a different approach next time. Sell them on eBay to get the most of your money back because you're not making a profit off these this time. There is a ton of money to be made in reselling smartphones if you know what you're doing.

 

[617aircav]

Your plan was doomed to fail from the begining. How can you buy from eBay to sell on eBay to begin with? You have to buy wholesale which you can't.

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I've been buying/selling/reselling iPhones and other phones on eBay/Craigslist/Amazon etc. for a few years now. Here's a little advice:

- The prices for iPhones being sold on eBay is almost NEVER low enough for you to buy and make a profit by reselling on your local craigslist or even on eBay again due to the fees. So even if you bought the iPhones on eBay 6 months ago you still would have been likely to take a loss by trying to resell them on there.

- The only people who can buy phones on eBay and turn a profit for them are usually the ones who are either located somewhere in Asia or have a direct connection to someone in Asia who can sell them on the streets for far higher than what they sell for on eBay

- If you're wanting to buy phones to sell on eBay then Craigslist is a better source of products than eBay is. You would be surprised how little money people will let their phones go for when they're hurting or desperate for cash. In my experience this is the best source for products.

- When attempting to sell items on Craigslist you'll find that when it comes to NIB items that are worth over $300, you're only going to get responses from scammers and other resellers 80% of the time. It seems $300-350 is about the barrier for what average people feel comfortable meeting a stranger for.

- The room for profit in what you're trying to do is in the disconnect in pricing between eBay and Craigslist. Take a look at eBay sold listings and your local Craigslist and you'll see the difference in pricing. The price for trying to buy phones on eBay will always be higher due to the massive number of potential buyers you're competing against while Craigslist is confined to your local area. Also almost every person on Craigslist will accept a lower price for their phone than what they are asking in the ad listing.

- Used phones are where the money is. New phones are usually acquired through less than honest means and due to the fact that all 4 major networks here in the US now block lost/stolen/fraudulently acquired phones, one could get burned severely when an angry buyer on eBay finds that his phone stopped working 30 days from now due to being blocked. (not sure if that's the case in your country). Also with new phones there tends to be more money involved so the Craigslist encounter with a buyer/seller could potentially be more dangerous than just buying used phones from average people.

There's more things I've learned over time but too much to type for now. Just take your loss as a lesson learned and try a different approach next time. Sell them on eBay to get the most of your money back because you're not making a profit off these this time. There is a ton of money to be made in reselling smartphones if you know what you're doing.

I have been selling used phones on the side on eBay for a year now. I buy them from craigslist at a very low price. Like you said a desperate seller will sell for way below Markey value. Case in point, like new iPhone 5 for $300, or a MacBook air for $400. I once made a profit of $900 in one week selling 5 phones.

 

[einmusiker]

you are going to lose money on this. You just need to face facts and try to sell now asap to at least minimize your losses. Sorry.

 

[rh1]

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A bit of advice for future business ventures: It is almost impossible to make a profit on anything bought from Ebay. Especially high cost consumer items like an iPhone.

To be honest you would be unlikely to make a profit even if there wasn't a new phone coming out.

As I said before, get them up on Ebay now for the current selling price, the longer you leave it the more you will lose. Currently it sounds like you are going to lose about £50 per phone, next week it could be nearer to £100 per phone, by the time release of the new phone is here you'll be looking at losing £200 per phone.

If the rumour that the iPhone 5 will not be cascaded down but discontinued unlike other years and Apple decides to introduce the iPhone 5C, will this move help sustain the iPhone 5 resale value?

Will a relatively high iPhone 5C price it help sustain (moderate) the iPhone 5 resale price? assuming that some would prefer the metallic build to the plastic build..

Wouldn't this help maintain sanity in the second-hand market once people begin to realise the iPhone 5 are no longer available anymore or will there already be enough second-hand iPhone 5 people would be selling off?

Do you think you would lose less after the next iPhone than a few weeks before?

I know its only a phone and not an investment so just thought it might be the case

 

[CelestialToys]

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If the rumour that the iPhone 5 will not be cascaded down but discontinued unlike other years and Apple decides to introduce the iPhone 5C, will this move help sustain the iPhone 5 resale value?

Will a relatively high iPhone 5C price it help sustain (moderate) the iPhone 5 resale price? assuming that some would prefer the metallic build to the plastic build..

Wouldn't this help maintain sanity in the second-hand market once people begin to realise the iPhone 5 are no longer available anymore or will there already be enough second-hand iPhone 5 people would be selling off?

Do you think you would lose less after the next iPhone than a few weeks before?

I know its only a phone and not an investment so just thought it might be the case

Obviously we have no idea what will happen, however I think it's highly unlikely that the value of an iphone 5 will do anything other than fall sharply when the new phones come out.
There are several reasons for this, firstly the secondhand market will be flooded with iphone 5 when the new phone arrives, plus the interest will shift to the new phones...people buying the last gen model when the new ones are out will be looking for a bargain.
As I said before if I was in the OPs position I would be looking to sell the phones as quickly as possible as he is already looking at making a loss, and that loss is only going to get greater when there is a better phone available.

 

[cynics]

While its nice to try to set up a little business your plan was doomed for failure.

Buying from a near worldwide auction site obviously isn't a good idea.

The only thing that could potentially help get close to breaking even is if you had a 100% positive feedback from hundreds maybe thousands of people. This would add a premium to the price if people feel they are buying with total security. I doubt this is the case though is it?

Hand them out as presents to friends and family! They will love it! Lol

 

[Dented]

Yep the real lesson here is that it's very, very hard to buy a product with a very defined market value, like a new boxed iPhone, and sell it for a profit in that same marketplace. Because at the end of the day, if you only paid x amount for that product (and everyone on eBay can see that's the price it sold for) what makes you think anyone else is going to pay more?

Take out ebay's selling tax on top and you were always headed for a loss, regardless of the Sept 10th announcement.

A strong seller with good service and feedback might add some value, and on a used item you might add some value through better presentation etc than the original seller, but a NIB iPhone is what it is, sells for what it sells, and the longer you keep hold of it the more that sell price will drop.

 

[Interstella5555]

Not the way you're doing it.

 

[617aircav]

Also when you sell on those phones on eBay you are still on hook for the phone for at least 45 days. Within that time your buyer can claim something is not right with the phone a try to return it for a refund. Since it's sealed in box and you bought it from another ebayer, you can't be absolutely certain of what is in the box.

 

[dessskris]

Yep the real lesson here is that it's very, very hard to buy a product with a very defined market value, like a new boxed iPhone, and sell it for a profit in that same marketplace. Because at the end of the day, if you only paid x amount for that product (and everyone on eBay can see that's the price it sold for) what makes you think anyone else is going to pay more?

Take out ebay's selling tax on top and you were always headed for a loss, regardless of the Sept 10th announcement.

A strong seller with good service and feedback might add some value, and on a used item you might add some value through better presentation etc than the original seller, but a NIB iPhone is what it is, sells for what it sells, and the longer you keep hold of it the more that sell price will drop.

thing is, at that time, some people only managed to sell them at prices below £400 whereas some other people actually managed to sell them at £450 and above, some even £500!! so I thought it would be profitable to buy at £400ish and aim to resell at above £450 (which I swear, was feasible during that time!). if NOBODY could sell it at above £420 I wouldn't have thought about buying and reselling. duh!

 

[Dented]

How to Sell an iPhone 5?

thing is, at that time, some people only managed to sell them at prices below £400 whereas some other people actually managed to sell them at £450 and above, some even £500!! so I thought it would be profitable to buy at £400ish and aim to resell at above £450 (which I swear, was feasible during that time!). if NOBODY could sell it at above £420 I wouldn't have thought about buying and reselling. duh!

But do you know what it was those £450 sellers were doing to sell at that price, and could you ever really be certain of repeating that yourselves?

 

[rockyroad55]

Just let it go. Sell them for as close to purchase price and call it a day.