Posts tagged Sell

Sony Rejects Loeb's Call To Sell Part Of Its Movie And Music Unit

Activist shareholder Dan Loeb just called for Sony to sell up to 20% of its entertainment division, and Sony has already rejected the offer in a statement provided to USA Today. Third Point, a New York-based hedge fund managed by Loeb, owns roughly 6.5% of Sony, making it one of the company’s largest shareholders with a stake valued at $1.1 billion. 

By selling 15-20% of Sony Entertainment, Loeb claimed Sony could boost the value of its shares, sharpen the company’s overall focus and help revive its consumer electronics business. (Three guesses as to which one of those Loeb cares most about.) Sony’s statement reads: 

As President and CEO Kazuo Hirai has said repeatedly, the entertainment businesses are important contributors to Sony’s growth and are not for sale… We look forward to continuing constructive dialogue with our shareholders as we pursue our strategy.

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Microsoft Is Trying To Build – And Sell – A Kinder, Gentler Windows 8

Last weekend, the busiest spot at Fry’s Electronics in Concord, Calif., was the notebook PC aisle, where eager salespeople buzzed about from customer to customer, eager to show off Windows 8. It appears that this new, kinder, gentler approach to selling Windows 8 is part of a larger Microsoft strategy that involves both altering the software itself and improving the retail experience. 

Changes Coming For Windows 8

In a Wall Street Journal blog post earlier this week, Windows marketing chief Tami Reller described how Microsoft is working to overcome the perception that Windows 8 is frustrating and difficult to use – and said the company is working to both make Windows 8 easier to use and to better explain to shoppers the new operating system’s benefits and how to take advantage of them:

Without offering many details yet, Ms. Reller outlined how Microsoft is working on changing software features, helping people overcome obstacles to learning the revamped software, altering the shopping experience for consumers, getting more of people’s favorite apps available for Windows 8 and making sure a wider array of Windows 8 computing devices will be on sale.

The Journal also said Reller confirmed that Windows Blue is “both the codename for a coming update to Windows 8 – with additional features and improved services – as well as a name for a broader strategy shift to provide faster changes to its key software.” Significantly, Reller also promised a Windows Blue update “before late June” that would address user complaints about Windows 8.

How Is Windows 8 Selling?

Reller’s six-month update also revealed that Microsoft claims to have sold 100 million Windows 8 licenses, and that 250 million apps have been downloaded from the Windows Store in the same period, surpassing what Apple’s iOS store accomplished during the same period. The number of apps within the Store has grown six times since launch, Reller said, and almost 90% of the company’s app catalog has been downloaded each month.

Bob O’Donnell, an IDC analyst whose firm has blamed Microsoft for holding the PC industry back, told Bloomberg that he didn’t understand where Microsoft was getting its numbers, given that his sources at the PC were telling a different, less optimistic, story. 

Changing Perceptions Of Windows 8?

Whatever the numbers, the first small signs of the push to change perceptions bout Windows 8 were visible at Fry’s:

  • Placards that refer to the “familiar” Windows 8 desktop experience
  • Shifting the older, cheaper non-touch laptops away from the main floor
  • The constant attention from sales staff.

That last bit is a big deal: Fry’s is known for its sprawling stores and massive selection, but customer service and friend salespeople traditionally haven’t been its strengths. 



My wife and I were doing a bit of showrooming to find a touch-based Windows 8 notebook for the house. Fry’s Concord location boasted five or six aisles of notebooks. Each PC boasted two placards: one touting the benefits of a Fry’s card or financing, and one that promoted an Office discount. Microsoft’s card also highlighted ow to learn more about the PC, how to get to the “familiar” desktop, and how to “go back to Start.” Clearly, Microsoft does recognize that using Windows 8 isn’t as natural as it originally claimed, and is trying to help.



