If you’re in the market for a used iPhone, you need to know what a reasonable price is to avoid getting scammed.
Buying a brand new iPhone is the easiest way to go, but most users don’t want to go this route as a new iPhone can cost a lot, especially if you buy it unlocked. For this reason, many customers prefer to buy used as they can save a lot of money when buying a working iPhone.
I’m a big fan of buying used iPhones, but something many consumers don’t know when they start shopping for a used iPhone is how much they should and shouldn’t pay for an iPhone. Buyers get scammed all the time because they don’t know what the best price to pay for a used iPhone is and will actually spend $100 or more on an iPhone than it’s worth.
By knowing how much you should pay for a used iPhone, you can save yourself a lot of money and hassle, but how do you know what a good price it is to pay for a used iPhone?
Here are some tips to keep in mind when shopping for a used iPhone to avoid getting scammed and paying more than you need.
Do your research
The first thing you’ll want to do before you start looking for a used iPhone is to do some research and determine how much used iPhones cost. The price depends on the model of the iPhone, its storage capacity, and the condition the iPhone is in.
The older the iPhone model, the smaller the storage capacity, and the worse its condition, the less you pay. This seems pretty obvious, but still worth mentioning here.
The quickest way to see roughly how much you’d spend on a used iPhone is to go to eBay and see how much they’re selling.
For example, if you’re looking for a 16GB iPhone 6 on Verizon, type “iPhone 6” in the search bar at the top of the eBay homepage. The next page will display lists of iPhone 6 models available for sale. You can narrow down the models to the specific model you want by going to the sidebar on the left and filtering by the specific iPhone 6 model you’re after.
Next, go back to the sidebar and scroll down until you see an option called Put a checkmark next to it and it will only show sold listings. This will give you a better idea of how much you can expect to pay for a used iPhone. It’s certainly not a hard and fast rule to implement, but it gives you an idea.
Negotiate the Price
Yes, if you’re planning to buy a used iPhone from eBay, you can’t really bargain and even compete with other bidders, so you may end up paying a little more than you actually need. However, if you’re planning to buy a used iPhone elsewhere like Craigslist, you have some room to haggle for a better price.
If you use Craigslist or any other used marketplace (or even swap will work), you should not pay the requested price immediately. Sellers know that buyers will try to bargain, so see if you can get a lower price on a used iPhone by bidding a little less. I try to get 10-15% off the price I want, sometimes even 20% if I feel lucky. You don’t want to downplay your offer, but you should also expect them to counter-bid at a slightly higher price than the original price.
I usually don’t like to ask for a lower price to do this, instead I just tell them I can pay that much right now. So, “Will you get $380?” Instead of asking, I usually like to say something like, “I’ll give you $380 for this now.” It tells the seller that you mean business and also that they can get paid right away, even if it means losing some cash.
Of course, the best price for a used iPhone is ideally no price at all, but sellers don’t want to be scammed either, so you and the seller should find a happy medium where you’re both okay. he wants an iPhone as cheaply as possible, and the seller wants as much money as he can get from the sale.
