How to get the best deal on your iPhone trade

Users can trade old iPhones of various storage variants. Whitney reports that carriers also offer their own trade-in options, though many come with conditions like the activation of a new account, or apply the trade-in value as a credit toward your bill.

It’s a good deal, but keep in mind the parameters: Gazelle is guaranteeing it will pay at least $1 more in cash than Apple or your wireless carrier will give in trade-in value for your iPhone, assuming you’re a customer of AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile or Sprint.

Online, you’re now unable to trade in an iPhone 6. Matney reports that the deal is valid for all memory capacities and colors of the iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, and iPhone 6 Plus.

Apple Stores, carriers and smartphone recycling companies are practically falling over themselves trying to get you to trade-in your old phone, offering huge deals. Whitney reports that the price you’ll get, from Gazelle or anyone else, depends in large part on the model and the condition of the phone. If you’re a Sprint customer, for example, Gazelle will beat Sprint’s price for you – but not, say, Verizon’s. As carriers’ plans get more complex, and more users end up paying the full retail price for their smartphones, trading in a smartphone that you’ve fully paid for is an attractive way to recapture as much of its value as possible.

That typically requires filling out a quick survey about your device. Other third-party services include Glyde, NextWorth, Wirefly, uSell and Recellular.

Best Buy offers a trade-in program for iPhones and other electronics in stores and online. Maximizing the value from trade-in is a great way to offset the high cost of upgrading. Also, promotional pricing is often not offered to customers in carrier upgrade programs like AT&T Next, T-Mobile Jump and Verizon Edge.

Target also has a NextWorth partnership and Walmart and Staples have trade-in programs. “We’ll only be guaranteeing the trade-in value of your carrier’s offer”. Note that these are credits toward a new device, not cold hard cash.

Sprint is also offering a similar deal, providing a $15-a-month leased iPhone to customers who trade in their old phones. It’s a good deal if your old phone is worth less than $300. Gazelle’s guarantee means they will do better than the best offers coming from Apple and major network carriers.

AT&T similarly offers customers up to $300 for old phones, but the amount you’ll get is determined by the phone’s appraisal. The firm put up one billboard in New York City’s Times Square and stationed a mobile billboard outside the flagship glass cube Apple Store on Fifth Avenue with a simple message. After answering a few questions about the condition of the smartphone and entering your shipping address, you can print off a shipping label to mail the iPhone for free in exchange for an Amazon Gift Card. A 5S on Verizon was estimated to get $165 as of Wednesday morning.