Several times during our visit my wife and I were approached by a salesperson offering to answer any questions – and one specifically offered more information about Windows 8. When we wandered back into the rear aisles with the older, cheaper, non-touch Windows notebooks, however, no one followed. Unfortunately, there were about four or five rows of these older PCs versus just two specifically dedicated to Windows 8.

(For comparison, at Best Buy a week earlier, I found an aisle of rather lonely Windows 8 machines sitting by themselves, with Microsoft promotional materials but little sales support.) 

Is This A Mea Culpa From Microsoft?

What matters here is that Microsoft finally seems willing to listen to its customers, to work with them to craft an experience that’s both productive and entertaining. And yes, when the occasion calls for it, help them over the purchasing hump. 

To be honest, though, after looking at them, my wife didn’t really want a Windows 8 machine. She seemed to like the Start screen, and swiping back and forth, but she didn’t really grasp how to launch a program within the Start screen by typing its name, nor how to how to enable the Charms by swiping in – or even what they were used for. 

Microsoft and the PC industry now seem to feel that the solution to the Windows 8 problem is a little hand-holding, and making sure everyone feels comfortable. That’s the right approach, let’s hope the coming changes to Windows and renewed emphasis on helping customers upgrade hasn’t arrived too late.

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Microsoft Is Trying To Sell Windows 8 To Enterprises, But Most Want Windows 7 Instead

While Microsoft is obviously having trouble convincing consumers to adopt Windows 8, its message is that enterprises have been far more accepting. It turns out that might not be true, either.

Last week, Forrester Research released a report claiming that Microsoft’s Windows 7 is used in about 50% of all enterprise installationss, based both on its own surveys as well as a sampling of the Web traffic across it own servers. That’s not surprising, given that Windows 7 was released to enterprises years ago, in mid-2009.

But what’s more shocking – and more worrisome to Microsoft – is a survey of IT professionals polled by Dell’s KACE systems management unit last week. It seems that even now, companies who are finally upgrading from Windows XP are turning away from Windows 8 in droves, selecting instead the older Windows 7 operating system. Of the 273 IT professionals who said that they’re upgrading from Windows XP, just 2% said they’re choosing Windows 8. The vast majority – 69% – said that they’re choosing Windows 7 instead.

2013: A Key Transition Year From Windows XP

For Microsoft and many of its customers, 2013 represents a key transitional year. Many of its enterprise customers will be forced to move away from Windows XP,  which Microsoft plans to cease supporting on April 8, 2014. Microsoft is eager to sell those customers an upgrade to Windows 8, Office 2013, and other services, while PC makers hope they’ll buy all new PCs, too.



In September of 2012, though, research firm Gartner warned enterprises that they should upgrade to Windows 7, not Windows 8. Gartner vice president Richard Kleynhans said then that he was aware of many enterprises doing just that. “Get Windows 7 done, and then you can start to experiment and dabble with Windows 8, but don’t let Windows 8 derail your Windows 7 upgrade project,” Kleynhans said.

That’s a lesson Dell customers apparently have apparently taken to heart. The reason, explained Lisa Richardson, a senior product manager for Dell KACE, is simple: complexity equals cost.

Transition Fatigue

“For a lot of them, it’s fatigue. It’s OS fatigue,” Richardson said. “It’s, ‘OK, we’re making this huge shift to Windows 7, we know it’s been tested, it’s been around, we have to move onto it.’ What we’re hearing from IT administrators is that there’s a challenge from moving to Windows 7 and its ribbon interface. But Windows 8 is an ever bigger shift in terms of user experience. And what I’m finding out is that because it’s such a big shift in user experience, such a huge jump from Windows XP to Windows 8, support calls are going to go up. That drives up support costs, and that turns off many IT administrators.”



The other big transition concern is applications compatibility, especially with line-of-business programs developed in house, Richardson reported. Compatibility issues, however, can crop in both Windows 7 and Windows 8.

