“As the head of a company that sells used consumer electronics, David Chen follows sales of the iPhone with the precision of a mathematician. At the outset, the price of the first version of Apple’s music-playing wireless device behaved as expected: When the newer iPhone 3G hit store shelves, demand for the earlier iteration plummeted. Then the unexpected happened,” Olga Kharif reports for BusinessWeek.
“Within days of the iPhone 3G launch, demand for used, older iPhone models began rising, and prices began a steady climb. “We’ve been raising our prices over the past few weeks,” says Chen, who runs NextWorth.com, a Web site that buys and resells used iPhones and iPods. “It’s an anomaly, but there’s still a lot of demand for the first-generation [device].” As of Aug. 26, NextWorth Solutions was paying $200 and $300 respectively for gently-used, 8-Gigabyte and 16-GB original iPhone models. That’s up $50 from what his company paid a month earlier—and at the high end, on par with the price of a new 16-GB version of iPhone 3G—for the latest iteration of the iPhone, with more features and faster download speeds,” Kharif reports.
“‘The old iPhone [in mint condition] is very hard to find,’ says Shawn Zade, who sells mobile phones through New York-based WirelessImports.com. ‘There’s a lot of demand,'” Kharif reports.
“Why pay a premium for an older, less advanced model? Some users simply don’t want to be tied to a long-term contract with AT&T, the only authorized iPhone carrier in the U.S. The old phones can be unlocked fairly easily, making it possible for people to choose another carrier or to simply use the device with no charge at Wi-Fi hot spots. A method to reliably unlock the iPhone 3G still hasn’t been found, Zade says,” Kharif reports.
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Matt M.” for the heads up.]
Hmm! I just got my 1st Gen replaced Friday because of a bad headphone jack. It’s in mint condition, still has Apple plastic on it. Should I sell and buy a 3G?
Uh, your iPhone is not in “mint” condition if it has a bad headphone jack.
I’ve got one…let the bidding begin.
Oh, my bad. I misread your post. I see now that you have a new, mint 1G iPhone which replaced the one with the bad headphone jack.
You probably could sell it rather easily on eBay. I’ve seen prices between $300 and $400 regularly. I’ve thought about replacing my 1G iPhone, but it’s not mint as it has a few scratches to the back and sides due to being dropped a few times. Works perfectly, however, and the screen is in perfect shape.
I guess those would be “love handles”!
I sold my 1st Gen iPhone on eBay last week for $370. It was in very good condition and about 13 months old.
@bizlaw:
Before you reply to a comment, you should read it first carefully.
Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas to you!!!!
That is what it must feel like to gain $200 after a $100 rebate for being an early adopter!!
@absmooth, How old do you think all the other 2G iphones are?
I sold my 1st Gen for $300 two weeks after the new one came out. Bought a 16 GB 3G iPhone with the money… sweet
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I don’t want to buy a iphone 3G until there’s a reliable unlock so i can use other SIM cards when i travel.
Waiting for and unlock:
You may expect AT&T to begin allowing unlocking rather soon. Since the iPhones are now sold according to the exact same business model as all other phones, there’s no reason why AT&T wouldn’t provide unlocking instructions for to those who ask for them, just like they do for all other devices.
I sold mine, my son’s, my wife’s and two friends first Gen iphones on ebay. All with the original packaging (which is important, ups the price about 75 bucks.)
I sold them all for $375 to $400, usually within 1 day of the listing. The only one that took longer was the one without the box.
SELL THEM, take the $$ and run.
I don’t want an iPhone 3G until they have the same battery life as the Edge model because I like to take long motorcycle trips and listen to the iPod as I go.
Nor do I care to give AT&T;the extra money the 3G contract entails.
I would like to upgrade my 8G Edge iPhone to a 16gb model and give my old iPhone to my wife.
@Tommy Boy – once I applied the 2.02 firmware update, my battery life increased dramatically. It fixed, among other things, a bug in power management for communication with 3G towers, and it made a world of difference. You might be pleasantly surprised.
I sold two 8G original iphones on ebay. Both had scratches on the screen and back. One went for $416 and the other for $460. Unbelievable.
@3G iPhone user: We’ll see what the new battery rundown gives after the 2.1 software release.
I’ve got over 12 hours of heavy use on a full charge with my 2G phone. The MacWorld battery test on the 3G said 5:38. That doesn’t suit me at all.
@Crabapple: Someone could have a 1st Gen iPhone that they purchased in May ’08. Their phone would still be under warranty as it is only 5 months old, and theoretically, it should get more money on eBay. I was amazed that my phone, which I bought the first day iPhones were available in June 07, would sell for that much since it is out of warranty.
In Thailand, there is no 3G network or official channels for buying iPhones. Nevertheless you can buy a 3G phone here for over 1000usd. The second hand market for first gen phones is still good. could be part of the reason.
The only think keeping me away from an iPhone 3G is the dang new AT&T;contract…less features for more money, screw that.