IPhones hold their trade-in value better than most aging electronics. NextWorth pays an average of $200 for a 16 GB iPhone 3GS in good condition.

That's also what a brand-new 16 GB iPhone 4 costs -- but only with the subsidy AT&T offers to buyers who take out a new, two-year service contract. Buy an iPhone 4 without the contract, and you'll pay $599 for that 16 GB phone.

If iPhone owners break or lose their phones before their contract is up, they need to buy a new, unsubsidized one if they want a replacement. The phones' stiff list prices, starting at $499 for an 8 GB model, drive many buyers to the secondary market.

The result: Brisk demand for used iPhones in good condition. A now-outdated iPhone 3GS can still fetch $300 to $400 on eBay.

Once it buys a phone, NextWorth wipes the data, does light refurbishing work, and resells the phone on the secondary market. Some go to wholesalers and insurance companies, while others are listed on eBay or Amazon.com.NextWorth also snaps up broken or damaged iPhones.

"There's a large market for folks that just want the parts," Chen said.

 "We're trying, as a company, to divert goods away from the waste stream and keep them from ending up in a landfill."
Rival recycler Gazelle

Gazelle has purchased 17,000 old iPhones from customers since Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced the iPhone 4 on June 7, spokeswoman Kristina Kennedy said.

Gazelle took a direct approach to cashing in on the iPhone 4 mania:

It sponsored notorious first-in-liner Greg Packer, who led the flock of campers waiting for days at Apple's flagship store on Fifth Avenue in New York City. The company paid Packer $250 for each day he spent in line, wearing a Gazelle t-shirt.

"It's been a pretty exciting time for us," Kennedy said.

"Usually when the iPhone comes out we always see a really strong spike in our business."

But this year, it's on a whole new level. Gazelle got around 150 trade-ins a day last year when the iPhone 3GS came out. Since the iPhone 4's unveiling, the average has leaped to 1,200 a day.

More than 90% of the iPhones Gazelle buys are in good condition. They're then resold at retail outlets like eBay, Amazon.com and Overstock.com. Broken iPhones are resold to wholesalers.

"Broken iPhones are one of the few products that still hold value because the parts are so valuable," Kennedy said.

Gazelle pays about $50 for a dead one.

"IPod touches and iPhones are invaluable to teachers, and are being used more and more in classrooms as teaching tools that draw kids in and engage them in a way that other teaching tools and text books haven't," Glinberg said.

"Every day there are more and more apps in the App Store's education category."

It's a whole new twist on giving the teacher an Apple.

Where do old iPhones go to die?

Some, inevitably, wind up in the trash or the back of a junk drawer.
But many find their way into the secondhand phone markets. So far, in one day more than 5,000 iPhone 3GS units were available on eBay. Read the full article

Broken iPhones on eBay

Apple iPhone 4 16GB Logicboard Motherboard Broken for Parts or Fix US $119.99 Get More Details

Apple iPhone 4 8GB Sprint BROKEN Sprint 501 US $197.50 Get More Details

Apple iPhone 4 8GB Black ATT BROKEN LCD WITH SPARE PARTS AND BACK US $240.00 Get More Details

Iphone 3gs 16gb White Not Working US $80.00 Get More Details

Jail Broken unlocked 16g Iphone White US $225.00 Get More Details

Apple iPhone 1st Generation 8GB For PARTS non working US $20.50 Get More Details