In case you’re wondering, operating system upgrades are what Dell KACE does. The Dell KACE Deployment Appliance manages OS upgrades across enterprises (including apps, files, and operating systems), so IT admins participating in the survey have skin in the game. The survey participants represented a mix of existing KACE customers as well as prospective clients, Dell said.

Richardson added that 15% of the survey participants said they plan to deploy both Windows 8 and Windows 7, and 10% said they wouldn’t install either one. A second survey question indicated that 17% of participants had completed their upgrade, 18% were three-quarters done, and that an additional 13% said they were at least halfway done. But almost half (49%) said either that they were either less than halfway done or hadn’t even begun.

Forrester’s data, meanwhile, also gives an edge to Windows 7 over WIndows 8. The firm found that its Web traffic was about 50% Windows 7, with 47.5% of IT managers saying they’ve installed it. Windows XP still accounted for about 22.3% of traffic, or 38.2% of systems; Macs are about 14.6% of traffic, and 14.3% of self-reported employee PC ownership. Windows 8 was too new to make the IT survey, but represented just 1% of Forrester’s traffic from May 2012 through January 2013.

Windows 8 Or Windows 7: It’s Still Good News For Hardware Makers

No matter OS enterprises are upgrading to, Dell found, the time seems ripe for a hardware refresh. A lot of IT customers reported that PCs were being asked to last far longer than the previously standard three-year refresh cycle because of the effects of the recession – often five to six years. “Those systems couldn’t support either Windows 7 or Windows 8,”  Richardson said, in part because they don’t have big enough hard drives.




And hardware still matters, even as the trend toward mobile devices implies that the cloud is shouldering more of the workload. ”A stylized view suggests that computing is moving to the cloud and that platforms don’t matter anymore,” Forrester’s report concluded. “This stylized view couldn’t be more wrong — today and for the next five years or longer. The mobile revolution continues afoot, as users shift computing minutes from traditional PCs and Macs to tablets, smartphones, and new classes of devices like hybrids and convertibles.”

And that’s where the good news for Microsoft may be found. Richardson reported strong IT demand for Windows tablets – as supplemental devices, not as laptop replacements – to the point where Kace plans to add support for Windows 8 deployments on tablets.

The War For Windows? Or For PCs?

Forrester’s message is that platforms still matter. But listen closely to what Microsoft’s saying these days, and the interpretation changes.

“Businesses continue to value the Windows platform,” Chris Suh, general manager of Microsoft’s investor relations, said during the company’s recent conference call. “Volume licensing of Windows is on track to deliver almost $4 billion in revenue this year, and nearly three quarters of enterprise agreements that we’ve signed this year include Windows. Additionally, this quarter we saw continued progress in the transition of Windows XP to Windows 7, and now two thirds of enterprise desktops are running Windows 7.”

It’s all Windows, Windows, Windows. But notice the careful phrasing. Microsoft’s message is that businesses value Windows, not necessarily Windows 8.

For a company reacting to the alarm bells analysts are sounding on the future of the PC, Microsoft’s statements signify an important strategic retrenching: for years, Microsoft fought to establish its latest operating system to spearhead continued growth. As this data from Forrester and Dell shows, though, Microsoft may be forced to acknowledge that Windows 8 is a lost cause within the enterprise. The new, lesser goal may be simply trying to hold on to the Windows PC – any flavor of Windows PC.

Image courtesy of Shutterstock. Images of Windows XP, 7, 8 from Microsoft.com.

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SEO Evolution: Sell, Discover, Deliver & Report on Highly Converting Keywords – iMedia Connection (blog)


Siliconrepublic.com
SEO Evolution: Sell, Discover, Deliver & Report on Highly Converting Keywords
iMedia Connection (blog)
Highly Converting Keywords Over the past few months I have attended industry events in both Europe and the United States. During this time I have had in-depth conversations with many SEO professionals from SEO firms of all sizes about their challenges
Career memes of the week: SEO specialistSiliconrepublic.com
SEO and SEM: The Google tricks small businesses apparently don't useBIT
SEO Analytics Data to Pay Attention ToBusiness 2 Community
DigitalJournal.com (press release) -Media Week (registration) (blog) -Huffington Post (blog)
all 12 news articles »

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Why The Traditional Sales Model Can't Sell Enterprise Software

Guest author Indus Khaitan is a co-founder of Bitzer Mobile.

