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New or Used iPhone 5s? Which is smarter now?

S

shunting123

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 17, 2014
46
5
Hi, all.

Your thoughts on the below, please . . .

As much as I want the latest -n- greatest technology, I've decided to get the 5s and wait for a year. My options are to buy it new from Apple (which is not exactly that much less money that the 6, it should be noted) or to buy it used, and then sell it in one year (for even less money :)). I would of course much prefer a brand new one, but I think the aftermarket value will be less than half in 9-12 months, if you ask Gazelle, at least?

If I opt for pre-owned, where do you think is the best place for high-quality, unlocked, pre-owned iPhones? I am a bit concerned about buying something that is faulty (i.e., was returned for a reason).

Thank you.
 
I sold my 32gb 5s for $500 and it was in absolute mint condition with Evutec Karbon case and ghost armour screen protector.

If you can find a deal like that scoop it up. the 5s is selling for $700 + tax new here
 
I'm not sure I want to trust a place like CL.

If i wanted to buy a pre-owned 5s, what do you think are the best sources for a 5s right now, offering the best balance of decent price and quality/reliability of goods sold?

Thank you.
 
I wouldn't buy a new 5s now. Price is just going to keep tanking due to the flood of iPhones 6. Either get a 6 or buy a used 5/5s. If you can live with a 5 they are a great deal used.
 
shunting123 said:
Hi, all.

Your thoughts on the below, please . . .

As much as I want the latest -n- greatest technology, I've decided to get the 5s and wait for a year. My options are to buy it new from Apple (which is not exactly that much less money that the 6, it should be noted) or to buy it used, and then sell it in one year (for even less money :)). I would of course much prefer a brand new one, but I think the aftermarket value will be less than half in 9-12 months, if you ask Gazelle, at least?

If I opt for pre-owned, where do you think is the best place for high-quality, unlocked, pre-owned iPhones? I am a bit concerned about buying something that is faulty (i.e., was returned for a reason).

Thank you.
Click to expand...

Buy a brand new one, itll come with 1 year limited warranty, everything wil be brand new, and the battery wont be shot at all since it is brand new and not a used phone(5S came out over a year ago and after about a year , lithium ion batteries start losing charge capacity so if your buying a used 5S your not gonna get as good battery life) Plus a brand new 5S will resell better brand new, and brand new is just brand new , much better then used lol
 
shunting123 said:
I'm not sure I want to trust a place like CL.

If i wanted to buy a pre-owned 5s, what do you think are the best sources for a 5s right now, offering the best balance of decent price and quality/reliability of goods sold?

Thank you.
Click to expand...

Well, there's Ebay and Swappa to start with. Honestly, I wouldn't even by a used phone due to the iCloud lock or blacklisting potential, but I also wouldn't buy a new 5S at this point either. Sorry I couldn't sell you the 5S that I recently sold!
 
I would recommend not getting a 5S at all. That's just a silly thing to do when a 6 is available. You'll regret it every minute you have the 5S
 
Not silly at all, there are more older versions active than the latest 6 phones.

Not everyone wants (let alone needs) the latest.

The 5/5s are still good to have and cheaper new or used.

Not everyone is running to Mickey Ds to buy a Big Mac with their phone:eek:
 
Swappa would be your best bet. Or buy a new Verizon one from Apple, those are factory unlocked as per an FCC mandate, and AFAIK, work with AT&T/T-Mobile LTE bands. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong.
 
Since you are asking this question seems you are not very knowledgable with the used cell market, you would be better off with a brand new device. Used market is hit or miss depending on how savvy you are.
 
You'll regret it every minute you have the 5S
10n.jpg
 
Unless you're really cash strapped, I wouldn't buy a new 5s over a 6 if you're planning on changing out again in a year.

When you compare the retail price difference against projected resale value you're not really saving any money to speak of if you're only keeping it a year. (compare resale of 1yr old phones vs 2yr old phones)

Used 5s vs new 6... again look at net cost differential and span that over a year for the monthly "savings" of having a 5s vs a 6.

If you're planning on keeping it longer, do the same analysis and evaluate the value of having a 6 vs 5s and see if it's "worth it" to you. Since that's subjective to your particular needs/wants nobody here can definitively tell you which is "better". You'll save some money with the 5s, but you also miss out on some of the advances the 6 brings. They may or may not matter much to you but we can't put a dollar value on that for you.
 
deeddawg said:
Unless you're really cash strapped, I wouldn't buy a new 5s over a 6 if you're planning on changing out again in a year.

When you compare the retail price difference against projected resale value you're not really saving any money to speak of if you're only keeping it a year. (compare resale of 1yr old phones vs 2yr old phones)


Hi, deeddawg.

In other words, you think in one year's time, a used iPhone 6 would sell for dramatically more than a used iPhone 5s? There is a $100 price differential now to buy them brand new and unlocked, so in order to make it worth my while, I'd have to expect more than $100 extra at resale in one year for going with the 6 rather than the 5s.

(The reason I only want something for one year is because I'm not particularly thrilled by the 6 but need something for the next year -- camera on my iPhone 4 is now almost unusable.)
Click to expand...
 
I did this last month. On ebay, the $300 price point is full of 'as is' listings that make you want to pinch your noise. $350 find lots of year old, good condition 5s. But I expect to keep mine until the 7 or 7s, so I didn't want a year old battery. They are $50 to replace so I found a dude who just had his 5s replaced by apple, for $400. This is 150 under the new from apple price for the same thing.

Spend a few days watching the macrumors marketplace.
 
I'm upgrading my two daughter's 4s phones and did not want to pay ATT for the 5 or 5s and found Apple 5 refurbs for $379 at their eBay partner's store here.
 
Last edited:
shunting123 said:
In other words, you think in one year's time, a used iPhone 6 would sell for dramatically more than a used iPhone 5s?
Click to expand...

While nobody can predict the future perfectly, go look at the trade in prices for an iphone5 vs iphone5s with all else the same. When I did a week ago I think there was about a $70 difference, where you'd get $70 more for a 5S than a 5. If that were to hold true for the 5S vs the 6, your net savings buying a 5S new would be a whopping $30 -- not worth it IMHO.

As to buying a used 5S, just do the same sort of comparison against your savings; factoring also that you may not have warranty if that's of any concern to you.

Then decide if the net savings is worth it.
 
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