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iPhone owners help trigger huge jump in eBay trade-in offers

Following last week's unveiling of the iPhone 5, current iPhone owners generated the majority of a 265 percent rise in trade-in offers via eBay's Instant Sale.

Lance Whitney Contributing Writer
Lance Whitney is a freelance technology writer and trainer and a former IT professional. He's written for Time, CNET, PCMag, and several other publications. He's the author of two tech books--one on Windows and another on LinkedIn.
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Lance Whitney
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iPhone owners have contributed to a big bump in eBay trade-in offers.
iPhone owners have contributed to a big bump in eBay trade-in offers. Screenshot by Lance Whitney/CNET

iPhone owners eager to trade in their existing devices have kept eBay busy over the past week.

In the five days following last Wednesday's unveiling of the iPhone 5, trade-in offers through eBay's Instant Sale service climbed 265 percent compared with the same period the previous week.

Of the total surge in offers, iOS device owners accounted for 69 out of every 100, Android owners for 16 of every 100, BlackBerry owners 11 out of every 100, and users of other mobile operating systems 4 out of every 100.

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Drilling down to the total iPhone offers themselves, 46 percent of them were for the iPhone 4, 40 percent for the iPhone 4S, 8 percent for the iPhone 3GS, and 6 percent for the iPhone 3G.

The jump in offers also followed the introduction of a special trade-in deal from eBay, kicking in higher prices for certain smartphones through tomorrow. For example, a 64GB iPhone 4S in working condition can now snag up to $400 in trade-in value.

eBay's Instant Sale service lets you check on the value of a device based on its condition. If you're happy with the offer, you can then send your device to eBay in exchange for money deposited into your PayPal account.

The latest data from eBay indicates a leap in the number of offers, not the actual number of trade-ins. But the upswing in offers shows that more people are interested in cashing in their current smartphones as the new iPhone goes on sale this Friday.

Smartphone owners have until tomorrow to grab the following deals through eBay for devices in good working condition:

  • Apple iPhone 4S 64GB (AT&T): up to $400
  • Apple iPhone 4S 16GB (AT&T): up to $300
  • Apple iPhone 4 32GB (AT&T): up to $235
  • HTC Evo 4G LTE: up to $200
  • Motorola Droid Razr Maxx: up to $165
  • Blackberry 9930 Bold: up to $165
  • Blackberry 9810 Torch: up to $155
  • Apple iPhone 3GS 32GB: up to $115

Of course, as with most deals, it pays to shop around. Sites such as Amazon and Gazelle also offer trade-in deals. And consumers can always try to grab more cash for their phones by selling them directly through eBay or Craigslist.

(Via AppleInsider)