As in previous years, Apple will launch new iPhones. As every year, hordes of Apple fans face a tricky, very typical dilemma: buy a new iPhone 14 full pot, eat 3 months of plain water, or sell an organ on the black market for an amortized starting price.
But what if instead of selling one of your kidneys, you sold your old iPhone 13 or iPhone 12? Whether on the used market or by recovering directly from Apple, you can obviously get a few hundred euros to buy the latest iPhone model, reducing your bill.
How to clean and restore an old iPhone to factory settings, how to resell it at the right price at the right time and the right place? We explain everything to you, especially how to avoid being possessed.
generalize
When can I resell my old iPhone?
Apple’s keynote to unveil the new iPhones traditionally takes place in early September, but there are some exceptions. This is the worst time to resell an old iPhone, as counterintuitive as it may be. Either way, it’s a double-edged sword.
On the one hand, it’s like shopping on a Friday night, and everyone will have the same thoughts as you. Therefore, your used iPhone will be difficult to distinguish from other iPhones. If you have the original box, all the accessories, an invoice and it’s in perfect condition, this can already make you stand out. But you still run the risk of increased competition, which will inevitably limit the resale price of your device.
On the other hand, the probability of finding a potential buyer during the same period is also higher. Savvy buyers waiting for the right moment to get the best price on a phone are well aware that the price of older iPhones will drop as new models come out. Probability-wise, this dynamic increases your chances of reselling your old iPhone. But you’ll resell it for less than the rest of the year.
Idealo gave a price forecast for the iPhone 14. If you wait until early 2023, you will save 10% / © Idealo.fr
But when is the best time to resell an iPhone? Year-end is also good, even after the keynote, and it’s usually best to sell before it. Between Black Friday and Christmas sales, shoppers are psychologically more willing to seek out special iPhone deals.
But then again, many buyers will be looking for deals on the latest iPhone, so the iPhone 14 rather than the older one. Even if they are unlikely to find any keywords, these are the keywords they will be looking for. And e-commerce platforms are so heavily weighted in this period that second-hand offers from individuals will be far too rare.
No, the best time to predict and resell your iPhone is the summer before the keynote. I would say early June or even late July is the best time to go, depending on whether you want to spend it before or after summer sales. It’s too early for “old” models to remain attractive (so prices don’t drop too much). But the closer you get to the late summer keynote, the lower your chances.
When is the best time to resell an old iPhone?
- If you expect: Early June or late July before the September keynote
- If you didn’t expect it: late November or early December
How to prepare iPhone before resale?
This is an important part of the process, and Apple itself provides a comprehensive step-by-step guide on its official page. This goes without saying, but I still want to remind you that all your personal data must be deleted.
I won’t copy/paste the original article from Apple, but if you’re not motivated to read it in its entirety, I’ll summarize here a list of what must be respected according to the Apple brand. . We also have an article dedicated to this topic, which is a bit outdated (2020) but still up-to-date and more complete.
If you still have your iPhone
This is the scene before you sell your iPhone. I know, it sounds silly, but there are people on the planet who sell their tech products to complete strangers and all their data is still on it. If you are one of them, go to the next section below.
- If you paired your Apple Watch with your iPhone, disable pairing (and, of course, if you sold your watch with your iPhone, you will erase the watch’s contents).
- Back up your device data
- Sign out of iCloud, iTunes Store and App Store.
- If you’re switching to an Android smartphone, disable iMessage.
- Go to settings again and click general > reset > Delete content and settings. If you have Find My enabled [mon appareil], you may need to enter your Apple ID and associated password. If your device uses an eSIM, select the option to wipe device data and eSIM profile when prompted.
- If you are prompted for a device passcode or restrictions passcode, enter it.then touch wipe [appareil].
- Contact your carrier to find out what to do if you change ownership (and make sure your iPhone isn’t locked by them)
- Remove your old device from your list of trusted devices.
If you no longer have an iPhone
First, breathe and relax. This post is a safe space where no one will judge you for having your head in the air, it can happen, give you a big kiss!
- Ask the new owner to clear the content and settings described in the previous section (Apple is not in the same world as you and me)
- If you use iCloud and Find My [mon appareil] On your device, sign in to iCloud.com/find or the Find My app on another device, select the device, then click Erase. After clearing the data, click Remove from account.
- If you’re unable to follow any of the steps above, change the password associated with your Apple ID. This at least prevents the new owner from deleting your data from iCloud, but your locally stored data won’t be deleted.
- Likewise, if you switch to Android, disable iMessage.
- If you use Apple Pay, you can remove your payment card on iCloud.com.choose Account settings See which devices are using Apple Pay, then tap the relevant device.Next to Apple Pay, select delete.
- Remove your old device from your list of trusted devices.
Where can I resell my old iPhone?
To resell your old iPhone, you can recycle it through direct sales between individuals or from Apple itself or a reseller on the refurbishment market.
Trade in iPhone to Apple
Let’s start with the most official channel, the trade-in with Apple. Every time a new iPhone is introduced, Apple readjusts the trade-in amount for a different model of the old iPhone. We’re trying out an iPhone 13 Pro with 128 GB of storage.
Just visit the official website and the page dedicated to trade-ins. Apple offers this service in Europe through a third-party provider called Likewize. Based on the IMEI and some information, the service estimates how much Apple should still pay you for your old iPhone. For our Apple iPhone 13 Pro (128 GB), the estimated price is 565 euros, but the quality will be checked later. Yes, it stings a bit, we agree.
Apple offered to take back our iPhone 13 Pro for €565 / © kwgeek
These amounts represent the maximum amount Apple is willing to offer for each model. The amount will be deducted when purchasing Apple products from the official store. So if you want cash, this is not a great solution. However, if you’re looking to buy a 1 TB iPhone 14 Pro Max for €2,129, that helps buffer the bill a bit. However, personally I don’t recommend this solution as you will only receive a small amount of money for your old iPhone.
Another option for recovery is to go to a dealer of used or refurbished smartphones. There are many in France, but the most famous platform is Back Market, in my opinion (there are no partners or sponsors, this is purely a personal and arbitrary choice, you are free to choose any other alternative, even in the comments so that I can included in this article). But reBuy is also a popular provider, and we even visited it recently.
Trade in iPhones at Back Market
Back Market is one of many platforms selling refurbished smartphones (and other tech gadgets). I am not going to explain the circular economy concept that has been discussed a lot in the general and professional media. And I’m not going to yell at the back market either (free publicity by the way).
Just remember that this is a marketplace that hosts multiple resellers selected according to certain criteria who refurbish used technology products while respecting certain requirements in terms of quality and reliability.
On the Backmarket.fr home page you have a “Resale” tab, which also allows you to estimate the value of your old iPhone.
Back Market’s takeover offer is far more attractive than Apple’s. / © kwgeek
And compared with Apple, the price offered by Backmarket is nearly 140 euros higher, which of course remains to be verified. If the price is right for you, you will have 15 days to send the iPhone, after which it will be checked and you will receive the agreed amount via bank transfer.
Well, I really kept the whole thing to a minimum. It’s not that simple, but it’s not that complicated either. If you’re interested and let me know in the comments, I may dedicate a more complete article.
Direct resale from person to person
This is the last part of this article because…