Other Why upgrading every year isn't as dumb as you think

[hewastl286]

Not really..
when you buy a new iphone for 1149€ and you keep it for three years the iphone will kost you 383€ per year.

when you buy a new iphone for 1149€ and you sell it for 900€ you loose 249€ - when you do this for three years you will loose 747€

so this is very simple that you loose 747€ or 383€

 

[shotts56]

Well, it serves convenience.
I put mine on FB marketplace and got $50 over the Trade-In value.
There were so many people messaging me to ask if it was "still available?" But only 2 people even counter offered.
It is a hassle to reply to the messages, negotiate, and meet up with the potential buyers.
I was hoping for $100 over the Trade-In because I thought that would worth my trouble.
$50... is barely worth my time.

My view too. Life is too short for this level of hassle for such a small saving.

 

[nrvna76]

Not really..
when you buy a new iphone for 1149€ and you keep it for three years the iphone will kost you 383€ per year.

when you buy a new iphone for 1149€ and you sell it for 900€ you loose 249€ - when you do this for three years you will loose 747€

so this is very simple that you loose 747€ or 383€

Like how you said this is very simple.. and then compared a value over 3 years time to a value over 1 years time...

 

[ozziegn]

I upgrade every year simply because it would cost me a lot more if I didn't. Why? Because I can sell my last year's phone at a top dollar premium which in turn narrows the gap between what I sell my old phone and my new phone. But I always sell my used iPhones on FaceBook Marketplace vs eBay. Although selling an iPhone on FB Marketplace can be annoying because you'll have a lot of people trying to lowball you and so on. But it's still better than getting screwed from the selling costs that come along with using eBay. They're just getting too expensive.......

On a side note. I just sold an extra iPhone 12 Pro 256GB pacific blue phone on FB Marketplace for $1300. I made a profit of $123 in less than 24 hours. Not bad for less than 24 hours time.

 

[ozziegn]

Well, it serves convenience.
I put mine on FB marketplace and got $50 over the Trade-In value.
There were so many people messaging me to ask if it was "still available?" But only 2 people even counter offered.
It is a hassle to reply to the messages, negotiate, and meet up with the potential buyers.
I was hoping for $100 over the Trade-In because I thought that would worth my trouble.
$50... is barely worth my time.

I agree on the hassle part of selling on FB Marketplace. But to me it's worth it. I just sold my iPhone 11 Pro 256GB phone that Apple was only going to give me $450 which would have been an insult considering my phone (as with all my phones) still looked brand new. I sold the same phone on FB for $750 in less than 48 hours.

 

[collin_]

Thank you guys for your thoughts and opinions.

This forum seems to be very wary of eBay, but personally I have never had a major issue in the dozens of times I have bought and sold on the site. The only issue I run into is that I receive offers at or even above my asking price from users with 0 feedback and randomly generated usernames.

My guess is that they're trying to get me to accept and then convince me to move the transaction off of eBay and scam me in a way where I would have no protection, but I wouldn't know because I have never accepted an offer from them. eBay is very safe as long as you stick to dealing with buyers with ample positive feedback and a high positive feedback score (>98%).

Their fees do bother me though (10% is just high), so I will be looking into the other sites you guys have recommended. Thanks!

 

[now i see it]

Well that's certainly creative math.
Four years of upgrading every year at $450 a pop equals $1800.

Or

Keep a phone for four years equals $1200 max (probably less)

 

[coney718]

I’d recommend Swappa. I’ve bought and/or sold 27 devices since the 6 came out. The fees are so much lower than eBay and I did have 3 disputes which PayPal backed me on each time.

Swappa is definitely better than Ebay as there's less fees and scammers but its annoying because all people do is try to lowball you on price for days/weeks before you actually make a sale. I dont have time to haggle back and forth especially if I know I priced the phone reasonably. Now I just do trade in's with Apple or my carrier. Yes I could get a little more if I sold it privately but I'll take the loss just for the convenience.

 

[collin_]

Well that's certainly creative math.
Four years of upgrading every year at $450 a pop equals $1800.

Or

Keep a phone for four years equals $1200 max (probably less)

Several commenters have noted that this method is more expensive than not upgrading yearly. I am aware of this. The additional cost is worth it to me and I simply see it as the most inexpensive way of upgrading yearly.

 

[theSeb]

I agree on the hassle part of selling on FB Marketplace. But to me it's worth it. I just sold my iPhone 11 Pro 256GB phone that Apple was only going to give me $450 which would have been an insult considering my phone (as with all my phones) still looked brand new. I sold the same phone on FB for $750 in less than 48 hours.

So you sold a phone that cost 1200 for 750. That means you've lost 450 over the year.

You said earlier

I upgrade every year simply because it would cost me a lot more if I didn't.

But would it really cost you more?

