iPhone 5 Will Hinder Resale Value For Previous iPhones
As the iPhone 5 approaches, current iPhone users will be looking for ways to upgrade to the new device in the most cost efficient manner possible. A lot of current iPhone users will be looking to resell their current iPhone 3G, 3GS or iPhone 4 and then apply those funds to the new iPhone 5.
The problem that current iPhone users are going to face is the trend of decreasing market value of previous and current models as the new iPhone approaches. This trend has been seen each time a new iPhone model gets released.
According to research revealed on BGR, the average selling price of Apple’s iPhone 3GS and iPhone 3G models sold on eBay last year began to decline rapidly in mid-May according to the data, dropping between 10% and 15% by the time Apple announced the iPhone 4 on June 7th. The mere anticipation of a next-generation model is enough to send iPhone resale values south.
By the time Apple’s iPhone 4 launched in late June 2010, eBay resale values of the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 3G had dropped roughly 22% and 27% respectively, and they continued to decline until the middle of July.
Additional factors that are going to drive the demand for the iPhone 5 are reports that suppliers are already struggling with demand from Apple and that production is already way behind scheduled.
Just like every previous iPhone launch to date, when the iPhone 5 launches there will be near instant sell outs of supply at local retailers. The same situation will unfold online as the online inventory of iPhone 5′s will be wiped out overnight.
With manufacturing already falling behind in production, it’s expected that the iPhone 5 supply will not fully catch up to global demand until well into 2012. So with that being said, it might just be worth waiting out the storm and looking to pick up your new iPhone 5 after the holiday seasons. Much like the iPhone 4 scenario, I can walk into AT&T or Verizon and pick up an iPhone 4 instantly – same holds true online at places like Ebay and Amazon.
By waiting out the iPhone 5 frenzy, and waiting until some more apply supply is delivered, you’ll give yourself a much better chance of scoring your iPhone 5 without all the headaches.
