You snooze, you lose. At least when getting cash or credit for your old cellphone.
Waiting even a month before trading in your old phone after a new version is released can mean a loss of 20 percent, said Nik Raman, chief operating officer at uSell, an aggregator of selling used electronics.
As Apple unveils its latest iPhone on Tuesday, rumored to offer fingerprint authentication, Raman estimates that old iPhones will lose 5 percent of their value within a week, 12 percent within two weeks and about 20 percent within three to four weeks.
"You can save more than $70 by timing the sale of your used iPhone," he said.
An iPhone 5, for example, is expected to lose about $72 by the end of the month. The 4s will be worth about $46 less and an iPhone 4 will lose $29 in about a month, Raman said.
Speculation is rampant about the features the new phone will offer.
Several tech blogs, including Apple Insider, are posting a picture of a supposedly leaked iPhone "5S" box with a home button that has a metal ring around it. Others think that Apple's recent acquisition of the fingerprint recognition technology firm AuthenTec and clues embedded in early developer builds of iOS 7 suggest the possibility of a fingerprint sensor.
Several reports, including those critical of labor practices in Apple's supply chain, have indicated that the company may announce a cheaper version of the iPhone that could come in many colors. Apple's media invite — with its tagline "This should brighten everyone's day" and several colorful circles — has some tech blogs speculating that the firm is planning a candy-colored line of less-expensive phones.
