Cheapest used iPhones on eBay, live right now.

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How to buy a used iPhone (and which one)

Battery health is the single most important number. On the phone, Settings > Battery > Battery Health shows a percentage; anything at 85% or above is healthy, while a figure in the 70s means a replacement is due soon (around $70-90 at Apple, less independently). Always ask the seller for a photo of that screen. A cheap phone with a worn battery is not actually cheap once you factor the replacement in.

Check it is clean, not locked or stolen. This is the step that catches people out. Ask for the IMEI (dial *#06#) and run it through a free IMEI checker to confirm it is not blacklisted (reported lost or stolen) and not still tied to a carrier contract. Crucially, the phone must be signed out of the previous owner's iCloud/Apple ID, otherwise Activation Lock makes it a paperweight. If a listing shows the lock screen asking for someone else's Apple ID, walk away.

Which model is the value sweet spot. The iPhone 12 and 13 are the current used bargains: fast enough for years, still getting iOS updates, and far cheaper than the latest. Avoid anything older than the iPhone 11 unless it is very cheap, because it is close to losing software support. Storage cannot be upgraded, so buy 128GB or more even if it costs a little extra. Test the screen for dead pixels and green tint, Face ID, both cameras, and the charging port before you leave feedback.

Used, refurbished or new. A seller-refurbished iPhone usually comes with a new battery and a short warranty for a small premium over a plain used one, which is often worth it. A clean used iPhone in good condition typically runs 40-55% below the new price for nearly the same experience.

Common questions

Cheapest by model, at a glance

A daily snapshot of the lowest genuine eBay price for every model we track, and how good that price is right now versus its usual level, updated automatically. Prices last refreshed 12 October 2026. Tap a price to see that model's cheapest listings on eBay, or tap a model name for the full live list here.

These are second hand prices, listed by sellers as used or pre-owned, taken from live eBay US listings in US dollars. In collectible categories a sealed or unworn item is sometimes the cheapest genuine listing, and it is included. The same number works both ways: it is what a buyer pays today and the resale value a seller can realistically ask. Every model also carries a price history, the daily record kept since tracking began, which is the part to read before you buy or resell. On a day when a model has no listing that passes these filters, its row keeps the last price we recorded rather than inventing one, and drops off this table if that goes on for more than a few days.

Under each model is the actual listing that price came from, so you can see whether it is the thing you want or a bundle, a variant, or an accessory that happens to share the name.

"Off retail" compares today's used price with what the model costs new. For anything still on sale that is its current new price, so the figure is close to a discount you could really get. For anything no longer sold it is the last new price we have on record: on a boxed product like a LEGO set or a console that is the RRP, and on a part like a graphics card it is nearer what new stock was going for at the end than what it cost at launch. So on older hardware read it as depreciation against late retail rather than against the original sticker. A few rows read "above" instead: they cost more used than new, which is normal for a retired set or a part nobody makes any more.

Over the period we have tracked, this category is up 2.4%, while the used market as a whole is down 0.3%. See the Used Price Index, which is built from these prices and published as a free CSV.

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