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I saw a post over at TUAW about how one of their writers, Mel Martin, was selling his used iPhone 3G to a company called NextWorth. Martin’s story on June 16th said NextWorth was offering $280 for his “like new” 16GB iPhone 3G. I was lazy and didn’t check it out until June 17th and was offered $250, which is still being offered as of this writing.

I reformatted and packaged up my iPhone 3G yesterday afternoon and used NextWorth’s pre-paid address label to mail it off for free via USPS. NextWorth is charging me $5 to get a check, but my take should be $245 from this. Not too shabby.

NextWorth’s offer of $280 to $250 for a used 16GB iPhone 3G amazes me. I would think to resell my old phone at a decent profit they will have to charge $325 or more. If someone is a new iPhone user or is eligible for a full iPhone upgrade, they can get a brand new 16GB iPhone 3G S for $199 or a brand new 32GB version for $299.  So, why would anyone spend $325 or more on a used iPhone 3G?

I can only guess this has something to do with some people wanting a contract-free iPhone or perhaps used iPhones can be made to work on networks other than AT&T.

Martin’s story says that he successfully sold his first-generation iPhone via NextWorth, so this sounds legit. Time will tell!

I also found it interesting how little used iPhone accessories are worth at NextWorth relative to a used iPhone. NextWorth was only offering $2 for a used docking station (sells for $49 new), 50 cents for used earbuds ($29 new), $2 for a used AC adapter ($29 new), and $1 for a used USB cable ($19 new).

I kept my accessories since they will all work with my new iPhone 3G S. But, perhaps many people sell them to NextWorth. If so, perhaps NextWorth is getting a lot of their margin on reselling accessories.