# Selling Upgrade Phone For A Profit? ATT



## vegeta13613 (Jan 14, 2009)

I have four people on my ATT plan, but only two of us are ever interested in upgrades (the other two are elderly, and are happy with cheap feature phones). That means the two of us with smartphones have lots of extra upgrades. Currently we are sitting an upgrade we really don't need and I am in the middle of a layoff, so money is tight. So, question time...

A phone does need to be activated, right? Is there any way to get a cellphone in the box through an upgrade, as I would imagine it would be worth a little more if it was in an unopened package.

Also, this is my rough plan at the moment. Buy a SGS4 FOR $168 plus the upgrade fee (~$40?), get a $50 Wal-Mart gift card with it. Wipe the phone, put the SIM card in my current phone, then sell the SGS4 for about $550 on eBay. Should this work, or am I missing something? Nothing about this would mess up my account, right?


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## ETech7 (Aug 30, 2012)

If you get smartphone you will have to add data plan.
You don't need to open new phones, just get a new sim for your old one.


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## vegeta13613 (Jan 14, 2009)

ETech7 said:


> If you get smartphone you will have to add data plan.


Nope. We already have two smartphones with existing data plans, so we wouldn't have to add any further data plans. Also, you can transfer over the upgrades that the people with the feature phones have to the smartphone users. We have used the feature phone user's upgrades to get us new smartphones many times without having to add another data plan. However, I believe the only place you can do this is at an ATT store. Regardless, we won't need to add another data account either way.



ETech7 said:


> You don't need to open new phones, just get a new sim for your old one.


You don't need to open new phones? Whenever I have upgraded in the past, they always automatically open the phone and start the activation process. They have done the same for me at ATT, Wal-Mart and Best Buy. So, you are saying I can just tell them not to open it, and I can leave with the unopened box?


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## ETech7 (Aug 30, 2012)

If they let you use upgrade offer on regular line to get smartphones without adding data plan - lucky you.



> Whenever I have upgraded in the past...


Nobody can make you no unpack the phone. If they reject (for whatever reason they come up with) to keep your old SIM working and not to activate the one in new phone (iPhone come with SIM per-inserted for example), just, as I said, get a new SIm for your old phone.


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## vegeta13613 (Jan 14, 2009)

Yup, I have used the upgrades from the feature phones lines to upgrade my and my wife's smartphones at least a half dozen times over the past few years (I got my HTC One X that way in April). Like I said, I am almost positive you can only do this in an official ATT store, but it is good knowledge for anyone in a situation similar to mine (double upgrades is great!).

Thanks for the info, ETech. I'll probably give it a try. The $200+ I could make getting and selling a SGS4 would be a big help right now.


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## ETech7 (Aug 30, 2012)

You welcome. You can also order your update online, then get a new SIM for old phone, when update arrives.


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