Advice for buying used iphone
August 12, 2024 10:19 AM Subscribe
What is the best way to go about buying a used iphone? Where should I look for one, what is the sweet spot between price and features / performance, is there anything else I should know?
This is for my daughter who is in high school. She currently has an older Samsung Galaxy and recently cracked the screen. She wants an iphone so that she can use imessage with her friends.
We are on a t-mobile pay as you go plan and own our phones. Up until now we have been all android. I personally think iphones are ridiculously overpriced. The current best deal I can find through t-mobile for a new iphone is an iphone se for $430. That price isn't a hard upper limit if we could get something used with better features, but all in all I'd prefer to spend less to get something comparable.
Basically I want her to be able to use imessage, make and receive calls and texts, and run any reasonable mobile apps. Anything else is gravy, but I'd be willing to pay a reasonable amount for some good gravy (better performance, better camera, better screen, better ???)
This is for my daughter who is in high school. She currently has an older Samsung Galaxy and recently cracked the screen. She wants an iphone so that she can use imessage with her friends.
We are on a t-mobile pay as you go plan and own our phones. Up until now we have been all android. I personally think iphones are ridiculously overpriced. The current best deal I can find through t-mobile for a new iphone is an iphone se for $430. That price isn't a hard upper limit if we could get something used with better features, but all in all I'd prefer to spend less to get something comparable.
Basically I want her to be able to use imessage, make and receive calls and texts, and run any reasonable mobile apps. Anything else is gravy, but I'd be willing to pay a reasonable amount for some good gravy (better performance, better camera, better screen, better ???)
Best answer: You can buy through Craigslist, but there are a lot of caveats for the emptor, as usual. Check Apple's page on things to look for when buying a used phone.
You can also buy through Gazelle, which will save you some of that cognitive load.
Pick a model that is still supported by Apple and will stay supported for its expected useful life. The soon-to-be released version of iOS is 17; you can check supported models here.
With newer models, "Pro" phones have better camera systems and some other fancier features, "Max" or "Plus" are bigger, "Mini" is smaller, and newer is always better all other things being equal.
After that, choose based on storage. Minimum storage is usually 64 GB and frankly that's not great. I recommend bumping it at least to 128 GB (the next increment).
I have an 11 with 128 GB storage and a recently replaced battery. It's fine. It does not seem overloaded, but it will probably go out of support in a couple years.
posted by adamrice at 10:59 AM on August 12
You can also buy through Gazelle, which will save you some of that cognitive load.
Pick a model that is still supported by Apple and will stay supported for its expected useful life. The soon-to-be released version of iOS is 17; you can check supported models here.
With newer models, "Pro" phones have better camera systems and some other fancier features, "Max" or "Plus" are bigger, "Mini" is smaller, and newer is always better all other things being equal.
After that, choose based on storage. Minimum storage is usually 64 GB and frankly that's not great. I recommend bumping it at least to 128 GB (the next increment).
I have an 11 with 128 GB storage and a recently replaced battery. It's fine. It does not seem overloaded, but it will probably go out of support in a couple years.
posted by adamrice at 10:59 AM on August 12
I don't have any particular models to recommend, but Gazelle is a good place to buy used iPhones. Their front page is showing a bunch of options under $400.
One issue to be aware of when buying used iPhones is that battery health information gets lost when an iPhone goes through a factory reset. So you won't know what the battery condition is until your daughter has used the phone for a while. I don't know if Gazelle has a return policy, but you might want to factor in the cost of a battery replacement when you decide what to buy.
posted by Winnie the Proust at 11:01 AM on August 12 [1 favorite]
One issue to be aware of when buying used iPhones is that battery health information gets lost when an iPhone goes through a factory reset. So you won't know what the battery condition is until your daughter has used the phone for a while. I don't know if Gazelle has a return policy, but you might want to factor in the cost of a battery replacement when you decide what to buy.
posted by Winnie the Proust at 11:01 AM on August 12 [1 favorite]
I bought my current 13 mini from Amazon refurb. I'm extremely happy with it.
posted by kathrynm at 11:08 AM on August 12 [1 favorite]
posted by kathrynm at 11:08 AM on August 12 [1 favorite]
Swappa is where I go for used iPhones. A 14 should be a decent price now, and there will be a lot more 15 models on sale a few weeks after the 16 models come out in September.
posted by soelo at 11:19 AM on August 12 [4 favorites]
posted by soelo at 11:19 AM on August 12 [4 favorites]
+1 Swappa is the best choice imo - it's user to user, but there's a good amount of safety measures in place, it's usually a coupla hundred dollars cheaper
posted by bbqturtle at 11:38 AM on August 12
posted by bbqturtle at 11:38 AM on August 12
Seconding caek - it's exactly what I did when moving from Android to Apple last summer. Price is now $198. In my case, there were micro scratches on the screen that were barely noticeable without a screen protector and completely invisible with one. Battery capacity was around 90% then, and it's 85% now. Other than those 2 points, it was as good as new. I went with Amazon over BackMarket or user to user because their returns are easy in case something was wrong.
