First-Gen iPhone Sprouts a Cottage Industry…an excerpt

The cottage industry for used Apple iPhones is no secret, thanks to eBay and a sizable gray market, especially overseas.  A new company, Freeiphoneswap, hopes to simplify the process for sellers by eliminating the need to deal with strangers and by offering enough money to cover the purchase of a new iPhone 3G.

Sam Hickson, who runs the as-yet unincorporated company, said there are two sales methods.  Consumers can mail old iPhones to a location in New Jersey and then receive a check or a PayPal transfer, or they can visit what Hickson calls “street teams” staffed by models and temps who buy old iPhones on-site.  He said teams will open today in Atlanta, Long Beach, Miami and New York.

The current payments are $100, $200 and $300 depending on the exact model of iPhone.  Only a small portion of the phones are resold; most are partially recycled and partially sold for components, with 10% of trade-in proceeds going to youth educational programs, Hickson said.

VS

---

Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)

• Aiptek debuts USB-powered T20 pico projector, T30 model for iPods