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Gazelle sees iPhone trade-in offers double into iPhone 6s event, raises cash payouts for Verizon models

The nation's leading electronics buyback service said Tuesday that customers are requesting cash payout offers for their old iPhones at nearly twice the volume as last year. It also raised payouts for recent Verizon iPhones to as much as $481 for an iPhone 6+, $426 for an iPhone 6, and $206 for an iPhone 5s.

Gazelle, an AppleInider sponsor and one of two recommended trade-in partners, said it's was serving nearly 4 payout offers per second to customers on its website leading into Wednesday's iPhone 6s introduction, which is up 95%, of nearly double the amount of offers seen the day before last year's iPhone 6 unveiling.

On Monday, the last full day for which the Gazelle has stats, iPhone 5s trade-ins represented 41% of the total trade in volume. The iPhone 5s was also the most traded-in iPhone over the past week, accounting for 35% of all volume, while iPhone 6 trade-ins accounted for 27% and iPhone 6+ another 15%. In total, iPhone trade-ins rose over 120% for the week.

Over the past two weeks, the company has also seen Apple TV trade-ins spike 85% and iPad trade-ins rise 15%, as there are expectations that Apple will unveil updates to those product lines on Wednesday as well.

Gazelle is a company which pays consumers in cash for their old electronics, competing with alternatives such as NextWorth and Amazon and platforms such as eBay and Craigslist.

Gazelle strives to be quickest, most streamlined service for the average consumer looking to turn their old hardware into cash, be it for funds to pay for groceries or to help offset the cost of yet another iPhone upgrade. Total commitment time is only a few minutes, from locking in a payout offer online to receiving funds in your mailbox or PayPal account.

This convenience sometime comes at a small cost. For instance, if you have the time to set up and manage an eBay auction or are willing to meet one of the folks on Craigslist looking to purchase a used iPhone, you'd be getting right around $500 for an 64GB Silver Verizon Phone 6 this week compared to the $461 that Gazelle is offering. Amazon, meanwhile, is paying $462 in Amazon dollars (not cash) while NextWorth is offering $375.

Gazelle doesn't typically price match competitors, but this year it's running a promotion through September 9th (tomorrow) where it will beat any trade-in offer from Apple or one of its 4 big wireless carriers. You can read more about this promotion, how Gazelle works, and why this week is a critical time to lock in your cash payout (valid for 30 days) before payouts begin their slow but inevitable decline.

As a Gazelle partner, AppleInsider also maintains a listing of the company's trade-in payouts in its Trade-in Payout Guide all year long. Current iPhone payouts from this guide can also be seen below: