Is the iPhone actually a good gadget investment? We explore data provided by a US trade-in company to visualize the top iPhone price trends over the past 6 months.
Over the weekend following the iPhone launch we received data from US-based iPhone trade-in company BankMyCell which documented the pricing trends which influence what we can get during the resale process. The focal point of the press release was the data behind iPhone depreciation, but here are the four core factors that influence the resale price of your old iPhone.
When you buy a new car and drive it out of the showroom it loses value straight away, so does your iPhone when you take it out the box. With cell phone technology leaping forward every year, it’s really easy for your device to become out of date in a short period of time.
Almost everything we own will depreciate in value over time, there are several fundamental reasons your iPhone will depreciate in value:
So how much is your iPhone worth? According to an analysis done by American iPhone trade-in company BankMyCell, iPhone depreciation can range between 10%-21% over a 6 month period. In a recent press release, they provided the following data which shows the depreciation of the latest iPhone models over the past 6 months (essentially leading up to the iPhone XS, XS Max and XR announcement).
BankMyCell CEO Ash Turner commented “As expected the most expensive iPhones lost the most monetary value and it’s not surprising with the iPhone X hitting the shelves with a $999 price tag. In fact, one thing that’s worth mentioning is the sales figures relating to the iPhone X, which was announced by Tim Cook in September 2017. The iPhone actually sold a lot less than previous models however that mammoth price tag saved the company on revenue.“
So Apple’s units shipped over the last year were down, but the revenue was up from this larger price tag – this year’s models are even more expensive, with the iPhone XR being priced higher than last year’s iPhone 8.
The company also did a comparison of the values you can get online by shopping around.
We’re unsure if this includes auction and store credit trade-ins but either way, it does show there can be quite a large difference in the value you can get quoted, for example, the iPhone 8’s lowest offer of $260 is $179 less than the top price you can achieve… which is huge!
BIT REBELS BONUS: Our readers can actually get a little more for their iPhone with a promo code provided by the company. If you enter ‘ELECTRONICS10’ at the site today you can earn 10% more on iPhone buyback values. For example, the iPhone X trade-in price goes up to $595, and using the code will get you $651.20 – they stated this offer is only valid until the end of September 2018.
NOTE: From looking around this was considerably more than the other trade-in websites, Apple’s trade-in service and Target/Best Buys store credit options. However, looking on eBay even with fees taken into consideration you can still get up to $40 more depending on your device. Selling yourself is the number one way to get the most even if you have to do a little more work with listing it, packing and shipping.
The rest of the iPhone’s losses over the 6 month period are actually a lot more considerate of your wallet. For example, the trade in price for an iPhone 8 / 8 Plus which launched last September only lost 10.18% and 9.48% respectively.
The iPhone 6S was the handset that took the largest hit on a percentage basis, dropping 20.93% in value over the past year. Looking at the numbers from an average perspective you can expect these newer models to lose around 14.53% over half a year period.
The new iPhone’s were announced on September 12th, 2018 and it goes without saying that the hype machine that is Apple had the normal press frenzy surrounding it. BankMyCell’s release suggests that these product launch events are responsible for historic price drops in resale value.
BankMyCell CEO Ash Turner went on to say “The release of the new technology will cause your iPhone to lose value, but more so the simple supply and demand of the old iPhones in the resale/refurbishment market. If resellers receive too many iPhones in stock that they can’t repurpose straight away they carry a risk of losing money with depreciation as well. The price drop is a good way of managing their risk”
When looking at this data it’s clear to see the impact of the release on the iPhones trade-in value. The headline statistic that BankMyCell was pushing in their outreach was:
“iPhones can lose up to 20% of their trade-in value within the first few weeks of the release”
If you’re not after instant cash, you can go through a trade-in site and lock the quote for up to 30 days. Additionally, if you list your phone on eBay you will have a week or so for the whole sale and shipping to complete. Both of these options give you a little time to retain some value.
It’s also worth noting that if you’re going for the iPhone XR release then you should look to sell your device around the pre-order date of October 19th, 2018. This will give you plenty of time to get the iPhone XR on the launch date of Oct 26th and send off your old iPhone too.
When examining the depreciation data it seems that the iPhone 8 was the device with the best price retention, only losing 9.48% in the past 6 months.
Below are the iPhone’s losing value in order of the good to bad price retention by percentage:
You should also look at getting your phone unlocked too, legally in the US carriers must unlock your phone after 1 year of service. Doing so can get you up to $108 more for your iPhone
From reviewing the data sent to us, this is the knowledge to take away with you for this iPhone launch and the rest going forward.
If you are interested in even more technology-related articles and information from us here at Bit Rebels then we have a lot to choose from.
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