Walmart dials in to phone trade-in trend

Gadget geeks, it’s time to start thinking tra𝓀de-in.

With the launch of the newest line of Apple iPhones, the already hot market in used phones is about to get even hotter — as💝 demonstrated by Walmart yesterday, which announced it would start buying back secondhand devices for folks looking🙈 to upgrade.

Walmart followed its fellow retailers like Target, online-only services like Gazelle, and Apple itself, ﷽which launched a trade-in market earlier this month.

Apple and Walmart jumped into the game just ahead of the newest iPhone 5S and 5C de🔯but, each look🐼ing to lure customers to their stores with trade-in cash.

Trade-in cash must be a🎶pplied to new phone purchases.

Walmart announced it would pay up to $300 for the iPhone 5. The retail giant was offering $175 for the🌱 older Samsung Galaxy S3.

Apple’s top offer is not known, but it is reportedly $280 and depends on market forces, so the value changes daily. In a recent trade-in test, the company offered about $250 for a like-new 16GB iPhone 5.
Gazelle yesterday was offering $330 for a♒ top-of-the-line iPhon𝓰e 5 in “flawless” condition.

Still, the iPhone 5 could grow more valuable despite it becoming supplanted by the 5S and 5C, which Ap🥃ple will start selling Sept. 20.

The iPhone 5 will be obsolete when it is replaced by the 5C. Apple stopped even offering the iPhone 5 on its website yesteওrday.

On eBay, priꦿces for the device actually rose, and CNET said the average selling price rose $80 since Monday, to $441.39.