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kawasakirider

macrumors regular
Original poster
Oct 15, 2010
123
0
Hey everyone, I currently own a 16gb iPhone 4 but I'm going to give that one to my mother and get another on a plan with a different provider. In Australia, optus is offering $900 worth of calls, unlimited free mms and SMS, free Facebook and all the other stuff plus 3gb of data for $79 a month. This is a fair bit better than my current $79 telstra plan and I text tons, so it makes sense to switch, as I'd be avoiding excess charges.

My question is, do I go 16, or 32? I honestly don't care about the capacity, I can live happily with 16. I care about the resale value. I want to sell my phone and get an iPhone 5 in July, and put my sim in the new phone (phone provider is cool with it).

So it will cost me nothing except $79 a month for the 16gb, and if I want the 32, it's $163 or so included on my first months bill.

The question is, come sale time, will the 32gb net atleast $160 more than a 16gb, or is it a waste of time to put down $163 for space I won't use? I'm looking at spending as little as I can in July to get a 5, so it would make sense for me to do this if the resale value is significantly different.

Thanks in advance to any replies.
 
Here in Ireland, sellers usually price 32GB version higher naturally, but in the end, maybe they net 50 euro more.
 
Since the item isn't rare or has a special circumstance why it is valued more (ie only 32GB were signed by Jobs, etc) ... go for the cheapest, stock version available. All items depreciate, but your depreciation here will be less than your hit on the more expensive SKU.

You should not be focused on which phone gets you more in a sale; instead, you should be focused on which phone minimizes your losses in a sale.
 
Since the item isn't rare or has a special circumstance why it is valued more (ie only 32GB were signed by Jobs, etc) ... go for the cheapest, stock version available. All items depreciate, but your depreciation here will be less than your hit on the more expensive SKU.

You should not be focused on which phone gets you more in a sale; instead, you should be focused on which phone minimizes your losses in a sale.

I have observed the same thing as well. From a depreciation stand point, the lower memory model seems to hold value pretty well.
 
Since the item isn't rare or has a special circumstance why it is valued more (ie only 32GB were signed by Jobs, etc) ... go for the cheapest, stock version available. All items depreciate, but your depreciation here will be less than your hit on the more expensive SKU.

You should not be focused on which phone gets you more in a sale; instead, you should be focused on which phone minimizes your losses in a sale.


That last sentence was some of the best advice I've ever seen on a forum. Concise, yet very informative. Thanks.
 
Since the item isn't rare or has a special circumstance why it is valued more (ie only 32GB were signed by Jobs, etc) ... go for the cheapest, stock version available. All items depreciate, but your depreciation here will be less than your hit on the more expensive SKU.

You should not be focused on which phone gets you more in a sale; instead, you should be focused on which phone minimizes your losses in a sale.

Thanks for the great advice jenzjen :)

Real happy we have you here on the forum :)
 
Electronics are terrible investments. Buy only as much as you need.

I bought my 3GS for $299 with tax it came out to $360 when the iPhone 4 came out I bought it and sold my 3GS for $400. I made $40 and got a new phone talk about being a terrible investment:rolleyes:
 
I bought my 3GS for $299 with tax it came out to $360 when the iPhone 4 came out I bought it and sold my 3GS for $400. I made $40 and got a new phone talk about being a terrible investment:rolleyes:

Bought an 8GB 3G in 12/2009 for 240 with tax, sold it in 12/2010 after upgrading to 3GS. So it for 390, 32GB 3GS cost me about 360, so I made 30 on that deal too. You just need to find the right buyer then it can be an investment.
 
I bought my 3GS for $299 with tax it came out to $360 when the iPhone 4 came out I bought it and sold my 3GS for $400. I made $40 and got a new phone talk about being a terrible investment:rolleyes:

You can't include the subsidy and exclude what you paid for the contract. It's like saying I bought a $20k car for $5k bc that was my down payment. If I later sell it for $12k did I really make or lose money?
 
My last two 3GS and current iP4 I went for 32GB, have not even used 1/2 and the only reason I did it with the 4 is I thought I would be taking a lot of movies and photos, well NOT.

Save the dough, just get the 16GB, besides I tend to rotate my music every 1-2 weeks, so there is no need to keep it all on there and I do not have many apps, but I am guessing 32GB will be the low model next time around, everyone is looking for them to do 32, 64, or 128, but I am thinking they will drop the 16GB this time around but only Apple knows for sure.
 
I bought my 3GS for $299 with tax it came out to $360 when the iPhone 4 came out I bought it and sold my 3GS for $400. I made $40 and got a new phone talk about being a terrible investment:rolleyes:

It's not an "investment". You lost hundreds of dollars.

You just didn't notice.
 
It seems like on Craigslist around my area, the 32GBs fetch ~$50-$75 more than the 16GB. I think if I were purchasing just for the point of resale, I wouldn't spend the extra $100 for the extra capacity.
 
If it's sitting around not being used, it's still being lost. So either way.

Well, in this case at least you're not led to believe that you've made a super "investment" because you are so super "clever" - while others are carrying your money in bags to the bank. :D
 
Im a big movie buff, so I like to have a crap load of Family guy episodes and HD movies on my device so that when im lying down on my bed and I dont want to watch it on my TV, I can just pop out my iPhone and enjoy.

If your like me, definitely go for the 32GB, if not, then go for the 8GB (oh wait.. 16GB)
 
Well I just scored a new ASUS N53Jq for $500 so I'm trying to conserve some cash.

The only reason I wanted to know this is because I've come into a bit of money, and I won't again for a long time as I'm a university student. So if I change plans and spend the $160 that I won't miss now, even if it gives me $100 more back when it's time for the IP5 I'd be happy. I know it's a loss, but it would make it easier come july.
 
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