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What market will there be for all the used iPhone 3G's when new iPhone is out?

zub3qin

zub3qin

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Apr 10, 2007
1,315
4
For those with the iPhone 3G, what do you plan on doing with your old phone once you get the newest iPhone?

Is anyone going to buy these on ebay/craigslist?

It is not easy to unlock the 3G, so the demand will likely be low (unlike the orig iPhone)- no?

It seems like the only market would be existing AT&T customers who don't want to lock into another 2 years, but want an iPhone.

Thoughts?
 
Well I probably won't be able to sell my 3G for as much as I sold my unlocked original iPhone. Stupid me upgraded to 2.2.1 too quickly without realizing that the baseband included with that update still has yet to be cracked open, so hopefully the market for an unlocked 3G is still pretty healthy...
 
The used, abandoned iPhones will be sold on ebay and craigslist for parts or for people that broke their phones and need a new one, but either arent eleigible for an upgrade or dont find the new iPhone appealing. They will still sell. Remember, not everyone will find the new iPhone worth an upgrade. The 3g will still be sold new as well.
 
PoitNarf said:
Well I probably won't be able to sell my 3G for as much as I sold my unlocked original iPhone. Stupid me upgraded to 2.2.1 too quickly without realizing that the baseband included with that update still has yet to be cracked open, so hopefully the market for an unlocked 3G is still pretty healthy...
Click to expand...

If you have bootloader 5.08, can't you roll back the baseband to 2.2 specs with Fuzzyband?
 
The iPhone 3G isn't as durable as the original either so the value of these won't be as high. Even used original iPhones are still looking rather new and that gives an extra incentive to buy them. However, the iPhone 3G cracks and scratches over time and I find them less appealing when they've been used... they're also prone to getting dust under the glass. I'm going to keep mine as a souvenir. I want to start an iPhone collection. I'm going to try to get every iPhone model and save the previous one.
 
I don't think that every iPhone 3G user is going to upgrade. Hell, I still know a bunch of people using the EDGE iPhone because they didn't want to upgrade to the 3G one.
 
If the new iPhone is physically going to look like the current one and have 99% if the same capabilities, I don't see many people upgrading from the 3G. More people will be upgrading from the original to the new one (or a 3G) to benefit from the 3.0 additions that the original can't support. I will be upgrading to the new one since i still have the original iPhone. But my boyfriend says he is only going to upgrade if it physically looks different (so people know he has the new one i guess?).

Oh, AND 3G owners aren't going to be eligible for the upgrade at the time that it comes out either. They surely won't pay extra to get a phone that only has a few extra features.
 
AiralynRose said:
If the new iPhone is physically going to look like the current one and have 99% if the same capabilities, I don't see many people upgrading from the 3G. More people will be upgrading from the original to the new one (or a 3G) to benefit from the 3.0 additions that the original can't support. I will be upgrading to the new one since i still have the original iPhone. But my boyfriend says he is only going to upgrade if it physically looks different (so people know he has the new one i guess?).

Oh, AND 3G owners aren't going to be eligible for the upgrade at the time that it comes out either. They surely won't pay extra to get a phone that only has a few extra features.
Click to expand...

How do you know that 3G owners wont be eligible for the upgrade? was that published somewhere are you just speculating?

I was curious about this, I would think they would do the same thing they did for 2G owners upgrading to 3G.
 
I'll probably sell my 3G iPhone cheap to a relative.

I gave my 1st generation iPhone away to my non-tech savvy father and his wife because they don't have a modern computer nor do they use the dinosaur PC that they have. So when I share digital photos with friends and family they miss out. I gave them the iPhone so that they could enjoy such perks, and you know what they did? GAVE IT AWAY to the wife's daughter!!! :mad:

So now, no one gets my old iPhones free. I will certainly sell it.
 
AiralynRose said:
If the new iPhone is physically going to look like the current one and have 99% if the same capabilities, I don't see many people upgrading from the 3G. More people will be upgrading from the original to the new one (or a 3G) to benefit from the 3.0 additions that the original can't support. I will be upgrading to the new one since i still have the original iPhone. But my boyfriend says he is only going to upgrade if it physically looks different (so people know he has the new one i guess?).

Oh, AND 3G owners aren't going to be eligible for the upgrade at the time that it comes out either. They surely won't pay extra to get a phone that only has a few extra features.
Click to expand...

That's stretching it a bit don't you think ? Apple wouldn't be able to sell a new iPhone if there were only 1% new features or feature. haha
 
bigjnyc said:
How do you know that 3G owners wont be eligible for the upgrade? was that published somewhere are you just speculating?

I was curious about this, I would think they would do the same thing they did for 2G owners upgrading to 3G.
Click to expand...

It sounds like an educated guess. iPhone 1,1 was not subsidized. So when it came time to get the iPhone 1,2 they were treated as new customers. With iPhone 2,1/3,0 the 1,2 users may not be seen as new customers since they took the subsidy (unless you paid the full price for the phone).

When in doubt, just check your upgrade eligebility online. It should be fairly accurate.
 
diamond.g said:
It sounds like an educated guess. iPhone 1,1 was not subsidized. So when it came time to get the iPhone 1,2 they were treated as new customers. With iPhone 2,1/3,0 the 1,2 users may not be seen as new customers since they took the subsidy (unless you paid the full price for the phone).

