Used Phone Depreciation?

[ouch1976]

I'm wondering about the depreciation rates on phones. From my experience, high end devices tend to stay in the $350-$450 for up to 1 year after release, while the mid-tier devices drop to $200 pretty quickly. And after 1 year, most high-end devices drop to the $200-250 price for about another 6 months. Finally, after 1.5-2 years after release, a high end device demand has disappeared and the phones can be had for slightly over $100.

So, with that being said, can it be determined when is the optimal time to sell your phone?

In my situation, I have an S3, a RAZR MAXX HD and a Galaxy Nexus. All great devices and they can handle anything I need them to do. I can probably sell the S3 (~9 months old) for about $350. The RAZR MAXX HD (~5 months old) can be sold for around $450. And the GNex (almost 1.5 years old) is still going for $200.

If it were just a financial decision, which phone is the best option to keep?

 

[Mostly Harmless]

Simple math:

S3+GN=$550
S3+Maxx=$800
Maxx+GN=$650

Keep the GN and sell the rest.

 

[ouch1976]

It's not as simple as that...I'm likely to switch devices in the next 3-6 months. And I'm guessing that each phone will depreciate about $100 over that time frame. So, technically, it really shouldn't matter. But I guess I need to determine which phone will depreciate the least...

 

[valorian]

Are any of the phones rooted? Rooted phones are often times more desirable so you can ask a little more for them.

 

[ouch1976]

Are any of the phones rooted? Rooted phones are often times more desirable so you can ask a little more for them.

Nope, they are all stock. I'm surprised to hear that rooted phones are priced at a premium. I tend to stay away from rooted devices because you never know if the person rooting it screwed something up in the process.

If someone is going to screw up my $300 device, it better be me!

 

[Mostly Harmless]

I still stick to what I said, selling the S3 and Maxx right now makes the most sense. If you wait they will just go down in price, specially with the S4 being announced.