How to Save As Much Money As Possible by Upgrading to IPhone 11
IPhones are damn expensive. If you’re one of the millions thinking of upgrading to an iPhone 11 or iPhone 11 Pro next week, you’ll be spending at least $ 700 by the time you pay. You probably only need one phone, and you probably already have one, so you should probably find a way to use your old phone to offset the cost of the new one.
In reality, we should have done it already. According to CNET , the best time to swap a phone is shortly before Apple announces a new phone. But this ship is gone. You were fine with the phone you had until you saw the horrific camera holes in the new iPhone 11 Pro, but now you need it. This is great. I was here.
If you’re going to sell or exchange your old phone, do so now (especially if it’s an iPhone). With the release of iPhone 11, your phone will become less valuable. I understand that this process can be difficult and sometimes impossible due to our finances, but you should still keep this in mind.
I checked and found that these are the options that will allow you to get the most out of your outgoing phone. Some suggest selling it to another person. Some of them involve trading them. None of them are perfect, but they are roughly ordered by how much you should expect to receive and how much pain you will have to go through the process.
Sell on Swappa
If your phone is in good condition, Swappa seems to be the best place to sell your phone online at the moment . As we wrote earlier , they work harder to keep everyone happy with every exchange. Rates for used iPhones are better than most exchange options, and the company does not charge a sale commission.
Since Swappa is a peer-to-peer marketplace like eBay, you can set your own price. But the platform does show you the lowest listing price – although it may include a “fair” model with “noticeable wear” – and gives you an estimate of its value and average selling price. For example, the average price for the iPhone 8 is $ 361 for the 64GB model and $ 428 for the 256GB phone. All in all, Swappa is the place to go for net dollar value purchases.
Again, since Swappa is a marketplace and not a service, you are responsible for packaging and shipping your phone to the customer. However, you may pass the estimated shipping costs to the buyer as a commission. This process is a little less streamlined than handing your phone over to one of the major services.
Sell on eBay
For sheer potential, eBay may be your best bet. At first glance, the prices on the most popular online marketplace are higher than on Swappa. However, eBay is more volatile and it is more difficult to determine what the real value of a used iPhone sold by the average person is. Even if you filter out “used” phones, many of the listings are for new and refurbished models from retailers, which obviously won’t help you or me determine how much our phones are worth.
In other words, eBay is the riskiest maneuver. It might pay off, but if you overestimate your phone it may take a while to sell it, and during that time your phone may become less valuable. My advice: From what I’ve seen, people selling real used phones seem pretty close to Apple’s exchange values. To see how much value Apple can bring to your phone, check the pricing on the iPhone 11’s View Pricing page and fill in the sell portion on your phone – then add about $ 50 and see if anyone bites.
Exchange for Apple when purchasing an iPhone 11
When you go to buy a new iPhone, Apple asks if you would like to exchange your old one. Depending on which phone you have, you may want to lower the cost of your new phone a bit. (Especially if you bought iPhone 2018 for free and without maps). Assuming you ditch the two-year plan, either with Apple or with a carrier, most people should get around $ 150 for the iPhone 7 and $ 400 for the iPhone X when exchanged for an iPhone 11 or iPhone 11 Pro.
These prices assume your current phone is in working order: it can’t get too scratched or have a cracked screen, and it should still turn on. If your iPhone is damaged, you can exchange it for a fraction of the cost. For example, an iPhone 8 Plus with a broken camera will cost $ 100.
One thing you should know: the prices quoted for the iPhone on Apple’s exchange site are not as high as those quoted when exchanging the phone as part of an iPhone 11 or iPhone 11 Pro purchase. For example, selling an iPhone 7 in good condition on the trade-in website without buying anything will get you $ 120 in credit. If you set up trading at the time of purchase, you will receive $ 150.
If your iPhone is damaged, exchange it for Gazelle (or Amazon).
Gazelle is a good bet to get as much money out of the phone as possible if it has received several hits over the years. Gazelle will accept more types of damaged devices, including phones that won’t turn on, have a cracked screen, or can’t hold a charge. Prices drop sharply, with a 64GB iPhone 8 available for $ 252 in good condition, $ 140 with “clearly visible” scratches, $ 50 with a cracked screen, and $ 35 if it doesn’t turn on.
In terms of a damaged phone, Amazon’s exchange system seems more messy and complex than any of the options I’ve listed, but it also has better rates for some exchange options. In particular, it looks like phones with cracked screens (and no other damage) seem to cost twice as much as Gazelle, based on testing multiple models. When you trade on Amazon, you hold credit, not cash, which makes it hard to turn around and spend that money on the iPhone 11, but if you’re okay that the money isn’t going directly to buy a new phone, I’d say it’s worth it. check both sites.
What about an iPhone upgrade plan?
If reading this article and going through the rigmarole to maximize the value of your old phone seems like a waste of time, you can get out of that equation by signing up for Apple’s iPhone Upgrade Plan. The upgrade plan splits the payment for your chosen iPhone and AppleCare + plan into 24 payments, after which you get the phone for free and without payment. And here’s the interesting thing: after 12 months, you are allowed to exchange your phone for a new – supposedly updated model – at no additional cost (unless you purchase a more expensive phone).
The upgrade plan, or Apple’s treadmill as I like to call it, doesn’t really cut your costs in any way. This is the same price as when you buy your phone and Applecare + plan. I think it’s more transparent and less controversial than buying a phone on a carrier’s data plan, but it’s most valuable for people who want to upgrade to their next iPhone every year. The price is not in monetary terms, it comes in the convenience of not having to worry about what to do when it’s time to upgrade, and being able to get a shiny new phone without figuring out how much it will cost.