When in doubt, just check your upgrade eligebility online. It should be fairly accurate.
Click to expand...

I heard there would be an early upgrade fee? like $100 more for each model , I'm fine with paying $299 for a 16GB or $399 for a 32GB
 
robothero said:
I don't think that every iPhone 3G user is going to upgrade. Hell, I still know a bunch of people using the EDGE iPhone because they didn't want to upgrade to the 3G one.
Click to expand...

No, they are not. In fact, probably the direct opposite is true: most people with 3Gs are not going to upgrade.
 
Andrew K. said:
I heard there would be an early upgrade fee? like $100 more for each model , I'm fine with paying $299 for a 16GB or $399 for a 32GB
Click to expand...

I think everyone that isn't eligable should qualify for the $100 more expensive early upgrade. It just depends on how Apple wants AT&T to handle it.
 
Andrew K. said:
That's stretching it a bit don't you think ? Apple wouldn't be able to sell a new iPhone if there were only 1% new features or feature. haha
Click to expand...

Maybe not a huge stretch in thinking. They will still sell plenty of iPhones even if it is not a huge upgrade (which in past experience, it likely won't be); new customers & people who want the latest & greatest. I really don't think Apple will sell more new iPhones than they sold 3Gs.

diamond.g said:
I think everyone that isn't eligable should qualify for the $100 more expensive early upgrade. It just depends on how Apple wants AT&T to handle it.
Click to expand...

They may not do this immediately (in order to get a feel for the market), but they may offer some kind of upgrade promotion 3-4 months after the new iPhone has been out (after sales begin to level off).
 
bigjnyc said:
How do you know that 3G owners wont be eligible for the upgrade? was that published somewhere are you just speculating?

I was curious about this, I would think they would do the same thing they did for 2G owners upgrading to 3G.
Click to expand...

This is just a educated guess. The first iPhone was sold to customers at no subsidy and no contract. They had no reason not to be upgrade eligible. However, this time around AT&T took a good chuck of cost of the price and required a 2 year contract. This is not going to be the same. My guess is it will be the $399/499 price deal for early upgrades.

Andrew K. said:
That's stretching it a bit don't you think ? Apple wouldn't be able to sell a new iPhone if there were only 1% new features or feature. haha
Click to expand...

The only rumored new features are:
  • video recorder with editing app (some people might not care about this at all - i don't)
  • faster ram/processor (this isn't going to make or break a deal)
  • magnetometer (again, a niche thing - i don't think i'd use it)
  • improved camera (again, not enough of a reason to upgrade)

The 3G phones will still have all the new 3.0 OS features. The 3.0 OS is the important thing coming out this summer with all the new abilities.
 
AiralynRose said:
This is just a educated guess. The first iPhone was sold to customers at no subsidy and no contract. They had no reason not to be upgrade eligible. However, this time around AT&T took a good chuck of cost of the price and required a 2 year contract. This is not going to be the same. My guess is it will be the $399/499 price deal for early upgrades.
Click to expand...

Your not too good at making educated guesses it seems, or your just talking out your a-- . The orginal iphone was sold along with a 2 year contract.
 
off in the wood said:
Your not too good at making educated guesses it seems, or your just talking out your a-- . The orginal iphone was sold along with a 2 year contract.
Click to expand...

More accurately, it was sold without a contract whatsoever. Anybody could buy one and gift it to someone else. However, you were required to sign a 2 year contract upon activation.
 
bigjnyc said:
How do you know that 3G owners wont be eligible for the upgrade? was that published somewhere are you just speculating?

I was curious about this, I would think they would do the same thing they did for 2G owners upgrading to 3G.
Click to expand...

Actually, it is published (in writing). Log onto your AT&T account and check when you are eligible for an upgrade and you will know exactly what AT&T's current policy is. Until were are told otherwise, this is the policy.
 
kas23 said:
Actually, it is published (in writing). Log onto your AT&T account and check when you are eligible for an upgrade and you will know exactly what AT&T's current policy is. Until were are told otherwise, this is the policy.
Click to expand...

My upgrade eligibility has changed from 3/2010 to 12/2009 so I wouldn't say the "policy" is set in stone.
 
Exactly, the iPhone is such an urbane device that even as newer models are released, the old ones that still work will be worth something. I live in Texas too, but my Edge sucks where I live. I wouldn't mind getting the new one (Once selling my 3G) and getting a 1st gen as a backup.
 
The same market as there is for 2G iphones VS 3G ones. However unless there is going to be a substantial difference in hardware with the new iPhones (which I really doubt) there shouldn't be much of a price drop. Not everyone want's to get into new 2 year relationship. :eek:
 
ayasinsk said:
The same market as there is for 2G iphones VS 3G ones. However unless there is going to be a substantial difference in hardware with the new iPhones (which I really doubt) there shouldn't be much of a price drop. Not everyone want's to get into new 2 year relationship. :eek:
Click to expand...

I just got out of 2 year relationship! LOL oh you mean with phone contracts :D
 
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