If you’re like me, you tend to upgrade about once a year.  Obviously if you just bought an iPhone, you’re going to want to sell your Apple iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus to trade up to an iPhone 7 or something similar in the near future.  Obviously you’re going to want to make the most of your high performance lifestyle.

Treat the entire package like cash, because it will be.

When you buy your iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus on contract or simply with cash, be sure to immediately place all original instructions and packaging somewhere safe where you will easily be able to find it later. Here’s the deal.  You will get more cash for your phone if you have all of the original (OEM) packaging and instructions in near mint condition. Just think of it like you would think of any other collectable.  The packaging is an essential part of the resell process, so you’re going to want to keep it intact.

Stay Protected to Increase Resell Value

Carrying your iPhone around unprotected may look cool, but chances are, the slightest drop will at least put a scuff mark on it, and may be the drop that finally shatters the screen.  So go ahead and buy and install screen protector and an adequate case for it before you take it out of the original packaging. And just know, that the first time you remove your case and decide to carry it without it, will likely be the time you drop it.

I went months without dropping my phone.  One day I saw a good friend who didn’t have a case on her phone, so I gave her mine.  3 days later, my screen was busted.  I had already ordered a replacement case, but it simply hadn’t come in yet.

So here we are with an expensive screen replacement, simply because I didn’t blow $20 on a simple case. It doesn’t matter how strong people say the glass lens is, the less general wear your phone has, the more it is worth when you want to sell it. You may want to go ahead and purchase a waterproof, or water resistant case if you live or work around large amounts of water.

Upgrade Early and Often

If you have a chance to upgrade, go for it.  The longer you wait, the less your old phone will be worth. Watch for trends and news about upcoming releases. Chances are your phone will “plummet in value” quickly once a new device is on the market.

Factory Restore

If you do part with a device, make sure that you do a factory reset, and clear it from your user account and iCloud. By doing so, whoever buys this is going to be much happier.  Plus they don’t have to sift through 1005 selfies and dinner pics.

Clean out your drawers!

Don’t let your mobile devices go to waste. If you have mobile phones, ipods and tablets just laying around then consider donating or selling them now. They are less valuable every single day you wait.  Just because you don’t use it, doesn’t mean that someone else wouldn’t love to. At the very least the electronics can be torn apart and melted down for raw metals. Selling, donating or even recycling is better than leaving your old devices packed away in your home just to be thrown out with the garbage.

Get them back on the market.

There are plenty of websites like Gazelle and eBay that want you to mail them in for evaluation or simply post them as an auction. Of course you could always put them on Craigslist, but is it worth the risk?  I recommend just walking into your local Phone Doctors. At Phone Doctors you will receive market rate, based on condition, right away, instead of having to wait 10 days or so on an auction or evaluation.