iPhone update debuts Tuesday. Why not get cash for your old iPhone?

With the expected release Tuesday of the next iPhone, some owners of the current version of Apple Inc.'s hit phone won't sit home and grumble. They'll sell, then upgrade.

Smartphones and other tech gear that are rendered obsolete by the latest version, or just get a little old, certainly are far too valuable to stash in a drawer and forget about. In fact, with an iPhone, you might be able to sell it for nearly the price you paid. But you have to know how to play the "recommerce" game to get top dollar.

Recommerce isn't just for iPhones but for many of today's tech gadgets, from BlackBerry phones to Xbox gaming consoles to laptop and tablet computers. Some consumers are seeking cash, while others just want a "green" way to dispose of their electronics.

"The very worst thing you can do from an economic and an ecological perspective is stick it in your drawer and later throw it in your trash," said Joe McKeown, vice president of marketing and communication for phone buyback site, ReCellular.com. "It's the right thing to do for your pocketbook and the environment."

Used iPhones are an extreme case because they are always in high demand.

Like the price of a stock, price quotes for used iPhones fluctuate on websites that buy gadgets from consumers. Prices vary more on product-launch days like Tuesday. The difference Tuesday between selling in the morning and evening can be real money.

"We anticipate this will be the biggest event in recommerce to date," said Kristina Kennedy, spokeswoman for Gazelle.com, which buys used electronics. Shortly after Apple announced Tuesday's news conference about the iPhone, Gazelle's traffic spiked. There was a period where people were locking in a price to sell their old iPhones at the rate of one every 10 seconds on the site, Kennedy said.

Compared with the launch of iPhone 4, traffic at ReCellular.com in recent days is double, McKeown said.

A survey by mobile advertising network InMobi released last week showed that 41 percent of current mobile phone users in North America plan to buy an iPhone 5 — before there was even confirmation an iPhone 5 existed.

"People just want to have the latest and greatest," Kennedy said. "When they're on a plane and the person sits down next to them, they want them to notice they have the iPhone 5, not the iPhone 4. There's sort of a badge of honor that comes for the hard-core Apple enthusiasts with having the newest one."

Many buy-back sites resell used phones — on eBay, for example — although, ReCellular.com buys and sells used phones on its own site. Consumers can check those websites if they're in the market to buy used iPhones.

If you want to sell using a gadget buyback website, resale prices on iPhones are typically high the morning of Apple's announcement of a new model. So, lock in a price by mid-day, Kennedy suggests. "After that, we do expect the pricing to drop very quickly," she said. On Gazelle and some other sites, you can lock in a price and ship the phone weeks later, giving you time to buy your new phone and transfer service to it.

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