AppleFrom now until Apple introduces the new iPhone, expected to be Sept. 12, consumers are likely to get the best prices online for their old phones, according to Anthony Scarsella, chief gadget officer for Gazelle, a Web site that buys old iPhones and other gadgets and resells them. If the market follows the pattern that greeted every other generation of Apple’s smartphone, consumers will try to unload their older iPhones in droves through sites like Gazelle, eBay and elsewhere after the new phone comes out, Mr. Scarsella said.
“Prices are going to go way down,” he said.
As of Tuesday, Gazelle was paying people $132 for the least expensive iPhone 4 in good condition, with eight gigabytes of storage and designed to run on the AT&T network. It was reselling that device for $271.99 on eBay. People, of course, can sell their old phones directly through eBay and Craigslist if they don’t mind the extra work.
One of the main downsides to selling an old iPhone now, weeks before the new one is expected to be announced is that you won’t have a cellphone in the interim. Mindful of this, Gazelle gives people 30 days to send in their gadgets after locking in a trade-in price.