Would you sell your iPhone 5 in these circumstances?

[super chimp]

A colleague at work has offered to buy my iPhone 5 at the going rate as his original iPhone has finally died.

I was going to wait for the iPhone 6, but I don't know if I should either put him off and lose a definite sale or take him up on the offer and get a 5S now?

Would the going rate now be higher for selling an iPhone 5 than when the iPhone 6 appears?

 

[Bacong]

the iPhone 5 is discontinued and will be even older when the 6 comes out. It won't ever go up in value, so sell it immediately.

 

[iamMacPerson]

the iPhone 5 is discontinued and will be even older when the 6 comes out. It won't ever go up in value, so sell it immediately.

Yeah, but then your without a phone for, what, 6 months?

It has nowhere to go but down in value, but unless you have a backup phone you can fall back onto for 6 months until the iPhone 6 comes out, your going to be phoneless.

 

[Bacong]

Would you sell your iPhone 5 in these circumstances?

so what the hell is this thread for then?

if you want to wait for the 6 wait. If you don't, don't. we can't help you there.

 

[super chimp]

so what the hell is this thread for then?

if you want to wait for the 6 wait. If you don't, don't. we can't help you there.

I am trying to ascertain if I will get a better price selling it now or to hold off?

 

[Bacong]

Again: the iPhone 5 is not going to increase in value. It is getting old. You won't lose much money if you wait 6 months to sell, but you will most likely make more money if you sell it today.

 

[cambookpro]

The iPhone 5 will lose value between now and when the 6 comes out, though that is still a relatively long time away.

7 months without a phone isn't worth it - unless you think buying a 5s would be a useful upgrade, I would just hold out as it doesn't make much sense to sell now.

 

[Lefty21]

Would the going rate now be higher for selling an iPhone 5 than when the iPhone 6 appears?

Why would the "going rate" for an old model increase after a new model comes out?

 

[617aircav]

Why would the "going rate" for an old model increase after a new model comes out?

Beats me.

 

[rockitdog]

Moving from a 5 to a 5S is an incremental step up only. It's not like you'll make enough off the sale of the 5 to buy the 5S so I would wait for the 6.

 

[kilcher]

Again: the iPhone 5 is not going to increase in value. It is getting old. You won't lose much money if you wait 6 months to sell, but you will most likely make more money if you sell it today.

Right. If you sell today you'll get more money but be without a phone for 6 months. What you need to determine is if the difference between what you'd sell it for now vs. in 6 months is worth being without a phone for that long. IMO it's not. Keep the phone. Wait for the iPhone 6.

If you're worried about getting the most for it later in the year I would sell it as soon as there's some fairly reliable speculation on when the invites for the iPhone 6 reveal will go out but before they're actually sent. That would typically be very late August or very early September. The phone will drop faster in value once the iPhone 6 is actually announced and revealed.

I'm sure you'll find actual numbers in older threads. I even remember seeing articles detailing trade-in values before and after launch. Here's one I found with a quick Google search, I can't really vouch for the accuracy...

http://www.zdnet.com/used-iphone-prices-drop-20-percent-after-an-announcement-7000019454/

 

[super chimp]

Why would the "going rate" for an old model increase after a new model comes out?

Just to clarify, as I seem not to have explained myself very well so far.

Would the iPhone 5 lose much in price if I held off from selling it now, or would the price not be that different if I waited until the 6 appears?

In other words does the iPhone deprecate quite slowly compared to other devices?

In the past I have had some Android devices that I have sold on and they seem to depreciate really rapidly.

 

[T5BRICK]

Keep the iPhone 5 and sell it when the 6 comes out. Unless you've got a decent backup phone, then you can just fall back on that until the 6 is available.

Alternatively, if you are interested in checking out Android, sell your iPhone 5, pick up a Nexus 5 and use it until the iPhone 6 comes out.

 

[617aircav]

Seems you should sell. Fact that you are considering it proves you don't really need your iphone. I'll sell mine two weeks before the next iphone if I am interested in upgrading.

 

[The Doctor11]

I would hold on to it until the 6 then get that and sell it then you will be getting less for it and it might be a harder sell but you'll have the 6.

 

[PNutts]

Would the going rate now be higher for selling an iPhone 5 than when the iPhone 6 appears?

As others have mentioned, yes. Most of the folks buying a 5 after the 6 comes out are looking to buy for pennies on the dollar. Sell it now and get your 5s. Don't fall into the trap of waiting for the next big unannounced thing.

Yeah, but then your without a phone for, what, 6 months?

Right. If you sell today you'll get more money but be without a phone for 6 months.

OP clearly said he would sell and buy a 5s now.

 

[My Name is URL]

Not worth the extra money. Just keep the 5 till when the 6 comes out.

 

[deuxani]

I understand the difficult spot you are in! You want to know what would lose you more money:

1. Sell your iPhone 5 now, get an iPhone 5S, sell your iPhone 5S when the 6 is released and buy the 6
2. Keep the iPhone 5, sell the iPhone 5 when the 6 is released and buy the 6

I would definitely go with option 2. Between now and 6 months your iPhone 5 will not lose as much value (in pure money) as an iPhone 5S would, because the 5 lost most of its value the last 1,5 year already.

 

[iamMacPerson]

OP clearly said he would sell and buy a 5s now.

Well, with that pointed out, hold onto it! You bought it a year/year and a half ago for $650+ (I count subsidies) and by reselling it now you will lose $200+ to buy a new iPhone for $650+ which you'll just resell in 6 months at a loss of $150+ to buy the new iPhone for $650+.

 

[alphaod]

I am trying to ascertain if I will get a better price selling it now or to hold off?

You're not going to get a higher price if you hold off. Who know in a few months you might drop it, wash it, or lose it. Or the new one is released and this one is officially two generations behind.

 

[super chimp]

I understand the difficult spot you are in! You want to know what would lose you more money:

1. Sell your iPhone 5 now, get an iPhone 5S, sell your iPhone 5S when the 6 is released and buy the 6
2. Keep the iPhone 5, sell the iPhone 5 when the 6 is released and buy the 6

I would definitely go with option 2. Between now and 6 months your iPhone 5 will not lose as much value (in pure money) as an iPhone 5S would, because the 5 lost most of its value the last 1,5 year already.

Thanks for that. That's a good point that the 5 probably lost the majority of its value when the 5S appeared and now it's probably depreciating much more slowly.

Can I just ask supplementally do different models of the 5 depreciate differently, my one is a 64GB version which I imagine is less common than the other two versions so would this help it depreciate more slowly?

 

[rui no onna]

Can I just ask supplementally do different models of the 5 depreciate differently, my one is a 64GB version which I imagine is less common than the other two versions so would this help it depreciate more slowly?

Generally, no. You actually get more resale value (as a percentage of original phone cost) with the 16GB model.

 

[super chimp]

Generally, no. You actually get more resale value (as a percentage of original phone cost) with the 16GB model.

Is that because this is the most popular model?

 

[iapplelove]

op i would keep the iPhone until the 6th one is released you will get about the same for it as long as the condition stays the same. i still use my launch day iPhone 5 still feels super fast.

 

[famoussasjohn]

If you don't sell it, I'll have an AT&T model but is factory unlocked 32GB iPhone 5 slate for sale within the first week or so in April. I was thinking $400-$450 from what I saw on eBay. Has been in a case with a screen protector on it since day one and looks brand new.

Me personally, I'd probably buy a 16GB iPhone 5s for now if I sold the 5 to him, and then resell the 5s after I got the 6 to avoid any time without a phone, though the resale value will take a dip, but at least you'll have something to use in the mean time.