Classical sales models are an artifact of the assembly line economy. Manufacturing builds parts; assembles finished goods, ships them to a warehouse and relies on sales and marketing to bring in revenue. This is how cars, medicines, beauty products, books, food and beverages, and many other things have long been built and sold.

Applying the classical model to enterprise software is doomed to failure.

The 3 Components Of Classical Sales

Territories, quotas and commissions are the three components of the classical sales model:

1. Territories were created to increase customer coverage based on how far a sales representative can drive, meet a customer and be back home in the evening.

2. Quotas further divide a territory between multiple individuals or simply create a target number to help assess how much a territory could add to company revenues.

3. Commission plus a fixed monthly retainer constitute the total compensation. If the sales numbers are above the agreed quota, commissions may be higher.

Why It Doesn’t Work For Enterprise Software

The buying process of enterprise software is fundamentally different today, making the classical sales model obsolete:

1. Buyers are informed. Thanks to Internet, people know about the product before they start a conversation with a software vendor. As a result, few buyers are willing to spend time with classical sales professionals. Instead of a sales pitch, they are looking for thought leadership, education and the advice of a trusted partner. The new rule is, “show me how you’ll solve my problem,” not “tell me about your product.”

2. Inbound Marketing is trumping outbound marketing. Prospects discover a product or a company via influencers, search engines and other channels before they start a conversation. Website content, videos, product literature, blog posts and so on enable customers to understand the product before they meet a salesperson. Inbound marketing helps them self-select or eliminate a product.

3. Enterprise software is assembled after buying. Software does not work in isolation; it gets orchestrated with pre-existing pieces. An enterprise solution is a sum of individual parts a company may have bought from multiple vendors. A database, a middleware server, an identity framework, an application builder, a security appliance… the list goes on. Fast-paced innovation is creating companies that are good at one or two things and enterprise customers may be looking for a collection of best-of-breed products.

4. Multi-functional teams work for closing deals. As the complexity of software grows, product management, R&D and sales must work together to create a “solution” before a purchase transaction is made. The days of individually “shrink-wrapped” software is over; even ordinary enterprise apps are produced using a variety of enterprise tools working together, each serving its own purpose.

5. Buyers are distributed across geographies. In today’s connected world, a lead in the sales funnel may originate from New York, but the decision makers are based out of Washington DC while the implementation team is based in India.

In the new normal, enterprise software buyers increasingly seek solution white-boarding sessions – not sales pitches. Traditional sales models simply can’t cope with the changes, but effective replacements have yet to appear. Until a solution is developed, enterprise software vendors – and buyers – will find themselves under increasing pressure.

 

Image courtesy of Shutterstock.

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The Facebook Phone Can’t Change Your Life, And That’s A Hard Sell For HTC

Smartphone manufacturer HTC is no longer “quietly brilliant.” HTC now wants to be as in your face as possible to attract consumers from the likes of Apple and Samsung. What better way for HTC to make a major splash than by being the manufacturer of the so-called “Facebook Phone” the social network is expected to be announced this week?

That is, of course, if anybody actually wants a Facebook Phone. There is serious doubt if that will actually be the case. If nobody wants to buy a phone with tightly integrated Facebook skin, HTC will have spent a significant amount of time and probably a fair amount of money on a project that will see no tangible returns. That can be bad for HTC, a once-proud company with dwindling sales that only has so many bullets it can fire into the Smartphone Wars before its armory turns up empty.



