The iPhone 12 – the most awaited phone of the year is HERE and is breaking records right off the gate. It’s unofficially the official phone of 2020 as we have seen people from all over the world eagerly waiting to get their hands on Apple’s newest innovation. Having said that, not all of us can get it at the swipe of a card.
Gathering funds for your new iPhone 12 can be one hell of a chore. Whether you’re eyeing the Apple iPhone 12 Mini, the iPhone 12, the camera-savvy 12 Pro or the big daddy – iPhone 12 Pro Max, selling off your old phone is a great way to get started. Old iPhones that are still functional can help you acquire a substantial amount of your new iPhone budget.
For instance, many users have reportedly sold their old iPhone 11s for as much as $650 and the XR (personally experienced to be the most popular model of the X series) for over $330 in not more than 2 months ago. Although resell prices are always dropping, Apple’s products command a premium depreciation rate over other phones in the market owing to which many users are still getting a warm to lukewarm value from selling them.
But hold on your horses! Before you go ape looking for online portals and comparing them to ensure you get the best value for your old iPhone there are a few preliminary steps you need to complete before putting your phone up for sale.
Backing Up
Apple’s iPhones known for their intensive security features sit a cut above the rest when it comes to data privacy and storage. Therefore, as a user, it is important that you take care of your data, be it images, documents or videos and make sure you store them safely before handing your phone over to a stranger or a reseller.
All iPhones have their cloud backup turned on by default, called the iCloud; nonetheless you must thoroughly check that all your data has been uploaded to your iCloud account. This is necessary if your phone runs mostly on data instead of Wi-Fi. Also, you need to check your remaining cloud storage space and ensure you have enough space before manually uploading your entire phone’s data to iCloud.
As a precautionary measure it’s recommended to head over to your Phone Settings ➡ tap on your Profile/Name ➡ tap on iCloud ➡ tap on “Back up now”.
Factory Reset
Probably the only step that goes without saying is, Factory Reset your phone.
You get the dream phone you’ve wanted, your baby, looking like someone else’s baby…? Not a great sight for any user, be it second or third. Adding to this is the factor of security. Anybody bold enough to sell their phone without clearing out the contents is point blank shooting himself in the foot with his own gun.
At this point, you’ve backed up all of your phone’s data so before you pass it on to a friend or a reseller, restore all of its settings to ‘Default’ and wipe away all your personal data with a quick reset. Once you’ve rechecked all your files and they are correctly stored to your iCloud account, make your way to Settings ➡ Find ‘General’ ➡ Tap on ‘Reset’ ➡ Tap on ‘Erase All Contact and Settings’. Following which you must enter your Apple ID and or password to completely erase all data.
Accessories
Holding on to old iPhone accessories is a good way to keep your pockets from going lean but almost all the older iPhones have had accessories that pair well best individually. The newer generation iPhones are getting all the heat and sooner or later you’re gonna want one too. Selling your old accessories with your phone, like charging cables and earphone connectors can get you a few extra bucks. It’s not doing you any good rotting away in your drawers anyway. Sometimes even a limited edition phone cover/case can become an incentive to sell it with the phone so keep an eye out for the rarity of the product in your hands.
Trade-in OR Sell?
When deciding whether to trade-in or sell keep in mind that Apple Trade-ins have an odd fixed pricing across all stores. In fact, there are online portals and forums of the likes where you can post a query and get a real-time response from users on how they conducted their transactions. This can help you estimate a ballpark price that you can get out of your iPhone. There are a couple of factors here at play like location and availability that can either render your phone obsolete or help you get a huge chunk of your new iPhone budget out of it.
You can also sell your iPhone to a certified reseller like smartphonesplus.com. Say goodbye to your iPhone XI, X, XR, 8 or even 7 to get one of the best deals in the market that’ll help you get closer to the eloquent and bedazzling new iPhone 12.
Apple’s iPhone Trade-in
In my opinion, only opt for Apple’s Trade-in option if you’re out of all other. The trade-in proves to be viable only when you’re out of luck with resellers and can’t strike a good bargain. Also, if you’re buying a new phone immediately then Apple takes care of it pronto and if your phone is as good as new then you will probably good a good deal out of it.
All in all, I would still suggest a reseller over a trade-in, although there are a few other options you can explore such as Carrier Trade-ins through providers such as Verizon, T–Mobile and AT&T, eBay, Amazon, Walmart and GadgetZone.
We’d love to know your experience of selling your iPhone and hear your story first-hand and also what you’d like to hear from us next. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
