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Why would someone pay close to $500 for a used iphone 4S??

P

phatjoe

macrumors member
Original poster
Feb 28, 2008
62
0
IL
Hello,

A buddy of mine just sold his iphone 4S on ebay. He's using his old phone with the thought of purchasing the iphone 5 or a galaxy III.

I'm a bit suprised/amazed that someone within the States paid close to $500 for it!! Apologies if the question sounds silly (I just follow the crowd and sign a 2 year contract). BUT, what I'm I missing here? :confused:

Seems like an awful lot to spend on a used iphone 4s. :rolleyes:

Thanks
 
A no contract 64gb 4s is 899 new. So 500 is a decent price since its 400 off the brand new price.
 
phatjoe said:
Hello,

A buddy of mine just sold his iphone 4S on ebay. He's using his old phone with the thought of purchasing the iphone 5 or a galaxy III.

I'm a bit suprised/amazed that someone within the States paid close to $500 for it!! Apologies if the question sounds silly (I just follow the crowd and sign a 2 year contract). BUT, what I'm I missing here? :confused:

Seems like an awful lot to spend on a used iphone 4s. :rolleyes:

Thanks
Click to expand...

I sold mine for $450, granted that was with applecare through 2013 and still 2 new phones available. The main reason for the high price is b.c they cost $650 and up if you do not want to be in contract. A used one in perfect condition could be worth it. Like the above posters stated, they go up by $100 for 16, 32, 64. once the 5 is announced expect $100 less for your 4S
 
Ive found that Apple products REALLY hold their value.

Each year when its time to get the latest iPhone I always manage to see my currently model on eBay for around £350. My fastest sale was my 3GS a couple of years ago, it was on eBay for all of 8 mins!

Also I had an old slow iPod Touch 2nd Gen lying around so I popped it on eBay the other week, I would have been happy with £15. It ended up selling for nearly £80 and had 44 watchers by the end. Insane.

Last year however I put a SGS2 on there, and I was getting quite concerned at the lack of interest. It sold in the end for a reasonable amount but I was hoping for a little more.
 
phatjoe said:
Hello,

A buddy of mine just sold his iphone 4S on ebay. He's using his old phone with the thought of purchasing the iphone 5 or a galaxy III.

I'm a bit suprised/amazed that someone within the States paid close to $500 for it!! Apologies if the question sounds silly (I just follow the crowd and sign a 2 year contract). BUT, what I'm I missing here? :confused:

Seems like an awful lot to spend on a used iphone 4s. :rolleyes:

Thanks
Click to expand...

It depends. Is it factory unlocked? Since it's a US phone, probably not. Which makes $500 too much money. The amount of storage that the phone came with also makes a significant difference in price/resale value.

If it is a factory unlocked phone with 32GB or more, it's a reasonable deal.
 
Also a Verizon iPhone can be unlocked for international use, making the price totally worth it for those overseas.
 
Cost basis
iPhone 4s $299/32gb 2 year contract
Resell it for $500 today 9 months later

Samsung Galaxy S2 0.01 cent on 2 year contract amazon/various resellers
Resell it for $250-300 9 months later. People are idiots to pay$199/AT&T corp store pricing for non iPhones when amazon etc have them far cheaper from time to time.

So which of those 2 phones maintains value better?

The real answer depends on your cost basis.

So never assume iPhones retain better value when they are almost never discounted on contract while android and windows phones can be heavily discounted by third party resellers.
 
$500 is not a bad price for a 64GB 4S. I sold two of them, one last December for $550 and the other for $490. Seems $500 is the going price more or less.
 
I've sold one for $500 and bought 2 white ones for $425 each on eBay. My current 4s I got from a broke chick on Craigslist for $300 :D
 
What about a factory unlocked / jail broken blk 16g iphone 4..?
Whats reasonable on this?
I may be selling mine very soon.
 
Because the user knows that they are getting a product that will be supported for a while longer. I could buy a Galaxy S3 and not even be sure of that.

When 20 new phones come out on your OS every year instead of 1, the result is shorter device shelf life. Just like when only 10% of your userbase adopts the newest OS, developers can struggle to program apps tailored to your device.
 
sakau2007 said:
Because the user knows that they are getting a product that will be supported for a while longer. I could buy a Galaxy S3 and not even be sure of that.

When 20 new phones come out on your OS every year instead of 1, the result is shorter device shelf life. Just like when only 10% of your userbase adopts the newest OS, developers can struggle to program apps tailored to your device.
Click to expand...

They are so expensive because people don't know and then refuse to believe that over 40% of the initial cost was Apples profit margin. I don't blame people as I would do the same as other people were willing to pay it.

Apple pockets about 350 bucks from a 64 gb 4S. And that dollar just gets passed on because there is no alternative. Pay a lot for new or pay a lot for use.
 
$400 at most, $350 at least
RenoG said:
What about a factory unlocked / jail broken blk 16g iphone 4..?
Whats reasonable on this?
I may be selling mine very soon.
Click to expand...