posted by hankscorpio83 at 12:04 PM on August 12 [1 favorite]
posted by hankscorpio83 at 12:04 PM on August 12 [1 favorite]
I got my refurb iPhone from Apple; not always in stock, but they make sure refurbs are in perfect condition.
posted by theora55 at 1:24 PM on August 12 [1 favorite]
posted by theora55 at 1:24 PM on August 12 [1 favorite]
I got my refurb iPhone 13 Mini from Amazon. Had some minor scratches that I couldn't see after putting on a case and screen protector. Very satisfied.
Swappa is also great. I prefer that over Amazon Refurb, since some bad apples can get into Amazon, but peruse the user reviews carefully, no matter where you shop.
posted by curagea at 2:18 PM on August 12
Swappa is also great. I prefer that over Amazon Refurb, since some bad apples can get into Amazon, but peruse the user reviews carefully, no matter where you shop.
posted by curagea at 2:18 PM on August 12
I recently got a refurb iPhone SE 2nd generation (i.e. the older generation) that I bought in person from our local Target store for about $200. (I wanted to buy in person, and you can search on the Target website to see if your local store has a refurbished one in stock; their stock of refurbs fluctuates.)
It works just like normal. The only small problem I've noticed is that it has a tiny delay on the microphone picking up when using Facetime, but I don't know if that's due to it being a refurb or not. As far as whether the SE-generation 2 is a good model for your daughter -- the person I got it for doesn't have advanced needs for extra storage space, games, movies or that kind of thing that might tax the storage space. A teenager might run up against space limits faster.
posted by LobsterMitten at 3:00 PM on August 12 [1 favorite]
It works just like normal. The only small problem I've noticed is that it has a tiny delay on the microphone picking up when using Facetime, but I don't know if that's due to it being a refurb or not. As far as whether the SE-generation 2 is a good model for your daughter -- the person I got it for doesn't have advanced needs for extra storage space, games, movies or that kind of thing that might tax the storage space. A teenager might run up against space limits faster.
posted by LobsterMitten at 3:00 PM on August 12 [1 favorite]
While teenagers are not known for the patience, I will mention that one advantage of new iPhones hitting the market in September is that it drives the cost of older phones down. So if there's any hope of waiting a few weeks (as the parent of a teen, I understand the humor in that idea) you might save some $$.
Otherwise, all of the advice above is great. Use Swappa or Gazelle or Amazon, I would NOT buy direct from a seller on FB or Craigslist. One side effect of moving from Android to Apple will be the little frictions like creating an Apple ID if she doesn't already have one, moving photos over if she wants, that sort of thing.
posted by griffey at 6:13 AM on August 13 [1 favorite]
Otherwise, all of the advice above is great. Use Swappa or Gazelle or Amazon, I would NOT buy direct from a seller on FB or Craigslist. One side effect of moving from Android to Apple will be the little frictions like creating an Apple ID if she doesn't already have one, moving photos over if she wants, that sort of thing.
posted by griffey at 6:13 AM on August 13 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks for the recommendations everyone! We've got a few potential phones to buy, and are going to consult with her on her preferences when she comes home from school this afternoon. We may try to hold out until the new iphones are on sale in September if she can stand to wait :-) But if not, I think we'll still be satisfied with the options we have now thanks to all of your advice!
posted by Reverend John at 12:57 PM on August 13
posted by Reverend John at 12:57 PM on August 13
I’ve used swappa and gazelle with success.
There is a new iPhone 16 coming out in a month or so which should drive down prices a tad for older models. iPhones do hold their value well overall, so don’t feel bad if you don’t want to wait.
For me the main decision point is around form factor (what size do you like?) and camera features.
posted by escher at 7:19 AM on August 14
There is a new iPhone 16 coming out in a month or so which should drive down prices a tad for older models. iPhones do hold their value well overall, so don’t feel bad if you don’t want to wait.
For me the main decision point is around form factor (what size do you like?) and camera features.
posted by escher at 7:19 AM on August 14
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If you want to save money, I think the most trustworthy place to get a refurbished iPhone is Amazon Renewed, which comes with a reasonable guarantee backed by Amazon.
Apple announces new iPhones each fall, but there are no rumors of a new iPhone SE this year, so I don't think there's much reason to wait, unless you're willing to wait a full year.
posted by caek at 10:53 AM on August 12