Why Is Everyone Dumping Their iPhone?

Michael Harper for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online

News Flash: Apple plans to announce their latest iPhone this Wednesday.

The sarcastic nature of that opening line is true testament to the amazing relationship Apple has with not only the press but the public as well. There are people who can’t list iPhone’s top 3 competitors or even say how much RAM is in the 4S, yet they know Apple is announcing a new phone this week, thanks to the massive amount of free advertising the media gives Apple. After all, Apple is big news. People are genuinely interested in Apple as a company and Apple products.

These anxious iPhone buyers have been aware of a new Apple smartphone for months now, as evidenced by Apple’s low sales through this summer.

So, if you know there’s a new iPhone due out in a matter of days and want to score a deal on a new slab of Apple goodness, it appears as if the most popular choice is to sell your current iPhone through a service like Gazelle.com or NextWorth.com.

Speaking to USA Today, chief marketing officer at NextWorth Jeff Trachsel has said his site has seen the effects of a pent-up demand for the release of the new iPhone 5.

When the iPhone 4S was announced last October, many iPhone 4 users weren’t impressed enough to make the switch, waiting for the next generation of Apple smartphone. That generation is expected to be announced on Wednesday, and people are beginning to dump their old iPhone 4s and 4Ss in anticipation. When the iPhone rumor mill hits full tilt, says Trachsel, his site experiences an increase in traffic, before the next iPhone is released. “This year, it happened a lot sooner than in years past, and happened in greater scale.”

According to Trachsel, the number of iPhones submitted for quotes to NextWorth between August 17 and September 6 increased by 610% compared to the same period before the 4S launch last year.

NextWorth’s data also shows that this is the year many have decided to upgrade from their iPhone 4, as more than half of those requesting sales quotes from the site are for the fourth generation iPhone announced in 2010. The 4S makes up a smaller 20%, while the 3GS and other iPhones make up the rest of these requests.

“A lot of people thought it wasn’t worth breaking their contract going from 4 to 4S,” said Trachsel.

NextWorth’s competitor, Gazelle, has also seen a recent run on iPhone quotes, leading chief gadget officer Anthony Scarsella to call this week’s announcement “the biggest iPhone launch ever.”

“The new body style is definitely influencing consumer behavior.”

Analysts agree.

Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray fame has been predicting a wild Apple success since early last month, saying the Cupertino company has at least 80 million new iPhone sales “in the bag” in their first few weeks.

With anticipation at an all-time high, resell sites like Gazelle and NextWorth are encouraging their customers to get a quote now, as the price for old iPhones continues to drop every day.

Of course, those older iPhone users who may be cut from a more enterprising cloth will be able to earn even more money from their old gear by selling it directly to another person through Craigslist or some other private sale.

At the time of this writing, a 16GB iPhone 4 on AT&T is going for $150 on NextWorth.com and $146 on Gazelle.com.

If you plan to sell your current phone to offset the cost of a new phone, the sooner you get your quote the better.