Because Apple introduced the 16GB iPhone today, I decided to sell my 8GB iPhone on eBay so that I could use the earnings to pay for an upgrade — priced at $499.
I figured now would be a good time to sell because a flood of people who want the new 16GB model will probably be doing the same in the near future.
I listed my 8GB iPhone on eBay with a starting bid of 1 penny and a Buy It Now price of $415. After getting 6 bids in a couple of hours, a buyer chose to Buy It Now and paid me the $415 + $15 for shipping.
So as I was surfing over to the Apple Store, planning to put in an extra $100 of my own money to pay for the 16GB iPhone, I remembered that I still had my $100 Apple Store credit that I received after the first iPhone price drop.
It seemed too good to be true, so I worried that Apple wouldn’t let me redeem the credit to buy a new iPhone. But to my excitement, the store credit was accepted and I tacked it on to the $430 I received from the eBay auction.
Now I’ve got a 16GB iPhone on the way and I didn’t have to pay a penny of my own money for it!
If you’ve also got an 8GB iPhone and a store credit, I can’t imagine why you wouldn’t follow my lead and get yourself a free 16GB iPhone. Anyone else planning to do the same?
Jack, you’re right, it wasn’t literally free, but I guess you could say the upgrade was free, since I now have an iPhone with double the memory and I didn’t have to pay anything out of my own pocket for it.
Chris, I missed something here.
You bought a 4GB iPhone which you sold.
Proceeds + credit = Free iPhone?
Then the new iphone is not really free because you bought the 4GB first I assume.
That is like saying, I sold my old car and used the proceeds + an instant rebate at the dealership to get a free car.
Like I said, unless I am missing something here.
Either way, good deal on the iphone!
That’s a good question, Samp. I’m not really sure. I wonder if maybe it had something to do with unlocking, but I don’t know.
Why would anybody pay you 415 for old 8 GB iphone, when they can get a new one for $399?????
I used my early adopter $200 Store Credit on a Plantronics Bluetooth Headset, which I must say is awesome, it was over $100 at apple, Although could be had for cheaper elsewhere…but Apple sent it to me overnight and also told me I was one of their best customers….I happen to but a lot of apple stuff…
From remotes to give away with other products which I promote on my site etc….only wish I held out, Now I have to shell out the $499 for the new phone…I put a small dent in my 8GB so it’s not perfect, but I suppose I could sell it for $200, the dent did not damage the phone in any way, it’s just a love dent…
– Ray
Andres, if you have a 4GB iPhone, you can still sell it on eBay, you just won’t make as much.
Mark, I haven’t received my 16 gig phone yet, but I’m under the impression I just have to reactivate it via iTunes (more info here). I believe the buyer just has to put in his SIM card and activate it.
Did you need to do anything special to have the 8gb iPhone removed from your account, and what did the buyer need to do?
what if i have a 4GB iphone?