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If your iPhone is coming to the end of its lifespan, or you’ve got your eye on a shiny new upgrade, then it might be time to cash in. It’s often surprising how much an older phone can generate, even if it’s picked up its share of dents of dings over the years.
Let’s run through some of the options when it comes to parting company with your old phone, and see what precautions you might take before doing so.
Apple’s Trade in Service
One option for would-be sellers is to go straight to the source, and sell the phone back to Apple. If you’re upgrading to a new iPhone, you’ll get credit toward it. If you’re going to be upgrading your iPhone regularly, then another option is to start leasing your phone rather than buying it outright. While this is an expensive practice in the long-term, it’ll ensure that you’re always at the cutting edge, and that you won’t need to shell out for a new phone every year.
In-store selling
You could find a branch from your service provider, walk in and ask to trade the handset. In fact, they might offer you this as an option when you come to buy a new handset in store. Your carrier will tend to offer a better price than some of the other options – so if you’re looking to sell your iPhone 12 mini, it’s worth asking the question.
eBay
Online marketplaces like eBay are beset with scammers, and this is especially problematic for popular electronic goods like the iPhone. You’ll need to do your research and ensure that the buyer has excellent feedback. Don’t rely on eBay to find in your favour in the event of a dispute.
Cash Converters
Specialist shops like CEX and Cash Converters will buy your phone from you – although the price that they offer is not going to be particularly competitive.
What to do before selling
Before you sell, it’s important that the phone is cleared of any personal information. Sign out of everything, unpair any Bluetooth devices, deregister iMessage, and go to General>Reset>Erase all Content and Settings. After you’ve done this, the information will be irretrievably destroyed (for all practical purposes), and so it’s worth backing up all of the stuff you want to keep before you take this step.
Apple also recommend adding additional trusted phone numbers to your account before making the transition – that way you can be sure that everything will go smoothly, without any hiccups from Apple’s overzealous security systems.
