Buying an iPhone 4/4S on eBay??

[maggiew]

I was thinking about buying an iPhone 4 or 4S on eBay. Our contracts with Verizon end in December and I am going to move to a monthly plan where we have to purchase our phones. My girls want iPhones. I originally was planning on getting us our new phones at Christmas. But I wonder if getting them on eBay now, when the iPhone 5 is coming out. I wonder if it is a good time because the market will be flooded with old iPhones when people upgrade to the iPhone 5 thus driving down the price. What do you think?

Maggie

 

[timmac]

"Flooded" may be true to an extent, but I think you'll find it very limited just how far it drives down the price. What kind of a price point are you hoping to achieve?

 

[maggiew]

They seem to be selling for between $250 and $300. I need an unlocked one. I don't care if its refurbished or used. Although I think I prefer manufacturer's refurbished.

But I am looking at buying 3, so the price point is the important thing.

Maggie

 

[timmac]

I'd venture a guess that the price probably won't go substantially lower than that... Apple products tend to be relatively price-stable, for better or worse.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

They seem to be selling for between $250 and $300. I need an unlocked one. I don't care if its refurbished or used. Although I think I prefer manufacturer's refurbished.

But I am looking at buying 3, so the price point is the important thing.

Maggie

I would not buy an iPhone 3. The phone is too outdated. An iPhone 4 is your best bet. A lot of iPhone 4s are now out of contract, so they can be legally unlocked, at least if they are AT&T phones. The 4S has not even been out for a year, so no phones are out of contract except those purchased at full price. They will be a lot harder to find and will be selling at a premium price, especially unlocked ones.

It is going to be quite expensive buying 3 iPhones at once, even used ones.

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

In addition to looking at eBay you can look at some retailers. You can get an iPhone 4 in that price range at Cowboom right now. The iPhone 4s is still a bit pricey. We got our iPads from Cowboom and I have no complaints.

I imagine if you got the iPhone 3, you would be pretty unhappy with it. It is going to be on the edge of just too old to really use.

 

[DisneyMomma81]

Maybe buy 1 now, 1 next month and the last in November

 

[maggiew]

Maybe buy 1 now, 1 next month and the last in November

Good idea!

I didn't mean I was going to buy an iPhone 3. I just meant I was going to buy 3 iPhones. Sorry for the confusion.

Maggie

 

[Green Tea]

I would love to sell my current iphone on ebay and get that amount. Ebay has been so flooded with creepy people, I quit selling at all. I have the quote to sell mine to Gazelle when the 5 arrives, but it is only worth $156 to them.

 

[asthemusicplays]

I would not buy an iPhone 3. The phone is too outdated. An iPhone 4 is your best bet. A lot of iPhone 4s are now out of contract, so they can be legally unlocked, at least if they are AT&T phones. The 4S has not even been out for a year, so no phones are out of contract except those purchased at full price. They will be a lot harder to find and will be selling at a premium price, especially unlocked ones.

It is going to be quite expensive buying 3 iPhones at once, even used ones.

Just an FYI, while most 4Ss aren't out of contract, it is actually possible--my FI used a family member's upgrade to get his 4S when his older phone died about a year ago, and he has been saving his upgrade for the 5, so he may be looking to sell his 4S next month

 

[DawnM]

There is a big difference between a 3g and a 3gs. The 3gs will allow for updates while the 3g won't. Ask me how I know!

My son has a 3g and is frustrated. It is slow and won't allow MANY of our apps to load onto it.

I too will be looking for a used 4 soon.


http://www.gazelle.com/iphone?utm_c...=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=buy my iphone Tells you how much you can get for your iphone. I have a friend who was planning to sell hers back to them when the 5 comes out. She says she will sell it to me for the same price as she can get from them, so I am hoping that will be true.

I am going to replace my son's 3g with a 4.

I have a 4 also that I bought from Craigslist. I got it 3 months ago for $250, BUT, it is a 32gb. I LOVE the added memory, although I really only "need" a 16gb.

Dawn

They seem to be selling for between $250 and $300. I need an unlocked one. I don't care if its refurbished or used. Although I think I prefer manufacturer's refurbished.

But I am looking at buying 3, so the price point is the important thing.

Maggie

 

[dex08]

I would love to sell my current iphone on ebay and get that amount. Ebay has been so flooded with creepy people, I quit selling at all. I have the quote to sell mine to Gazelle when the 5 arrives, but it is only worth $156 to them.

You should check with Ebay Instant Sale because they are still offering $200 on iPhone 4 and they will deposit the funds into your Paypal account. They are also giving people until Oct 1st to ship their old ones back. You have until 9/23 to lock in this rate.

 

[elgerber]

I would love to sell my current iphone on ebay and get that amount. Ebay has been so flooded with creepy people, I quit selling at all. I have the quote to sell mine to Gazelle when the 5 arrives, but it is only worth $156 to them.

You should check with Ebay Instant Sale because they are still offering $200 on iPhone 4 and they will deposit the funds into your Paypal account. They are also giving people until Oct 1st to ship their old ones back. You have until 9/23 to lock in this rate.

I was going to say this also, ebay instant sale is offering significantly higher than Gazelle on used Iphones. I have a locked quote for $350 for my 4s.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Just an FYI, while most 4Ss aren't out of contract, it is actually possible--my FI used a family member's upgrade to get his 4S when his older phone died about a year ago, and he has been saving his upgrade for the 5, so he may be looking to sell his 4S next month

The phone is still under contract under your family member's name.

 

[Green Tea]

What is this ebay instant sale? I am off to research!

 

[Green Tea]

Okay, found it. The offer was less than Gazelle. Both for my 4 and for a 4S

 

[robinb]

The phone is still under contract under your family member's name.

I know AT&T is offering a discount on the iPhone 5 for people who are still in contact. I assume that if you take them up on it, your iPhone 4s would be unlocked.

 

[DawnM]

Is this for a 4? How many GB?

Dawn

I would love to sell my current iphone on ebay and get that amount. Ebay has been so flooded with creepy people, I quit selling at all. I have the quote to sell mine to Gazelle when the 5 arrives, but it is only worth $156 to them.

 

[Green Tea]

Dawn: $156.xx is for an iPhone 4, 8gb

 

[DawnM]

Got it.

They seem to only offer $10 for 16gb, so that isn't bad.

Dawn

Dawn: $156.xx is for an iPhone 4, 8gb