----------

iphone retains price better, because you don't have other choice if you like iOS, and a new iphone is always $650+tax for the 16gb one.
 
aneftp said:
Cost basis
iPhone 4s $299/32gb 2 year contract
Resell it for $500 today 9 months later

Samsung Galaxy S2 0.01 cent on 2 year contract amazon/various resellers
Resell it for $250-300 9 months later. People are idiots to pay$199/AT&T corp store pricing for non iPhones when amazon etc have them far cheaper from time to time.

So which of those 2 phones maintains value better?

The real answer depends on your cost basis.

So never assume iPhones retain better value when they are almost never discounted on contract while android and windows phones can be heavily discounted by third party resellers.
Click to expand...


the amazon penny pricing is only for new customers on a carrier. and if you cancel your ETF is like $600 instead of $350
 
So is there any guide as to the portability of the various iPhones? I've been thinking of making the leap at some point, but I'd like the ability to take to another carrier if I want to switch. I'm aware there's two versions - CMDA and GSM. However, if I buy, say, a CMDA phone on contract, can I take that phone to another carrier when the contract is up? How about if I buy on one of the prepaid plans, like Virgin; can I move that phone to another carrier, since they don't subsidize the price at all?

Dave
 
Dave00 said:
So is there any guide as to the portability of the various iPhones? I've been thinking of making the leap at some point, but I'd like the ability to take to another carrier if I want to switch. I'm aware there's two versions - CMDA and GSM. However, if I buy, say, a CMDA phone on contract, can I take that phone to another carrier when the contract is up? How about if I buy on one of the prepaid plans, like Virgin; can I move that phone to another carrier, since they don't subsidize the price at all?

Dave
Click to expand...

Apple unlocked are GSM only. Verizon will unlock for international use. AT&T I've heard may/will unlock at the end of the contract.

To the best of my knowledge there isn't a good way to unlock an iPhone for all carriers (CDMA and gsm).
 
Sold a Cracked iPhone and busted iPad on eBay

About 3 months after I upgraded my first gen iPhone to an iPhone 3G, I dropped it on the sidewalk. Needless to say, the screen was cracked pretty badly. An Apple rep gave my incorrect information about having Apple replace the screen for me. In the end, I convinced Apple to sell me a new one at the upgrade price ($324 with tax). I turned around and sold the cracked iPhone on eBay for like $450 I think. I got paid to get a brand new phone.

My Dad's friend's 32 Gb iPad 2 fell off the roof of his car as he drove to work and got bashed up REALLY bad (this is why you don't put stuff on the roof in order to fish out your keys and unlock the car). Destroying the glass and the LCD of the iPad and put a small dent in the casing. He found it when he got home from work on the side of his street. He bought a new one, and asked me to see if I could get the pictures off of the busted one for him. After I did, I asked if I could have it thinking I may see if could fix it. I realized I did not have the time to fix it and sold it on eBay for $321 (started the auction at $1).
 

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RenoG said:
Ok thanks..
Click to expand...

It still amazes me what people are willing to pay for this phones. I picked up two iphone 4 last summer for $300 each, I just can't imagine bying one a year later for $400, it is just bizzare. There are plenty of them for $250, plus ATT carrier unlock $50, grand total $300. Still a little much but acceptable.

A month ago picked a 3 day old, clean esn, sprint iphone 4s for $300 which I am currently using with Gevey Sim on Tmobile, and a couple of weeks after that I picked a 4s for Verizon with bad esn for $100, yes $100, it had a cracked back which I replaced at the apple store for $30, plus Gevey Sim $15, for a grand total of $145. I could easily sell it for $400, but I just don't want too, gave it to my girlfriend instead and she is using it on Tmobile. Oh, I found these phones on craigslist, there are constantly great deals on iphones.

Anybody buying at Iphone 4s for more than $300 is just plain nuts, or they are from outside of the US (for ATT iphone 4S I would be willing to pay $350 though, although I am still looking for that great deal:D)

The point I am trying to make here is that people that sell these phones did not buy them for $650 and most of them are not unlocked, they just bought them locked for $200 and to sell them 2 years later for $400 just does not make any sense......but if people are willing to pay for it then so be it....as they say, there is a sucker born every second....:)
 
Want300 said:
My Dad's friend's 32 Gb iPad 2 fell off the roof of his car as he drove to work and got bashed up REALLY bad (this is why you don't put stuff on the roof in order to fish out your keys and unlock the car). Destroying the glass and the LCD of the iPad and put a small dent in the casing. He found it when he got home from work on the side of his street. He bought a new one, and asked me to see if I could get the pictures off of the busted one for him. After I did, I asked if I could have it thinking I may see if could fix it. I realized I did not have the time to fix it and sold it on eBay for $321 (started the auction at $1).
Click to expand...

You can fix an broken iPad 2 screen and glass for around $40. It takes about an hour and can be quite tricky but practise makes perfect. Sounds like a good deal for both parties.
 
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