Update before contract is up

[bams50]

Wife and I both have 4s phones, got mine in Nov. '12 and hers Dec. '12. Both 2-year contracts.

Suppose we really like the new iPhone, and want to upgrade at the 1-year mark? I assume we can do so, we would just need to pay a penalty for only being halfway through our contract.

My question is, does anyone know what the market value of a one-year old 4s would be? Both have been in Otterboxes since new and are in perfect condition.

I'm trying to get a feel for what it would cost us out of pocket to get into the next phone at our one-year mark: Price of new phone on new 2-year contract + buyout cost - sale price of the 4s = ?

Any guesses?

 

[jmp316]

I'm assuming you mean November and December 2011...

It kinda depends if you switch carriers. If you simply get the new phone with the same carrier you would no doubt have to pay full price for the new iPhones, but you wouldn't have to pay the ETF. If you switched carriers, you would get the new iPhones for the full discounted price, but have to pay ETFs on both with your old carrier. So you certainly have some numbers to crunch.

When you sell your iPhone 4Ss, I suggest eBay. You'll get a lot more for them at auction or buy it now than you get from these sights that buy your used iDevices. By doing a simple search on eBay you can get a feel for how much you would get depending on condition, storage and carrier.

When I get the phones for my wife and I, we plan to switch to Verizon from AT&T, but we both have the 4, out of contract. I'll sell the 4s on eBay and it will be offset much of the cost for the new ones.

Hope this helps! Good luck.

 

[jcmitchell5]

You can buy out your current contract and renew it again to get the new iPhone at $200. I would sell the phones on eBay or Craigslist. I'm sure you could get 300-400 each for the 4s. You could probably get pretty close to breaking even or possibly even gain a little bit of money in the end. I would call and see how much they would charge you to cancel or do an early renewal.

 

[bams50]

Duh. Never write a post when you're dog-tired.

Yes, I meant '11, not '12

For a few reasons, I am staying with AT&T. For us, the 4s is perfectly fine, no complaints. So it's not like we have any need to get the new phone- not even that strong of a desire. But if we can sell ours and move up without any net cost, it seems prudent to do so. I don't look forward to all the hassle of doing it, especially considering that it usually takes me over a month of going 'round the mountain with the Apple store and/or AT&T to get my e-mail working And of course, the putzing around to get the other ones sold, paid for, and shipped...

I suppose part of it will be seeing what new features the new phone has, and how much I feel I 'need' them. I am really looking forward to NFC, so if that's part of the package I would likely go for it. Of course, on the other side of the ledger, it's likely none of the mountain of accessories we've accumulated- cases, car adapters, etc.- will work on the new phone and will all need replacing, so that will have to be factored in as well.

I guess I'll be playing it by ear. Thanks for all comments.

 

[chazm]

I've always been able to upgrade no problem after 1 year. I've had every iPhone too.
I bought the 4S on launch date last year but it says I'm not eligible until May 2013.

Last year I remember hearing people say if your bill is over $100 pretax then you can upgrade after 12 months. Guess they aren't doing that this time around

 

[Sharunda]

chazm

My full discount eligibility is also May 2013. I can get a discounted price now but the full discount is in May 2013. I look every few days to see if they changed it to a September 2012 date. You know, like September 20th or 21st. That would be helpful. I would love to save $100 on my next iPhone purchase. Last year I got a full discount and that was sweet. I am sooo spoiled , I want that this year too. But I tell you, getting a discount is still good, as long as it's the price I think it will be.

 

[imutter]

If I switch carrier I pay $350 for discconecction with AT&T
we have 3 lines one has been finished for a while one is $145 and the other $205
Now I would switch to Sprint what saves me over $600 a year
They have port in line deals (switch and take your number) either before the 15th $400 for 3 lines on a share plan or $100 each line (if you member of a credit union) for port in afer the 15th
That said I only do this because Sprint rolled out LTE right where I live.