Later today, Apple will be unveiling the iPhone 11 series. If you have already made up your mind on buying the new iPhones, you should ideally look into trading in your existing iPhone right way so that you get the most value for it. In this article, we have listed out some of the best places to sell or trade-in your existing iPhone and save money towards your new iPhone purchase.
How to Prepare Your iPhone for Trade-In
1. Prepare for handover
Before trading-in your iPhones you need to follow a few steps and ensure that all personal data is transferred. It is worth noting that customers prefer unlocked iPhones, so it might be wise to unlock your phone so that it is not locked to a single carrier. Most of the carriers will unlock your iPhone for free, however, some might charge a nominal fee, either ways its worth it. Before unlocking please make sure that the contract with your telecom carrier is over.
- How to Unlock Your AT&T iPhone
- How to Unlock Your Verizon iPhone
- How to unlock your Sprint iPhone
- How to Unlock Your T-Mobile iPhone
2. Backup and Erase All Your Data
It is our responsibility to clear and back up all of our personal data. The backup will let you restore the entire phone along with settings on the new iPhone. In other words, you will be able to access data, contacts, photos, and other data on your new iPhone. If you have a paid iCloud account then it is advisable to backup your iPhone on iCloud. However, you can also use iTunes offline method and back up your iPhone data.
Read: How to Backup Your iPhone and iPad with and without iTunes
3. Deactivate Find My iPhone and Factory Reset Your iPhone
It is important to deactivate Find my iPhone so that the next buyer will be able to use your iPhone without any hassles. Stores that offer trade-in often mandate deactivating your iPhone and check for the same, however, if you are selling it to a private buyer then the chances are you might forget to do so.
Read: How to Turn Off Find My iPhone
After deactivating Find my iPhone you need to erase the device. This is one of the most important steps especially since your iPhone has years of private and personal data stored. We have already detailed How to erase your iPhone’s Data before selling it.
Read: How To Erase Your iPhone’s Data Before You Sell It
Switching to an Android Device?
Are you considering switching from Apple to Android devices? If this is the case then make sure you turn off iMessage. The messaging platform is unique to Apple devices and cannot be used on Android. Here is how you can Deregister Your Number from iMessage even after selling.
Best Places to Sell or Trade-in Your Old iPhone
Needless to say, different stores/vendors will quote a different price for your used iPhone. Selling in a store is the easiest and safest way, however, stores tend to quote a price that is lesser than market value. On the other hand, selling your iPhone to private buyers is time-consuming and has more risks but you get a higher value for it. So the choice is yours.
1. Trade-In Websites
Trade-in websites are a good alternative to direct selling. You may not get the highest price for your old iPhone compared to classified sites like Craiglist, but you don’t need to worry about searching for the buyer, dealing with them and ensuring that they don’t scam you. They save you time and hassle.
SellCell is one of the best places to sell or trade-in your old iPhone to get the best price as it compares the trade-in price acroos 30+ of the biggest buyback companies in the US including Gazelle, Decluttr, ItsWorthMore, BuyBackWorld & more. To illustrate exactly how much extra you can earn by using SellCell take a look at the following table, which shows you how they achieve the highest trade in prices across the Most Traded in phone models vs other leading trade-in sites.
2. Carrier Stores
Take your used iPhone to Carrier store and trade it for a new iPhone. The store will automatically discount the price and help you save a couple of hundred dollars on the new iPhone.
3. Classifieds
As we said earlier, your iPhone is almost certain to fetch a higher price when sold privately. If you are ready to take the risk and have the time to deal with low ballers then perhaps this is a good option. You can use Craigslist and Uncle Henry’s in Maine for classifieds. However, keep your eyes open for scamsters. And as a thumb rule never ever meet your seller in a secluded place and it is always better to inform or ask your friend to accompany you.
Furthermore, you can also try sites like eBay, they offer a lot of conveniences but charge you with service fees.
4. Amazon
Every one of us has used Amazon in the past, but not many know that you can trade-in your iPhones. Amazon offers a decent trade-in program and a price-lock for 28-day. The best part is that you can ship off your iPhone to Amazon only after you get hold of the new iPhone. Amazon’s trade-in value greatly depends on the condition of your device. Scratches and phones that are not kept well will command a much lesser price.
5. Family and Friends
Another great way of selling off your iPhone is to hand it over to family and friends. This way you will know that your device is in good hands and the chances of being scammed are very low. On the other hand, the buyer will be assured that the iPhone is not stolen or fake.
6. Apple GiveBack
What better way than to give back your iPhone to Apple. Thankfully the company offers a trade-in program called Apple GiveBack. All you need to do is trade in your iPhone at the nearest Apple Store or online store. After assessing your device, Apple will give you the value of your device. If you approve the value, the company will issue you an Apple Store Gift card of the same value. You can then use this gift card towards the purchase of your next iPhone.
That being said Apple will offer a much lower price as opposed to other trade-in websites. Apple is giving a maximum trade-in value of $400 for iPhone X.
7. iPhone Upgrade Program
The Upgrade Program is best if you want to upgrade to new iPhones every year. In this program, you buy an iPhone from Apple with a 2-year contract. As part of the contract, you are required to pay monthly installments. After the end of the 12-month period, you can trade-in your existing iPhone for a new device. The iPhone Upgrade Program is better than other trade-in methods as you will get free AppleCare+ coverage on devices.
Read: iPhone Upgrade Program FAQ
Do drop a comment and let us know how you ended up selling your iPhone and for how much. It might just help our readers!
This post was last updated on January 25, 2020.
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