Resell IPhone 3GS?

[Meractik]

Has anyone ever sold their Iphone 3GS off one of the websites that send you the pre-paid boxes and quote you a price to pay for your working/non-working phone?

I have a working Iphone that is in like new condition, absolutely nothing is wrong with it and I have the original box and documentation... I do not find myself using the Iphone to its full potential and I am looking at porting my number over to a less expensive phone with AT&T...

anyone have any good/bad stories associated with these company's that will buy your used Phones?

 

[slightlyhuman]

how much you want for it?

 

[CTrain]

WHY ??
List your phone on craigslist.
You price it right, it'll sell in less than a day.
I sold my old 3G 8gb 2 weeks ago jailbroken/unlocked for $240(listed $250) in 1 hr.
Unlocked iphones sell quick but even if its not, you price it right and it'll sell fast.

 

[Meractik]

CTrain, how do you recommend I go about cleaning the phone up before I get rid of it?

I was thinking going to AT&T porting the number over and using a different phone having them do the work to get contacts over etc.. then just put my code in incorrect 10 times to cause it to clear all info off the phone.....

 

[CTrain]

Theres no such thing is "porting" the number over with GSM phones.
If you have another phone ready just take out the sim cards in your iphone and plug it it the other phone and its done.
Only thing is to transfer all your contacts over.
Just get your iphone back to factory setting.
http://www.mydigitallife.info/2007/...-default-factory-settings-with-recovery-mode/
I'm assuming the 3GS is not unlock.
If you listed your 3GS for $250, it'll sell in an hour.
If you still have the box, etc...$300 would sell fairly quick.
I think $300 for just the phone would sell also.

 

[Sentrosi2121]

Interesting; a month or so ago I got a thread locked for asking something similar to the OPs question....

 

[Meractik]

its not a unlocked phone, its just jailbroken with SpiRiT its a 16GB 3GS Iphone.. So you're saying I can just get a phone that supports SIM cards and rip out my card and put it in the new phone and im good to go...?


I want to essentially keep my same number, on a new phone with less features so I can 1) have a less expensive phone (as I do not treat them very delicately..) and 2) I want to save on features I don't use by excluding them in my monthly plan all together, aka the data fees on the iphone... I just need a phone that can do simple texting and make phone calls..

 

[pm]

Interesting; a month or so ago I got a thread locked for asking something similar to the OPs question....

Yeah. I did lock it. This week your moderator is vacationing with the kids in Yellowstone and my internet connection is more than a bit flaky and my ability to check the forums is very limited.

So... I lock threads that discuss price, but not ones that talk about how to sell a phone. Price checks are against forum policy - the main reason for this is that before the rule was implemented, a lot of people were asking for price checks, and it got too excessive.

Since the OP was asking about how to sell a phone, that seems legit to me. If the thread degrades into "so, your 3GS sold for $450? How much would my 3G sell for?" then I'll lock this one too.

It's nothing personal though - I'm just trying to implement the forum rules as best as I can... while on a flaky EDGE connection while on vacation.

 

[CTrain]

its not a unlocked phone, its just jailbroken with SpiRiT its a 16GB 3GS Iphone.. So you're saying I can just get a phone that supports SIM cards and rip out my card and put it in the new phone and im good to go...?


I want to essentially keep my same number, on a new phone with less features so I can 1) have a less expensive phone (as I do not treat them very delicately..) and 2) I want to save on features I don't use by excluding them in my monthly plan all together, aka the data fees on the iphone... I just need a phone that can do simple texting and make phone calls..

YUP. As long the phone is ATT specific or unlocked.
Just switch sim card and thats it.
I don't know too much about your contract but aren't you in a binding 2yr contract when you got the 3GS ?? which also require a monthly data plan ??
Don't ask me about the price or else it'll get locked but a 3GS 16gb would fetch you $300+ easy on craigslist.

 

[Meractik]

Yep, its on a binding 2 yr contract... I think I understand now. the way they work it is get you to sign on to that contract which having just looked at it I have to pay the minimums for the data plan, texts I could cancel and save $20 but I actually use them, lol. and the minimum minutes is 450 so basically Id need to get another smartphone or else id pay the minimum $15.00 a month for a data plan that I wouldn't be using... or wait till my contract is up and just find a compatible phone to use my SIM in... thanks CTrain.

 

[Sentrosi2121]

No problem PM. You have a job to do and I understand it. Just needed a bit of clarifying, that's all. I don't look at locked threads as a sign that any moderator hates me. It's just a little headslap is all.

 

[CTrain]

Yep, its on a binding 2 yr contract... I think I understand now. the way they work it is get you to sign on to that contract which having just looked at it I have to pay the minimums for the data plan, texts I could cancel and save $20 but I actually use them, lol. and the minimum minutes is 450 so basically Id need to get another smartphone or else id pay the minimum $15.00 a month for a data plan that I wouldn't be using... or wait till my contract is up and just find a compatible phone to use my SIM in... thanks CTrain.

YUP.
The good thing is since you don't use your data that much, you can downgrade to the $15 plan now.
Since your main point with a phone is texting, I would look into getting a phone like the Nokia 71x.
http://www.phonearena.com/htmls/Nokia-E71x-phone-p_3378.html
You can find a phone like that on Craigslist for $100 and sell the 3GS for $300+.
I bought the Nokia for a friend before and its a nice compact thin phone that you can still use your data plan.
If you want to get rid of the iphone, I'd say do it before the 24th as I think the value for older iphone will drop.
One thing I hate about ATT and Verizon is their texting pricing.
To get anything decent you have to pay $20 with ATT and Verizon where $10 is good enough for Tmobile and Sprint.

 

[akugami]

As others stated, you don't need to "port" anything when switching phones if you're on AT&T or T-Mobile, which uses SIM cards. One point to remember is that smart phones retain a lot of info. Make sure you properly wipe it before selling it whether it be Craigs, Ebay, or a shop.

Looking at used prices, and the fact you're still on the hook for a bit longer for data it might not make sense to sell your iPhone just yet. You're still gonna have to buy a "dumb" phone after all. This is assuming you don't already have one.

Unlike CTrain, and considering the iPhone 3GS supports iOS 4, I'd say the price won't drop any if at all in the next 6 months. The value of the iPhone 3G and earlier models should drop like a rock though. One good thing about Apple products is they keep their value relatively well.

So the whole question to me becomes one of how long you're still on the hook for that 2 year contract. If it's 6 months or longer, I'd say keep the iPhone for now.

 

[CTrain]

I would disagree.
The reason why old iphones retained their value so much is that there isn't much of a difference between the 2g>3g>3gs.
Its like why buy the 3GS when the 3G looks identical and the specs of the 3GS is barely better.
With the iphone4, we're talking about a totally different design, and much much better specs.
People that has older iphones will likely upgrade to iphone 4 and flood the market with older iphones.

 

[akugami]

Anandtech Benchmark Leawo.com Nope. The iPhone 3GS was a decent upgrade from the 3G while the 2G to 3G upgrade was a bit lackluster. Not saying it's amazingly faster but it was a rather decent boost in power. Enough that the 3GS will give you a smooth experience with the iOS 4 while the 3G and prior iPhone models will not. Obviously both what I say and what CTrain says is pure speculation but I really do feel the 3GS will retain its value 6 months from now while the 3G and previous will sink like a rock.

 

[Rottie]

damn i shouldnt have discard the box and document