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iPhone trade-ins ballooned 48% ahead of Galaxy S5 announcement

Published Feb 25th, 2014 11:43AM EST
Galaxy S5 Release iPhone Trade-ins

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We hope you like what you saw on Monday when Samsung finally unveiled the hotly anticipated Galaxy S5 flagship phone, because a lot of you traded in your old phones this past weekend to get ready for Samsung’s latest and greatest. Most notably, cell phone trade-in comparison tool SellCell.com reports that a rush of iPhone trade-ins were processed over this past weekend as Apple fans prepared to make the leap to the Galaxy S5.

SellCell.com says that the volume of iPhone trade-ins exploded this past weekend, jumping 48% compared to the beginning of this month. And as Apple fans rushed to trade their old iPhones for cash, they continued to drive iPhone trade-in prices down in the process.

Even before the wave of trade-ins this past weekend, the site says that average trade-in prices for the iPhone 5 had dropped to $275 at the beginning of February compared to $337 six months ago. The iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 saw similar drops over the past six months, with the iPhone 4S falling to $115 from $171 and the iPhone 4 declining to $103 from $188.

“Our latest statistics signify how U.S. mobile phone owners are becoming increasingly aware that trade-in prices will often fall around big product launches – which explains why we sometimes see the resale value of flagship phones drop even before the next device in a series has been announced,” SellCell.com founder Keir McConomy said. “On the other hand, the steadiness of Samsung Galaxy S series trade-ins year over year indicates there might not be much upgrading going on with the new Galaxy S5 announcement. That’s why we always recommend that people looking to trade-in their old device always use a price comparison site to make sure they are getting the best deal – especially as recycling prices can fluctuate by the hour around major device launches.”

The site also noted that average Galaxy S4 trade-in prices have dropped to $235 from $250 six months ago. While the S4 was holding its value quite well compared to iPhones, prices may plummet ahead of the Galaxy S5 release in April.

Zach Epstein
Zach Epstein Executive Editor

Zach Epstein has been the Executive Editor at BGR for more than 10 years. He manages BGR’s editorial team and ensures that best practices are adhered to. He also oversees the Ecommerce team and directs the daily flow of all content. Zach first joined BGR in 2007 as a Staff Writer covering business, technology, and entertainment.

His work has been quoted by countless top news organizations, and he was recently named one of the world's top 10 “power mobile influencers” by Forbes. Prior to BGR, Zach worked as an executive in marketing and business development with two private telcos.