HTC Salsa

A History With Facebook

For nearly two years, HTC has been rumored to be working with Facebook in the so-called “Project Buffy.” The project, named after Joss Whedon’s cult TV show Buffy The Vampire Slayer, is supposed to be a smartphone that runs some type of Facebook-styled mobile operating system on custom hardware. Facebook supposedly was looking for hardware engineers and mobile operating system developers to help turn the dream into reality. 

The most likely outcome, as I pointed out in May 2012, was that Facebook would take a kernel from Google’s Android and fork it into its own operating system in the same way that Amazon has done with the Kindle Fire. According to TechCrunch’s Josh Constine, the operating system for the Facebook Phone will be less of a true fork from Android and more of an “application layer” – a skin on Android in the same vein of Samsung’s TouchWiz, HTC Sense and the now-defunct MotoBlur from Motorola. 

HTC has worked with Facebook before. The Taiwanese mobile manufacturer released the “HTC Status” (also known as the HTC ChaCha) in 2011 with a “dedicated Facebook button.” That button was essentially a hardware feature that launched the Facebook Android app. HTC also made the “Salsa” with Facebook buttons that it showed off at Mobile World Congress in 2011. 

You ever see anybody using a ChaCha/Status? Anywhere? Not bloody likely. And that could be a problem for HTC with this new Facebook Phone.

Identifying Consumers

As ReadWrite editor Brian Proffitt wrote this morning, Facebook is going to have a hell of a time trying to figure out who to sell this device to. Businesses won’t want it. Neither will teenagers. 



HTC ChaCha

In the smartphone industry, there is a very delicate line for success when it comes to mobile operating systems. Essentially, you need a value play for your core business to make it work. Apple’s value is the hardware and profit margins it reaps. Google’s value from Android is to learn more about its users so to be able to better sell them advertising. BlackBerry traditionally was aimed at enterprises but had no clear advantage for regular consumers, who switched to Android/iPhone when the value became clear. Similarly, Microsoft’s Windows Mobile CE faded when its value proposition (other than merely existing) was eroded by Android/iOS. Microsoft has not been able to build a consistent following of its new Windows Phone products because of that same lack of a value proposition.

Targeting the value proposition will make it difficult for upstarts to enter the field. For instance, what does Canonical really have to offer to consumers that is also of value to its core business with an Ubuntu mobile operating system? Same goes for Tizen or Firefox OS. 

And now, apparently, for Facebook.

Facebook’s play is very similar to Google’s. The more it knows about its users, the better it can serve them advertising. A Facebook Phone would tell the social giant a lot about its users. It could then push users to its contextual Facebook Graph Search and serve them ads through it. Facebook could also integrate its various Android apps (Messenger, Camera etc.) and application store to offer more value and context. 

You know what? Google already does that and probably will do it better. It has been imagining Android and its future for a long time and each successive iteration is better, more contextual and slicker looking than the last. Facebook has neither the experience or the time to match Android. 

That leaves HTC in Lame Duck Limbo.  

ReadWrite writer Brian Hall points out that Facebook might not even need a Facebook Phone. If Facebook lacks an original value proposition, then HTC is going to have a hell of a time trying to sell a Facebook Phone. 

Bring In The Noise, Bring In The Funk

Where does that leave HTC in its battle to regain market share and respectability? 

Basically, to make a lot of noise.

Expect a heavy series of marketing and advertising from both Facebook and HTC about a Facebook Phone. In autumn 2012, HTC said that one of the reasons it had fallen behind was the lack of effective marketing. At the time, we pointed out that HTC’s problems went way beyond marketing. That will likely be the case here as well. It doesn’t matter how much noise a company makes if it is selling a product that nobody wants. 

Top image: Facebook “favorites” from Facebook Mobile.

