Cue the rush of fans to camp outside their nearest Apple stores, the iPhone 5 is here and in just over a week’s time it’ll sit, waiting to be plucked from store shelves in the US, UK, France, Japan and the rest of Apple’s initial rollout markets.
If you’ve been stacking your paychecks and living frugal for the past few months, then great news, you can pick one up soon but for many prospective buyers, the price tag that inevitably accompanies a new iPhone such as this remains a little on the steep side.
Why is it worth selling your old iPhone?
For existing iPhone users, the best plan of action is too sever the emotional bond with their current iDevice and send it off for recycling or resale. It’s no secret that iPhones hold their value immensely well, possibly more than any other handset on the market and as such, make for an excellent means to fund purchase of the next iPhone-shaped device.
According to sellmymobile.com, iPhone re-sales in the run up to the unveiling of the iPhone 5 jumped up by 400%, and that was just from July this year. What’s more, out of the variety of handsets being recycled, the 16GB versions of the iPhone 3GS, 4 and 4S rank as the most popular handsets to submit for recycling on the site.
The quality of recent smartphones in general has also pushed up the value of resale devices – such as iPhones – with the average price of a recycled handset breaking the £100 mark as of June this year, as stated by CompareMyMobile.com, which collates prices from over 40 stores.
CompareMyMobile.com
How to determine the value of your old iPhone?
There are a plethora of websites offering phone recycling services, each with its own criteria and evaluation process. Some require a handset only, some want the handset and the original box contents, some allow for damage, externally or internally, whilst some drop the value of a handset considerable if there’s physical damage. Below are the most well known UK recycling services and the prices* they offer for each of the three most recent iPhones (excluding the iPhone 5).
CompareMyMobile
- iPhone 4S (16GB) = £265.00
- iPhone 4 (16GB) = £170.00
- iPhone 3GS (16GB) = £89.00
Envirofone
- iPhone 4S (16GB) = £255.00
- iPhone 4 (16GB) = £160.00
- iPhone 3GS (16GB) = £62.00
Fonebank
- iPhone 4S (16GB) = £271.00
- iPhone 4 (16GB) = £145.00
- iPhone 3GS (16GB) = £76.00
Mazuma Mobile
- iPhone 4S (16GB) = £253.00
- iPhone 4 (16GB) = £143.00
- iPhone 3GS (16GB) = £68.00
O2 Recycle
- iPhone 4S (16GB) = £250.00
- iPhone 4 (16GB) = £155.00
- iPhone 3GS (16GB) = £72.00
Orange Recycle
- iPhone 4S (16GB) = £270.00
- iPhone 4 (16GB) = £153.00
- iPhone 3GS (16GB) = £76.00
SellMyMobile
- iPhone 4S (16GB) = £270.00
- iPhone 4 (16GB) = £172.00
- iPhone 3GS (16GB) = £87.00
Three Trade-in
- iPhone 4S (16GB) = £250.00
- iPhone 4 (16GB) = £150.00
- iPhone 3GS (16GB) = £72.00
T-Mobile Recycling
- iPhone 4S (16GB) = £270.00
- iPhone 4 (16GB) = £153.00
- iPhone 3GS (16GB) = £76.00
Vodafone Buyback
- iPhone 4S (16GB) = £245.00
- iPhone 4 (16GB) = £155.00
- iPhone 3GS (16GB) = £70.00
*All prices are for working handsets, no box or accessories. Most of these sites also recommend that the handset is carrier unlocked or at least on a UK carrier.
Tips for recycling your mobile phone
- Don’t accept the first price, make sure you shop around
- Research the company you are buying from
- Be realistic about the condition of your phone – if it is scratched you probably won’t get full value
- Photograph your phone before you send it off as proof of its condition
- Package your phone well to help prevent damage
- Get proof of postage
- Keep in touch with the recycling company
- Wipe your phone to remove personal data before you send it anywhere
- Complain if you are unhappy with the amount offered
CompareMyMobile.com
eBay
Of course aside from recycling or reselling through sites with specific rates, there’s always the option of eBay. Chosen for the greater level of control users have over the parameters of the sale and the ability bargain with prospective buyers, as well as the option of mobile apps to monitor an item on the go, eBay might be an option worth considering.
To get the best from an iPhone listing, it’s always worth being as transparent as possible, any cosmetic wear is worth mentioning but also being able to throw in a few added value prospects such as screen protectors you might have lying around is worth considering. Like we said before, iPhones hold their value particularly well and this is most apparent on a site such as eBay, with iPhone 3GSs selling for as high as £250, iPhone 4s as high as £500 and iPhone 4Ss as high as £575.
eBay have also included a tool tailor-made for filtering through iPhone results to make it that much more effcient when users look for your device.
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