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Here's How To Get Top Dollar On Your Trade-in When Buying A New iPhone 6

This article is more than 9 years old.

There's a strong chance that if you're in the market for a new iPhone, you're among the 42% of smartphone owners in the U.S. that already have one. The good news is that your old phone likely has value to someone else. With older models fetching upwards of $300, take advantage of the numerous options to trade-in or sell that older iPhone when you pick up your brand new iPhone 6. In this guide, I'll run through some tips and tricks to help you get the most out of that trade-in.

(For a detailed look at choosing between iPhone models, visit "Thinking About A New iPhone? The Ultimate 2014 Buyer's Guide Can Help You Choose." Later in the week I'll take a look at buying the iPhone outright vs. in monthly installments.)

First things first: To go forward you must backup

After the iCloud celebrity hack, people might be reluctant to backup their iPhones. Please get over it now. The easiest way by far to get everything migrated over to a new iPhone is via iCloud. Virtually everyone has a modern enough version of iOS to use it, but just in case, check Settings --> iCloud --> Backup and it should be turned on. You'll need to hit Back Up Now if your backup isn't from the last day or so. Do this before you hand over your personal iPhone to anyone. Then the very last thing you'll do is hit General --> Reset --> Erase All Content and Settings.

In the event you don't have enough space to complete your backup, Apple has done something helpful by lowering the cost of adding more. For just 99 cents a month, you can now have 20GB of iCloud storage and $3.99 a month will get you 200GB. This should satisfy almost anyone's needs for photos and music and while the 1TB tier is twice as expensive as storage from Microsoft, Google or Dropbox, overall the pricing is acceptable.

Secondary market: Where should you sell your iPhone?

As with last year, I went mystery shopping and priced out the trade-in value for you at Amazon, Apple, Glyde, Gazelle, Verizon and eBay. The result is the chart you see above that compares trade-in values for the iPhone 4s, 5, 5c and 5s (I included models from Verizon and AT&T, as those are the two largest carriers). As you can see, those values start below $100 for the 4s and vary widely. The metal-bodied iPhone 5, which was made for only one year, tends to be worth as much as this year's iPhone 5c, with its plastic shell. Both are in the upper $100s to low $200 range. Keep in mind there are lots of caveats. First, the condition of your phone matters. If it's dinged up, you'll typically get less in trade for it. If it's in flawless condition, Amazon will give you more than the listed values. On eBay, prices vary wildly and the same is true if you sell locally on Craigslist.

Don't blame me for the oddities of the secondary market. A number of vendors give you virtually no credit for having 32GB instead of 16GB. Many times the Verizon version is worth more than the AT&T version, because it was "unlocked" when you bough it, so it can be used most anywhere. Sprint iPhones tend to have lousy resale value because in the U.S. they can't be moved to other carriers, while phones from the other three can, even though it might be difficult. (The reason has to do with support for various radio bands, and it's still true with the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.) These things are all the reality of the market. Fortunately, the various trade-in options aren't punishing people for having different aesthetic tastes. The colors carry the same value this time around more or less.

Apple and Verizon are only giving out their best prices if you buy a new iPhone 6 from them, other carriers may have similar policies. Amazon doesn't give cash, but its gift cards are the next best thing for anyone who is a regular customer there. I personally put my iPhone on eBay this year because it's in very good condition and I felt the trade-in prices undervalued that. But if it had normal wear and tear, I'd probably just give it to Apple or Amazon. Even if your phone has a cracked screen or severe dings, it might have value. Don't hesitate to bring it into a store and ask.

The third level: Expert trade-in tricks

Gazelle is unique in that you can guarantee a price today and keep your phone for 30 days. That gives you a lot of time to wait for an iPhone 6 preorder that might be delayed, while guaranteeing today's price. That said, the prices there aren't the best right now and there's no guarantee prices will fall further from here. You can lock in the price without risk, though. With eBay, if you're expecting a phone this Friday, you can typically list it for sale anytime. Auctions run 7 days unless you add a Buy it Now price or shorten them manually. You'll have a new phone before the old one is sold.

Whatever you choose, I'm going to reiterate some advice I gave last year: "First, don’t put your old phone in a drawer. Either give it your kid, your grandma, a program that helps the homeless or women who have been victims of domestic violence.* Second, if you decide to trade in your phone and don’t want to think much about it:

For convenience: Bring it to an Apple store.

For Amazon customers with 32GB of memory or more: Sell it to Amazon.

For the absolute best price: Sell it on eBay or Craigslist.

* This seems especially timely given all the attention the issue is getting from high-profile incidents involving NFL players. While donating phones is only a tiny part of solving this critical problem, it does help.

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