Thar’s gold in them thar used iphones

It’s only been a year since the release of the iPhone 4S, but that hasn’t stopped users who aren’t eligible for an upgrade from shelling out hundreds on the newest model.

To help cover the cost of the iPhone 5, which can run customers between $450 and $650 for an “early upgrade,” and between $650 and $850 for a contractfree phone from Verizon, Sprint or AT&T, more and more people are hawking their old smartphones online.

Sites like Usell.com, which offers sellers a list of userranked bids for their used hardware, saw huge increases in activity following the iPhone 5 announcement.

“We saw the number of searches for iPhone 4’s and 4S’s go up by 50 percent postannouncement, and the number of sales go up by 100 percent,” said CEO Dan Brauser.

On Usell, a 32GB iPhone 4 in good condition can fetch $130, and a 32GB 4S can draw in $210. Competitor Gazelle.com shows similar price quotes of $149 and $205 for the two models.

Apple’s own “Recycling Program,” which now accepts the 4S, offers gift cards of $250 for 32G units with nor mal wear and tear.

At prices of $199, $299 and $399, depending on gigabytes, the most costeffective time to buy the iPhone 5 is still when a customer signs a new contract or is eligible for an upgrade — a varying time frame of about 20 months, as carrier agreements help subsidize the phone’s cost. But the tradein sites present an easement, if not an alternative, to those who refuse to wait.

“People are trading in their phones in less than two years on average,” said Brauser. “But they’ve got a useful life of four or five years — these are minicomputers we’re talking about.”

Customers who hold onto their tiny machines can often get the latest models at steep discounts when their contracts expire and they trade in for an upgrade.

To complete a sale, sellers on Usell mail their electronics via prepaid envelopes to buyers — typically companies that sell through wholesale channels and to overseas markets. Once the device has been inspected, the buyer then pays by PayPal or check.

Oldschool iPhones can also help contribute to the cause — the original iPhones currently trade on the site for $10 for a slice of history.