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Lack Of Value Proposition Makes Facebook Phone Hard Sell For HTC

Smartphone manufacturer HTC is no longer “quietly brilliant.” HTC now wants to be as in your face as possible to attract consumers from the likes of Apple and Samsung. What better way for HTC to make a major splash than by being the manufacturer of the so-called “Facebook Phone” that is expected to be announced this week?

That is, of course, if anybody actually wants a Facebook Phone. There is serious doubt if that will actually be the case. If nobody wants to buy a phone with tightly integrated Facebook skin, HTC will have spent a significant amount of time and probably a fair amount of money on a project that will see no tangible returns. That can be bad for HTC, a once-proud company with dwindling sales that only has so many bullets it can fire into the Smartphone Wars before its armory turns up empty.



HTC Salsa

A History With Facebook

For nearly two years, HTC has been rumored to be working with Facebook in the so-called “Project Buffy.” The project, named after Joss Whedon’s cult TV show Buffy The Vampire Slayer, is supposed to be a smartphone that runs some type of Facebook-styled mobile operating system on custom hardware. Facebook supposedly was looking for hardware engineers and mobile operating system developers to help turn the dream into reality. 

The most likely outcome, as I pointed out in May 2012, was that Facebook would take a kernel from Google’s Android and fork it into its own operating system in the same way that Amazon has done with the Kindle Fire. According to TechCrunch’s Josh Constine, the operating system for the Facebook Phone will be less of a true fork from Android and more of an “application layer” – a skin on Android in the same vein of Samsung’s TouchWiz, HTC Sense and the now-defunct MotoBlur from Motorola. 

HTC has worked with Facebook before. The Taiwanese mobile manufacturer released the “HTC Status” (also known as the HTC ChaCha) in 2011 with a “dedicated Facebook button.” That button was essentially a hardware feature that launched the Facebook Android app. HTC also made the “Salsa” with Facebook buttons that it showed off at Mobile World Congress in 2011. 

You ever see anybody using a ChaCha/Status? Anywhere? Not bloody likely. And that could be a problem for HTC with this new Facebook Phone.

Identifying Consumers

As ReadWrite editor Brian Proffitt wrote this morning, Facebook is going to have a hell of a time trying to figure out who to sell this device to. Businesses won’t want it. Neither will teenagers. 



HTC ChaCha

In the smartphone industry, there is a very delicate line for success when it comes to mobile operating systems. Essentially, you need a value play for your core business to make it work. Apple’s value is the hardware and profit margins it reaps. Google’s value from Android is to learn more about its users so to be able to better sell them advertising. BlackBerry traditionally was aimed at enterprises but had no clear advantage for regular consumers, who switched to Android/iPhone when the value became clear. Similarly, Microsoft’s Windows Mobile CE faded when its value proposition (other than merely existing) was eroded by Android/iOS. Microsoft has not been able to build a consistent following of its new Windows Phone products because of that same lack of a value proposition.

Targeting the value proposition will make it difficult for upstarts to enter the field. For instance, what does Canonical really have to offer to consumers that is also of value to its core business with an Ubuntu mobile operating system? Same goes for Tizen or Firefox OS. 

And now, apparently, for Facebook.

Facebook’s play is very similar to Google’s. The more it knows about its users, the better it can serve them advertising. A Facebook Phone would tell the social giant a lot about its users. It could then push users to its contextual Facebook Graph Search and serve them ads through it. Facebook could also integrate its various Android apps (Messenger, Camera etc.) and application store to offer more value and context. 

You know what? Google already does that and probably will do it better. It has been imagining Android and its future for a long time and each successive iteration is better, more contextual and slicker looking than the last. Facebook has neither the experience or the time to match Android. 

That leaves HTC in Lame Duck Limbo.  

ReadWrite writer Brian Hall points out that Facebook might not even need a Facebook Phone. If Facebook lacks an original value proposition, then HTC is going to have a hell of a time trying to sell a Facebook Phone. 

Bring In The Noise, Bring In The Funk

Where does that leave HTC in its battle to regain market share and respectability? 