Let's assume that this buy/sell relationship remains the same for the future. You buy a new phone every year for 1200 and you sell that phone for 750. In reality maybe you will buy it for more in the future, but then you would sell it for more. I am not going to include inflation in this napkin maths. So what would happen if you could live without the latest and greatest? What if you could wait for 3 years and then get yourself a new phone? Even if we assume that your 3 year old phone is worthless now and you cannot sell it for anything, you would have saved yourself 150 of currency units. That is basically one Apple share. You've also saved yourself time and hassle, which I think is worth even more, but perhaps that's an age thing.

The question of course is can you wait? I can. I used to upgrade every 2 years to always catch the S models. But I see little reason to do it, as I've gotten older. My XS works perfectly fine and does everything I need. Before that I didn't upgrade for 4 years I think.

 

[The.Glorious.Son]

Swappa is definitely better than Ebay as there's less fees and scammers but its annoying because all people do is try to lowball you on price for days/weeks before you actually make a sale. I dont have time to haggle back and forth especially if I know I priced the phone reasonably. Now I just do trade in's with Apple or my carrier. Yes I could get a little more if I sold it privately but I'll take the loss just for the convenience.

Yeah the lowballing and haggling is definitely a nuisance. For the first time, with the 8 Plus, I didn’t upgrade annually after. So I’ve had it all the way to this point and haven’t used swappa in 3 years. I may not even bother getting rid of it at this point and just keep it in a drawer.

 

[SisterBlue22]

The convenience factor of not having to deal with that makes the iPhone Upgrade Program worth it to me.

This x 100000. I sold my phones on eBay every year for years, and the last couple of times on Swappa, before getting into the iUP the very first year. I'm a very experienced eBay seller with hundreds of sales transactions, and selling iPhones on eBay still worried me because of all the scammy "buyers" out there. The convenience factor alone makes the iUP worth it to me. Love the ability to easily upgrade every year.

 

[K.P.]

Every year, I pay the whole cost upfront for the biggest, fanciest iPhone unlocked directly from Apple. This year, I will be selling my iPhone 11 Pro Max (256 GB) on eBay and buying the same size 12 Pro Max. I should get about $900-$950 for it as it is in mint condition. Accounting for eBay fees, PayPal fees, and the taxes I'll pay on the new 256 GB Pro Max, it will essentially cost less than $500 for me to upgrade.

Older iPhones obviously lose value each time a newer model is released, so I am paying only a tiny bit more than if I upgraded every 2 years or every 3 years and did the same thing. I would start saving serious money only if I kept my current phone for at least 4 years, and as a tech enthusiast I just can't bring myself to do that -- especially considering that this is a device I use for multiple hours every day.

In other words, upgrading your iPhone every year is actually not stupid or particularly expensive assuming you pay upfront, keep it in good condition, and sell the old one on eBay. Using this method, I am paying only a fraction of what those on Apple's yearly upgrade program pay. I understand that not everyone is in the financial position to do this, but if you are and are a tech enthusiast like me, I think this is the best way to do it. 🙂

Well, I get the point. I don’t pay up front, because I like upgrading every year without the hassle, so I use Verizon’s upgrade program. You do you.

 

[MuGeN PoWeR]

I sold my 11 pro max locally through Facebook marketplace and got 950 for it. no fee or shipping! can't wait for 12 Pro max!

 

[SisterBlue22]

There is absolutely no need to upgrade yearly. If anything the changes are so small year to year that upgrading every 3 years is now the norm.

But....we don't only make purchases that we "need". Some of us buy things we want, and owe no justification to anyone. Everyone's situation is different. I wouldn't personally be able to buy a new phone outright every year, but the no interest payments and guaranteed trade in of the iUP makes it very do-able for me. That's my situation and experience, and anyone else's mileage may vary. That's why there are so many choices.

 

[veedubshafer]

I do the same. I also lease a brand new truck every 3 years. There are a few things I use every single day and depend on them son unlike to keep them new and reliable. Works for me. My wife on the other hand drives a 15 year old car and has an iPhone 7+. Works for her.

 

[Sam in SoCal]

I sold my 11 pro max locally through Facebook marketplace and got 950 for it. no fee or shipping! can't wait for 12 Pro max!

Nice 👍. I can imagine the low ballers though. How long did it take you to sell it

 

[StarShot]

Its too risky for me. I don’t trust buyers as they could easily say they didn’t receive it. PayPal usually always sides with the buyer too.

If the buyer has to sign for it, they can't say they didn't receive it. That said, I've sold EVERY edition of the NEW iphones I've bought since the 3G about 10 years ago. Most were sold on eBay, but I've also sold a couple of Swappa and never had a "I didn't receive it" complaint. Swappa seems to charge less than eBay for sales.

I keep an old iPhone to use when I sell the current edition which I pop my sim card in while I'm waiting for the new phone. I try to list my old phones with about a month to go on the guarantee so that the buyer has an option to have any problems fixed while it's still under the guarantee.

