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One easy way to help subsidize the cost of your new iPhone is by selling or trading in your old one. And since the iPhone 15 is set to get a price increase this year, it’s more important than ever.
While carriers will offer some pretty good deals for trading in your iPhone 14, you might do better at another website, or even just selling it yourself. Especially if you kept it in good shape. In this article, we’re going to give you different options you can use to get rid of your old phone, including trading it into websites like Decluttr or Gazelle.
US carriers
The US carriers will often times offer some pretty good trade in values for your old iPhone. Some of which are up to $1,000, or the cost of the regular iPhone 15 Pro. However, there are some catches here. For instance, you will need to be on the most expensive plan to get the best trade-in value. Which means you’re paying more per month, for the next year or two (or three, in some cases) just to get a bit more on your trade-in. You also need to stick with that carrier for the next two years or more, to get all of your bill credits.
However, the carriers do make it super simple to trade in your phones. They will ship out a trade-in kit with your new iPhone 15, so you can send in your iPhone 14 (or older) right away and get your bill credits within the next billing cycle. Which is much easier than trying to sell it somewhere like Swappa.
Decluttr & Gazelle
Trade-in sites like Decluttr and Gazelle are great options for trading in your old iPhone (and other phones). They offer some pretty good values for your old devices, not quite as good as the carriers, but you also aren’t paying them every month like you would a carrier.
Just go onto their site, find the phone that you want to sell. You’ll be asked a few questions about how well (or not so well) it works. Whether it’s in good condition or not, and then you’ll get a quote for how much your phone is worth. Then you’ll click on a button like “sell this device” – it’s a bit different wording on each site. You’ll then be told how to erase your phone and remove it from iCloud so it can be used by others eventually. You’ll also get a packing slip and label, so you can pack up and send it out.
Generally within a few days of getting the device and inspecting it, you will get your money. Depending on the site, you might get it on PayPal, as a Zelle transfer, or even a paper check. Now if you want a paper check, you’ll be waiting a bit longer. So we suggest doing a direct transfer, PayPal or Zelle.
I went through the process with my iPhone 14 Pro (256GB) and Decluttr was telling me that they’d give me $582.25 for it. I did select “Good” condition, since there is a scratch on the display. But that’s still right around half of the MSRP for this particular phone. This had an MSRP of $1,099. So not bad at all. And if it was in excellent condition, they’d pay $685.
The best part is, that once you get your quote, it is good for 28 days over on Decluttr. So you can get your quote today and wait until you actually get your new iPhone 15 to send it in. Gazelle is good for 30 days. So either way, you get a good amount of time to wait before you actually send in your phone.
Decluttr also offers a student discount, where students are able to get 10% more. Which is a nice goodie that they’ve added in.
Selling via Swappa or eBay
Another option here is selling the phone yourself, on websites like Swappa or eBay. Both are good options, and you can actually make more money this way. Just keep in mind that you can often times end up with more of a headache, and dealing with unhappy buyers. Whereas with trading in your iPhone, you aren’t really dealing with a buyer.
Swappa is a good way to sell your iPhone, and is actually my preferred way of doing it. However, be careful as Swappa users are really good at negotiating and getting you to come down on your price. Right now, if I were to sell my purple iPhone 14 Pro 256GB on Swappa, the lowest price for “Good” condition is about $808. That’s a few hundred more than Decluttr is offering. But you likely won’t sell it for that much. After all the haggling, it’ll probably sell for about $700, and then you need to pay Swappa and PayPal fees as well as shipping. So it doesn’t always come out to be the better option.
eBay is quite similar. Though there’s no haggling over there, buyers do tend to complain about almost everything. However, the same model iPhone is going for around $879 on eBay right now. So again, better prices, but is the difference really worth all the trouble?
Wrap Up
These are just a few easy ways that you can sell or trade in your old iPhone to help subsidize the price of your new iPhone 15. Of course, there are some other options out there too. Like giving it to a relative, or recycling it – especially if its much older. If you’re in an upgrade program with your carrier or Apple, then none of these options here will work for you. As you do need to return your old phone once you get your new one.