iPhone 5 release: How to get $200 for your old iPhone

It's finally here. The iPhone 5: A new phone from Apple that's thinner, lighter, and for the first time, will have a larger screen.

Now the question is: If you are thinking of upgrading, what's your old phone worth?

Why People Want the New Phone

Apple's new phone ships to stores next Friday, Sept. 21 and it is expected to sell as many as 10 million phones in the just the first few weeks. 

It has many improvements over the 4S:

     -It's faster than the 4S.

     -It uses the 4G network, including the super fast 4G LTE.

     -It has Apple's new mapping program, instead of Google maps.

    -It has a better camera, with improved night capability, a panoramic feature, and the ability to take still photos while shooting video.

     -The most obvious change: it's taller, with a four-inch diagonal screen instead of the current phones 3.5-inch screen.

What About Trade-In?

So if you want one, what's your old phone worth on trade-in?

As of Tuesday, Sept. 11, Gazelle and Nextworth were offering:

      -$277 for the 16 Gig AT&T iPhone 4S

     -$145 for the older 8 Gig iPhone 4.

Unfortunately, CNN says prices on trade in prices are falling fast, because the resale market is about to be flooded.

We saw that when we checked two days later. As of Thursday, Sept. 13, Gazelle had lowered its offers to:

     - $248 for the 16 Gig AT&T iPhone 4S

     - $110 for the 8 Gig iPhone 4.

These are price quotes for AT&T phones. Verizon and Sprint phones are worth slightly less.

On Sept. 21, the date of the release, expect a much bigger drop in trade-in values.

Lock in a price sooner, rather than later

Assuming you get $200, that's not chump change, so it may be worth locking in to a trade-in price now.  You have 30 days to then mail in your phone.

Assuming you can get a decent price for your old phone, the new iPhone 5 will cost you $199 dollars at AT&T,  Verizon, or Sprint, with a two-year contract.

Whatever you decide to do, don't waste your money.

As always don't waste your money.