Prep your iPhone 3GS for Sale
With the new iPhone 4 coming out, many people want to resell their 3GS. Some have asked me how to do that without giving away the data saved on the phone, so here's a simple how-to so that you can sell your phone for some cash.
FYI: Nextworth is buying 32GB iPhone 3GS for only 260, so you may want to consider using ebay where you can get up to 375 (that's the average price sold on eBay as of today) for your unit. Keep in mind that eBay will take 9% of the sale, dropping your total to around 340, but at least you'll get 100 or more than you would selling to Nextworth or Gazelle.
- Do a backup and clean sweep: You don't want to sell your unit with all your personal contacts and saved account information on your apps, so make sure you connect your phone to iTunes and back up your data. Remember that notes don't transfer to your pc automatically, so keep that in mind if you have important info in Notes. After you back up your data you can reset your phone either through iTunes (restore original settings button) or directly on your phone via Settings->General->Reset->Erase all Content and Settings. Just remember that doing it through the phone is fine, but if you do it via iTunes that performs a full restore. You may be wondering how your iPhone 4 will get all that data transferred to it, and the answer is - once you sync your phone to iTunes you can put all that backed up data on it.
- Clean the exterior of your unit: As with any sale you want to send your customer the finest product, and even if your unit is used you will want to clean the screen and the rest of the exterior. Don't be an idiot and use water or harsh chemicals! Use a microfiber cloth and shine it up, and use cleaners like iKlear ($30) or something similar to get all the fingerprints off.
- Be honest: Research the prices online and make sure you are within the competitive price range, and above all--be honest about your unit. It's important to tell all with regard to scratches, dents, problems, battery issues--anything pertaining to the phone no matter how small. Especially when selling on eBay the description you provide is the one you will be held to, so if the customer disputes the transaction you could be liable if your description wasn't accurate enough.
- Post your sale everywhere: If you have an eBay account you're selling the iPhone through, post that auction on all your social networking sites, Craiglist, blogs--wherever you can advertise this. Trust me--it helps the sale go through quicker. I sold a unit within a day.
- Be open to OBO: Always be open to people inquiring and providing you other best offers, then compare the ones that do come in and if you feel comfortable, sell for a tad bit lower if you can unload the phone faster. While it's good to hold out for a lot more money, if your unit sits for more than three days you may want to consider OBO's, too.
- Donate: I know this is too much to ask of some, but people do need phones, especially our overseas guys. Donating the units through online donation sites or local offices will be a good thing for you to do, especially if your unit is beyond sell-able. It's also considered a tax write-off, so this may be a good option if you can only sell your unit for less than 100 dollars.
There are many ways to make up the money you spent on the iPhone 4, and this may be a great way to do it. For more information on selling directly to buyer sites, visit Gazelle.com or Nextworth.com for pricing.