When I first started doing this, I came close to breaking even on the upgrade, but that has started to slide downwards to the point where it now costs me around $200-$250 to annually upgrade.

I should also note I sold one iphone via craigslist with a "meet" at a Starbucks for the exchange.

 

[petvas]

I upgrade every year because I can afford it and I love having the latest iPhone. I don't try to find an excuse why I do that..
I always sell my iPhone and get the new one, but that means almost 600€ that I have to pay on top...Anyway, I don't think it's silly to do that, but I don't care...

 

[Sam in SoCal]

If the buyer has to sign for it, they can't say they didn't receive it. That said, I've sold EVERY edition of the NEW iphones I've bought since the 3G about 10 years ago. Most were sold on eBay, but I've also sold a couple of Swappa and never had a "I didn't receive it" complaint. Swappa seems to charge less than eBay for sales.

I keep an old iPhone to use when I sell the current edition which I pop my sim card in while I'm waiting for the new phone. I try to list my old phones with about a month to go on the guarantee so that the buyer has an option to have any problems fixed while it's still under the guarantee.

When I first started doing this, I came close to breaking even on the upgrade, but that has started to slide downwards to the point where it now costs me around $200-$250 to annually upgrade.

I should also note I sold one iphone via craigslist with a "meet" at a Starbucks for the exchange.

If you’re including tax in that 200-250 it’s not bad. Don’t know where you live but I pay 7.75% tax to whatever I buy here in California for my zip code

 

[1rottenapple]

I upgrade every year because I can afford it and I love having the latest iPhone. I don't try to find an excuse why I do that..
I always sell my iPhone and get the new one, but that means almost 600€ that I have to pay on top...Anyway, I don't think it's silly to do that, but I don't care...

True, we all have things we enjoy, life is too short. What works for one person may not be what another person wants.

I'm in the middle, I used to upgrade every year but skip after the 11 since it too much of the same thing, but I might upgrade. There's somethings in life I'm into, tech being one of it, and things I'm not into, so its how I justify my tech hobby.

 

[Christopher Kim]

I understand the sentiment here. At a high-level, this can be done "reasonably" where the actual "cost" of upgrading every year isn't as big one might think originally, largely because of the way the secondary market has dictated the depreciation curve of iPhones.

After 1 year, they don't depreciate "that much". After 2 years they drop off more, and after 3 years, more so.

Total round numbers and completely based on gut feeling, I think it's something like:
- After 1 year, 80% value
- After 2 years, ~50% value
- After 3 years, ~30% value

There's lots of things that can move the value one way or the other that many ppl have brought up (ie. higher-storage capacity models probably depreciate a bit more on a % basis, friction costs in selling on Ebay/Swappa/FB vary based on location and experience, etc.)

But I don't doubt that if you're on the happy end of a lot of those "little variables", the actual cost to upgrade every year may not be that much more than if you wait every 2 years or every 3 years to upgrade. And all-the-while, you get the benefit of having the latest phone every year.

I personally don't do this, but I can see why it may make sense for some people. The decision makes more sense if you have more disposable income (so the $ cost isn't as big a deal) and you really enjoy having the latest tech (so get more "value" out of upgrading every year and always having the newest).

 

[kp98077]

Every year, I pay the whole cost upfront for the biggest, fanciest iPhone unlocked directly from Apple. This year, I will be selling my iPhone 11 Pro Max (256 GB) on eBay and buying the same size 12 Pro Max. I should get about $900-$950 for it as it is in mint condition. Accounting for eBay fees, PayPal fees, and the taxes I'll pay on the new 256 GB Pro Max, it will essentially cost less than $500 for me to upgrade.

Older iPhones obviously lose value each time a newer model is released, so I am paying only a tiny bit more than if I upgraded every 2 years or every 3 years and did the same thing. I would start saving serious money only if I kept my current phone for at least 4 years, and as a tech enthusiast I just can't bring myself to do that -- especially considering that this is a device I use for multiple hours every day.

In other words, upgrading your iPhone every year is actually not stupid or particularly expensive assuming you pay upfront, keep it in good condition, and sell the old one on eBay. Using this method, I am paying only a fraction of what those on Apple's yearly upgrade program pay. I understand that not everyone is in the financial position to do this, but if you are and are a tech enthusiast like me, I think this is the best way to do it. 🙂

That’s only $1.4 a day!

 

[StarShot]

If you’re including tax in that 200-250 it’s not bad. Don’t know where you live but I pay 7.75% tax to whatever I buy here in California for my zip code

On average, I think my previous phones were about $700. My tax in Washington State is 10%. A quick trip across the river to Oregon is available if I want to go to an Apple store there (no sales tax).

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

I don’t upgrade every year because:

A) It doesn’t make financial sense IMO

B) I’d find it boring changing my phone after just 12 months.