Tutorial: How to Sell your iPhone Online
3:16 pm, June 3rd, 2008, Leigh McMullen
It’s iPhone upgrade season. With the deluge of iPhone 3G rumors convincing just about everyone that now might be a good time to dump the old phone, in anticipation of getting one of the new models, here’s a tutorial to help you sell your iPhone safely, and get the best price.
Decide when to sell.
You’re not the only one who’s thinking about this. On the run-up to WWDC more and more iPhones are going to be hitting the market which will likely dilute prices somewhat. Balance that against selling your iPhone now, and the risk of new one’s not being released on June 9th. A few weeks after the announcement, expect prices to re-stabilize, as the sudden flood of upgrader phones diminishes.
Wipe your old phone.
Go to: -> Settings/General/Reset/Erase all Content and Settings, to do a cursory wipe. Although recent stories about data being recovered off old iPhones has some people worried. For the paranoid, a more comprehensive guide to wiping your iPhone is located here, or if your phone is jailbroken already, a better (in the terms of security) one here.
Consider Jail-breaking & Unlocking your iPhone
Used iPhones have to compete with all the new iPhones on eBay and CraigsList. A good way to differentiate yours is to jailbreak + unlock it. An unlocked iPhone will generally sell for $100.00 more than a locked one, even used. The jailbreak and unlock procedure has evolved greatly from the arcane process it used to be, you can find a beginner’s guide here.
Take good pictures, of the phone, box and all accessories.
Snap at least 4 pictures of the phone, plus one of the phone and all included accessories. If your phone has any damage at all, including scratches, mention them in your description, and use Photoshop to draw a circle around them, or something to highlight them in the photos. Remember: it is better to be overly honest, especially on eBay.
Short Auctions / Low reserve auctions are better
Who wants to wait five to seven days to see if you’ve won. We live in an instant gratification culture, and it’s a truth, that short auctions with very low opening bids and reserve prices will do better. But don’t take my word for it, put a couple of iPhones on your watch list. See which ones sell for the most, fastest. I always start all of my auctions at a dollar, with no reserve, the beauty of eBay is that it responds nicely to Adam Smith’s invisible hand, things generally sell for what they’re worth.
Sell to Canada, Western Europe
Expand your market by selling outside the US, you’ll increase dramatically the number of potential buyers. Caveat: Play it safe, stick to Western Europe, and Canada.
Avoid Getting Scammed
Craigslist has got a great faq on how to avoid scams. While some of it is specific to CL, much of it applies to all auction & listing sites, you can review it here.
As with all things, nothing beats individual research and understanding your local market. We encourage you to look at your local Craigslist listings, and watch used iPhones on eBay to see what things are selling for. Also this site can also help you value your iPhone so that it sells quickly, by giving you current market values for your region.
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Posted by Leigh McMullen in iPod | Comment on this article
Label this “Idiots Guide to Ebay”
Woz, on June 3rd, 2008 at 5:11 pm
I’ve done this exact thing, over a week ago! I sold my 4GB for $300, quite a steal. It’s on my website
Ryan Ray, on June 3rd, 2008 at 6:18 pm
I’ve done this exact thing, over a week ago! I sold my 4GB for $300, quite a steal. It’s on my website
Ryan Ray, on June 3rd, 2008 at 6:18 pm
What, and Australia isn’t safe?
Duncan, on June 3rd, 2008 at 9:48 pm
[...] phone retailer nearby, don’t do that just yet… at least after reading this tutorial on how to sell your iPhone safely, and get the best price. You’re not the only one who’s thinking about this. On the [...]
3G iPhone coming. How to sell your iPhone online? - Kongtechnology.com, on June 3rd, 2008 at 10:13 pm
Selling to Australia is always a safe bet too!
Dan, on June 4th, 2008 at 1:13 am
Also, don’t rule out australia as a possible destination to ship to. Paypal, and many other legitimate, safe methods can be used when selling/shipping to Australia, and obviously there is no language barrier to overcome.
malcolm, on June 4th, 2008 at 1:18 am
[...] Cult of Mac walks us through the process of selling your iPhone in anticipation of the 3G iPhone launch next week. Quote: [...]
Your title here » Blog Archive » How to Sell Your 1st Gen iPhone, on June 4th, 2008 at 6:22 am
what about the sim? do you keep it for the 3G phone ? how do you get a virgin sim for the old one if you dont wish to unlock?
bob, on June 4th, 2008 at 6:44 am
[...] article yesterday that talked about exactly what I have been doing. They wrote an article on how to sell your iPhone online. It sums of exactly what I did, I offered to unlock it and include extras that I bought for my [...]
Three Weeks Without My iPhone, Day 12 | Fire The Cannon, on June 4th, 2008 at 6:47 am
Guys a suggestion is to try to sell your iphone to countries like Costa Rica where they are becoming very popular. People unlock them and use them with the local carrier. There are several websites from which you can do this.
Take care,
Art Gonzalez
Check my Squidoo Lens at: Quantum Knights
Art Gonzalez, on June 4th, 2008 at 8:48 am
Smart. Eastern Europeans are all criminals, right?
Do they have GSM network at all?
Just a tip for the brave ones:
you can get higher prices in Eastern Europe. It’s not because we steal money. It’s because we can’t get it at any store.
