With Apple's latest iPhone release, you may be itching to ditch your old device. Options for trading in a smart phone for cash or credit toward a new one are growing: Apple and Walmart recently launched in-store phone trade-in offers. And Best Buy, major wireless carriers, and online outfits such as Amazon and Gazelle have programs, too.
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The payback varies by the type of phone, its condition and the wireless carrier that it's designed to work with. A phone that doesn't power on or that has a cracked screen or water damage will get the lowest return, if any. You'll fetch more for a device with a few scratches but working keys. Phones that appear to be unused earn top dollar. Amazon, for example, doesn't accept nonfunctioning phones, but it recently offered $243 in store credit for a black Verizon Wireless 16 gigabyte iPhone 5 in acceptable condition (worn but functional), $284 for the same phone in good condition (flawless display, light scratches) and $315 for a phone that's like new. Devices that run on so-called GSM networks, such as those from AT&T and T-Mobile, can be worth more because they have better international compatibility.
Compare offers. Bryan Strawbridge of Indianapolis got an estimate of $190 for his AT&T 16GB iPhone 4s at Gazelle.com. But the Apple Store offered a $204 credit, which he put toward a 32GB iPhone 5s. "It was seamless and quick," he says.
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