Basically, to make a lot of noise.

Expect a heavy series of marketing and advertising from both Facebook and HTC about a Facebook Phone. In autumn 2012, HTC said that one of the reasons it had fallen behind was the lack of effective marketing. At the time, we pointed out that HTC’s problems went way beyond marketing. That will likely be the case here as well. It doesn’t matter how much noise a company makes if it is selling a product that nobody wants. 

Top image: Facebook “favorites” from Facebook Mobile.

View full post on ReadWrite

Sell More with a Quality Ecommerce Website

  eCommerce websites are designed to sell – it’s their main goal, but, sadly in reality, we often see online retailers using the copy of the product manufacturer to describe to the potential customer its characteristics and value; often repeating inadequate copy on every service or product they sell on their website and failing to [...]

Author information

Sandra Miller

Sandra Miller

Sandra Miller is a freelance writer from Brooklyn, loves writing ecommerce tips. You can reach her at Google+.

The post Sell More with a Quality Ecommerce Website appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

View full post on Search Engine Journal

Sell More with Quality Ecommerce Website

  eCommerce websites are designed to sell – it’s their main goal, but, sadly in reality, we often see online retailers using the copy of the product manufacturer to describe to the potential customer its characteristics and value; often repeating inadequate copy on every service or product they sell on their website and failing to [...]

Author information

Sandra Miller

Sandra Miller

Sandra Miller is a freelance writer from Brooklyn, loves writing ecommerce tips. You can reach her at Google+.

The post Sell More with Quality Ecommerce Website appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

View full post on Search Engine Journal

Buying An iPhone 5? Sell Your Old Phone At uSell.com




This post is sponsored by uSell, a price-comparison website that helps you find the best price when it’s time to sell your iPhone, Blackberry, smartphones, and other used electronics. Find reputable buyers for your used devices on uSell. #selliPhone

Congrats on your snazzy new iPhone 5. The retina display is brilliant, the camera takes fantastic pictures, and the battery is the envy of all your friends. But now what do you do with your old phone?

Options For Your Existing Devices

The obvious answer is “sell it,” but where? And how much should you charge?

You could sell it to your mobile carrier, but you won’t make market rate, particularly if your phone is more than a few months old. Auctions are a popular option for the adventurous, because they pay better than the carriers do, but they’re a gamble. Buyers change their minds, you might price your phone too high or low. Even if you do find a buyer at an agreeable, you still have to worry about packing, shipping and payment.

If you want to skip the auction circus and get on with enjoying your new iPhone, you could always sell your phone to a reseller. Resellers take the guesswork out of device sales, quoting you a fair, fixed price, and often provide free packaging and shipping. You send the phone, they send a check, and you both part ways happy.

The trick with resellers is finding the best deal. One reseller may be able to move AT&T phones, but have trouble with Verizon devices, for example, so payouts between resellers can vary by more than $100 for the same device.

uSell.com: A Reseller-Comparison Shopping Engine

That’s where uSell.com comes in. uSell partners with dozens of resellers and helps you find the right one for your device. Just answer a few questions about your iPhone’s model, carrier and condition, and uSell returns a list of resellers that are interested. You can sort the list by uSell’s own “best fit,” customer reviews, or price.




Those prices are actually pretty good. We checked eBay for sold iPhone 4S listings over the past month, and uSell’s reseller offers were extremely competitive. A 64GB Verizon 4S tended to sell for $220 to $285 on eBay, before fees and shipping. uSell found a fee-free $235. The same phone on AT&T’s network went for $150 to $320 on eBay, and uSell found us an even $300, with free shipping and no hassle. They even found a buyer for an original 2G iPhone.

Of course, not everyone is trading in an iPhone. if you’re stepping up from a different device, you’re still covered. uSell partners with resellers for all types of cell phones, as well as tablets, game consoles, cameras, and other electronics.




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