Ahead of iPhone 6S, Gazelle debuts best price guarantee for iPhone 5s

T-Mobile is going the Gazelle route and offering to beat the other guys: If customers find a better trade-in value from the other three major carriers, T-Mobile will beat the offer and throw in another $50 toward the cost of a new device.

But deciding where to recycle your phone can be confusing. Some can offer as much as $442 for an iPhone 6 Plus, and you even get cash for very old and even broken handsets.

The next generation of the iPhone is widely expected to be announced on September 9, so it’s time to get ready to trade in your old phone.

Gazelle has also released a chart that shows the trade-in values for two of its most popular models, the iPhone 4s and iPhone 5s.

The phone recycling company Gazelle is offering a tempting plan: It will beat your carrier or Apple’s trade-in offer between September 2 and September 9 (the day of Apple’s announcement), and it will give you cash for your old iPhone 5S, 6 or 6 Plus.

The promotion has limitations, though. The survey was conducted with over 500 smartphone owners across the U.S. and it revealed that numerous respondents were confused and angry at their wireless carriers’ offerings with regards to purchasing a new iPhone and is seeking alternatives.

Gazelle will give you cash in-hand (via check, Amazon gift card or PayPal) to help you buy the brand new iPhone 6s, unlike your carrier, which offers store and billing credit.

Sprint Buyback offers up to $350 in account credit for old phones or tablets, and like AT&T’s program, the actual credit amount depends on the individual phone model and condition. Customers who always want the newest phones typically purchase the phones right when they come out and they have to find something to do with their old phone. That means the company will pay you more cash than any of the wireless carriers (or Apple) that are accepting iPhone trade-ins. Also note that Gazelle’s guarantee applies only to the trade-in value of the phone – not additional incentives that carriers may offer, like payment of early-termination fees. If your phone is worth more than $264, it’s not the best deal.

If you don’t believe Gazelle will give you the best price for your device, you can head on to gazelle.com/trade-in to get your free quote today.

But the online program, run through Brightstar, is quite limited: As of Wednesday morning, Apple wasn’t letting customers make trades or check prices for either the iPhone 6 or 6S.

Apple’s prices are competitive, but they’re not the best.