Many people, including all of us here at Culture Milk, have seen and are excited in the utmost regard for the iPhone 5. Some of us are more excited than others (it’s all black. 100% black.) and with that comes the idea of selling our iPhones to get the next. Some have done this in years past, but looking towards the future and right now, there are a few easier methods that I think everyone should consider.

eBay Instant Sale

eBay has their very own website dedicated to making sure you sell your devices. The way it works is a major company or top-rated eBay seller/buyer offers a price for certain tech in certain conditions, you then accept the offer, and finally you send it off with a prepaid shipping label. That’s it. Most people tend to avoid eBay because of fees or they hate the idea that someone could simply say the device was in poor condition and you’re out of money. However, you’re selling to companies who don’t really have time to make scheme you out of money. These are companies buying dozens upon dozens of devices each day for $400 dollars. And on top of that: no fees.

After you manage to accept the offer, you send it off in a nice padded box (you must buy the supplies to send it off) and you wait. eBay says within their terms and conditions to allow up to 14 days for the money to how up in your PayPal account after the company that’s bought it has received it, but, for me, it’s taken less than a day in the past. Just last year, I had sold my iPhone 4 for $357, managed to send it out on October 4, 2011, they received it on the 7th, and I had my money before the end of the day. The full agreement of $357.

Through this you can get $400 dollars for your 4S, 64GB, with charger. The price of the 4S with AT&T early-upgrade pricing? $399. You could say you’ve managed to easily sell your iPhone for a profit even if it’s only a dollar.

Amazon Trade-in

Amazon follows the simple flow similar to eBay’s Instant Sale. Agree to a price, send it out, get your money. However, there’s one small problem with the way Amazon trade-ins work: you get an Amazon gift card. Amazon gift cards would be perfectly acceptable were it any other device used to purchase any other item. Getting 25 more dollars for my 4S on Amazon doesn’t make it any more appealing since Amazon won’t allow me to buy the 5 once it’s launched. I could wait, like normal people would, but the problem is that iPhones sell so quickly and so fast that if I did, I wouldn’t see the 5 until at least November.

Glyde

And others (Gazelle, YouRenew, Simply Sellular etc.)

We’ve talked about Glyde before. Glyde does the exact same thing as eBay. However, you are more putting up an auction that simply tells you how much you’ll get after the fees are taken and the person gets their device. The person buying your phone has 5 days to tell Glyde if there are any worth-mentioning marks, if the phone doesn’t work at all, and various other possible issues. It seems to be the most risky option when it comes to making sure you get a set price for your phone or any gadget that you’re dying to get rid of.

However, Glyde support has always been quick and helpful when it comes to conflicts. If you make sure to cover your bases, you should be fine. If you decide to take this route, try your hardest to verify you’ve packed the phone well and that there are no problems with your device. Take a photo of the phone on, wrapped in bubble wrap, inside the box. Make sure it’s just as you had described. It seems like a huge precautionary measure, but sometimes things are necessary when it comes to hundreds of dollars and the possibility of you losing your phone.

eBay

We all know how eBay works. Sadly, I would not recommend eBay for selling gadgets or anything expensive and well-known. They are exactly what scammers target. The problem with scammers now is that they no longer want your money; they just want to make you lose money. The way eBay works is that if you are scammed, as in, someone buys your device, but is later revealed to be fake, you don’t get that money back. Which is above odd and annoying since eBay and PayPal are one in the same and they could easily deposit the fees lost into your account and you can transfer them directly into your bank account, but do they? No. Why? Because they hate you. eBay gives you eBay credit which you can only use on eBay and if that’s fine with you in the long run, go ahead and embrace it. However, I can not recommend something so risky to any of my readers.

Craigslist

Craigslist isn’t new and the way it functions has remained the same. Listing items can sometimes impose fear in people since they hold onto to the idea of stranger danger, but I tend to think the majority of people aren’t insane. If someone wants to kill me or kidnap me, I’m sure they’d be more clever than responding to a Craigslist ad in the middle of fall. One benefit you can share between eBay and Craigslist is that you can sell unlocked devices. The methods listed above that give you set offers don’t have options for selling those unlocked phones. If I had to choose, I would choose Craigslist over eBay any day of the week. People are more likely to browse Craigslist for a used iPhone than go to eBay and swim in the postings. You also get your money immediately, without any fees, and it’s physical.

Conclusion

Your iPhone is a valuable piece of tech. Selling it means more than just getting rid of it. You have to ensure safety of the device, safety of your funds, and safety of your mind. The device you hold means something to you and you want to get the best available pricing for it. Hopefully this guide can help those who have been scratching their head for days or, at least, help those who need to hear it from someone who has stretched all available resources.