And after all, eBay has a feedback system to decide who is trusted and who don’t.
lajka, on June 4th, 2008 at 10:24 am
@bob: as with other GSM phones, you keep the SIM Card, i believe
Leigh McMullen, on June 4th, 2008 at 10:41 am
@Ausies: Sorry… Australia, New Zealand, great places to market your phone!
Leigh McMullen, on June 4th, 2008 at 10:54 am
Thanks for linking to my article
grz,
Multinova
iphonefreakz.com
Multinova, on June 4th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
@lajka:Proshu Vas Pozhalujsta
Prostite menya! Mne ochen’ zhal’
Leigh McMullen, on June 4th, 2008 at 4:46 pm
I am sure that Australia is also a safe market to sell you iPhone
Andy, on June 4th, 2008 at 10:08 pm
[...] Tutorial: How to Sell your iPhone Online It’s iPhone upgrade season. With the deluge of iPhone 3G rumors convincing just about everyone that now might be a good time to dump the old phone, in anticipation of getting one of the new models, here’sa tutorial to help you sell your … [...]
iPhone News, First Week of June | Best New Cell Phones, on June 5th, 2008 at 11:21 am
I sold mine on ebay.
used 8GB phone for $490 incl shipping to Italy.
(bought it for $350 new)
Ujaas, on June 5th, 2008 at 7:13 pm
What is going to happen with the 2-year commitment contract with AT&T in US?
Can I replace the new iPhone with no charge?
Please advice, I think I’m more concerned about this possibles charges than for paying for the new one.
Oscar, on June 6th, 2008 at 4:40 am
[...] (more…) [...]
Tutorial: How to Sell your iPhone Online | RatZine - Rat stinkin news, on June 6th, 2008 at 6:17 am
@Oscar: Buying another phone will not break your contract (assuming you remain with AT&T). You will not, however be able to get any subsidies (ie discounts) for your new phone until your contract expires.
Question to the group: Did AT&T make people sign service contracts when they bought their iphone even through they didn’t subsidize them? That seems just GOOFY… no way would I sign a service contract for a phone they didn’t subsidize.
Leigh McMullen, on June 6th, 2008 at 7:37 am
so keep the Sim card when you send it out? I assume the unlock/jailbreak then is on the iPhone’s HD, and not through the Sim card?
Charlie, on June 6th, 2008 at 11:23 am
[...] Cultofmac posted a tutorial on how to sell the first generation iPhone. The tutorial provides helpful information on when to sell, how to market and what to watch out for when selling the locked and unlocked iPhone of yours. Awesome Gadgets, How-To, Tutorials, Web Goodies [...]
Want to Sell your First Generation iPhone?, on June 6th, 2008 at 12:12 pm
Of course they made people sign contracts, that was the point really. Hence why Apple looses money on unlocked phones, no kickbacks. For existing AT&T customers the phone service contract was not extended so you were ok. But, they tagged on a different contract requiring 2 years of iPhone data service. So this basically is like extending the phone service but in a way that some overlooked when they bought. At least in the case of my service contract, there is an early termination fee if I were to discontinue iPhone data service. No word on how much, even after talking to AT&T, but they estimated that it was the same as regular phone contracts at $175. Even the AT&T rep was even surprised, she had not heard of it but read the fine print and confirmed it after initially identifying my account as “out of contract period” and able to be terminated.
After talking for some time to both Apple and AT&T folks, I recommend everyone watches out for discontinuing service. In order to sell your phone and then add a “upgraded” iPhone back in to the account without a penalty, you need to keep the data package active even if not used.
The good news is it is easier to remove the iPhone included sim card. Simply put it in to any other AT&T cell and you will not be without a phone while you wait in line for the 3G iPhone. My old RAZR works great, text, voice mail and all. This is important if it will truly take until the 18th to start distributing as some are reporting. Also important if you need to unload your iPhone before the news hits any more main stream channels and kills the gen 1 market. For now I am looking at getting about $350-375 for my 8 gig iPhone. That is in Southern California and the phone is in factory condition (ie: not jailbroken) with minor ware on the back. I am unloading it today to avoid any price drops that will likely take place in the coming days. Looks like I am back on a standard phone for the time being, I hope I can handle it mentally…
Daniel, on June 6th, 2008 at 1:08 pm
[...] (like me), Cult of Mac has a “How To” article that walks you through the process of it, HERE. You can also go HERE to find an alternative to wipe data off your [...]
My Anticipation « Moments Of Randomness, on June 7th, 2008 at 11:19 pm
This new price for G3 is not helping us to sell the 1st generation iPhone anyway.
Oscar
Oscar, on June 10th, 2008 at 8:26 am
AT&T didn’t extend my contract at all for my iPhone. I have been with them for over 10 years, so chances are they didn’t expect me to jump ship…or maybe they just overlooked it, I dunno. But I called them after I had my iphone for a while and asked them I was put into a new 2 year contract and they told me no.
Doesn’t matter to me one way or the other, I plan on sticking with them regardless.
L Knight, on June 10th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
Another safe place to sell your iPhone online is iResQ. They will take iPhones in any condition, even broken.
You can get a quote by filling out a purchase form at:
http://www.iresq.com/iphone/iphonepurchaseform.php
Just thought I’d pass this along, should anybody want an alternative to eBay or Craigslist. Hope it helps.
Paul, on August 15th, 2008 at 8:14 am