Gazelle will buy your iPhone in October at an August price

Gazelle, a tech trade-in website, has decided to give iPhone owners the chance to sell their device at an August price and keep it until Oct. 1.

Normally, Gazelle works by giving people a quote for their used gadgets and 30 days to mail them in if they want that price. But the company decided to give an extension to iPhone owners in anticipation of a September launch for the next iPhone.

“The main reason was to benefit our customers,� Gazelle Chief Gadget Officer Anthony Scarsella told the Los Angeles Times. “We wanted our customers to be able to lock in their price early, get a great value, but at the same time we did not want them to be without their phone.�

In theory, iPhone owners can get a quote for their phone between now and Aug. 31, and they won’t have to mail in the device until after the new iPhone launches, which is expected to happen Sept. 21.

And because carriers subsidize iPhones when purchased with two-year contracts, many people may be able to sell their phone and get enough money back to cover the cost of the new iPhone.

Currently, Gazelle is offering $260 for a 16GB iPhone 4S in good condition and about $160 for a 16GB iPhone 4 also in good condition.

If you choose to get a quote, Gazelle will send you a shipping label and, in most cases, a box too — making the process of mailing in the device about a five-minute job, according to Scarsella. And if you change your mind and decide not to trade it in, Gazelle won’t charge you any fees.

This is pretty good deal, but as you can see from the chart above, the longer you wait the less you’ll get for your phone.

“The earlier you can trade in, the better off you are,� Scarsella said.

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