That’s right folks, it’s Apple season (both literally and figuratively). That wonderful time of year to enjoy a delicious crisp and tasty gift from nature. Also that time when a certain huge corporation decides they need a new product to appease the masses for yet another year. So find yourself some delicious in-season apples from your local grocer, alternatively finish reading this blog post to find out why it’s REALLY Apple season.

If you’re an iPhone user, and many of you probably are, then you know the kind of demand that iPhones generate from its loyal fan base. Each year new iPhones are released and each year, thousands of people line up outside of Apple stores just to be the first ones to have the latest and greatest new toy. Personally I can do without all the hype, but what I do enjoy is the consistently high resale values that Apple products retain. Any time there is such great demand for a product, there is money to be made, and not just by Apple.

If you own an iPhone, there’s a good chance you’ve seen or heard advertising from companies willing to buy your iPhone for cash. They will even send you shipping labels to make it easy. So many companies do this now that some base their entire business model upon the resale of iPhones. And when people are quick to take whatever money they are offered, just for the convenience of a quick sale, it’s kind of a win-win. You get money and they get to make money.

While these people are clamoring to get their hands on the latest fancy iPhone 5S in the next revolutionary gold-ish color, I sit and wait keeping my eyes on the ads for under-priced offerings from the loyal fans waiting to get their next fix. I buy them up, take a few nice photos and get top-dollar for them on eBay, something they easily could have done themselves if they were willing to put in the few extra minutes of effort it takes to do so. I shoot for at least $100 in profit from each device I sell and I can usually turn them around in about a week. The tricky part is knowing the true value of your device, but this is pretty easy to remedy by looking at completed listings on eBay and checking Apple product valuation sites such as mac2sell.net.

Whenever a new iPhone comes out, you can expect a flood of old models to hit the market, waiting to be snatched up by savvy shoppers like myself. To date I’ve spent $14819 on used Apple products (not just iPhones) and resold them for $18697, a profit of $2385 (after fees) or about a 16% return on my investment, much better than you’ll get from a lot of investments. It’s a little extra cash in my pocket and most of the sellers are happy with their sale since I usually pay more than the popular sites like Gazelle.com.

So if you’re in the market for a new iPhone or whatever fancy new iDevice comes out next, remember that for a few extra minutes of work you can squeeze a bit more money out of your sale if you sell to the right audience. There are more risks involved and it won’t be instant gratification but it will often be worth your time. But if you prefer the instant gratification be sure to hit me up first so we can make a deal. I might be in the market.

Earnings:
$18,697 (sales) – $14,819 (investment) – $1,493 (fees) = $2,385 (profit)