June 20th, 2009

On Friday morning, hundreds of Apple lover go to shoppers were waiting to get an iPhone 3GS at various Apple stores before their 7 a.m. opening.

Nevertheless crowds waiting for the appearance of the third-generation iPhone were by a long way smaller than at introductions for prior models, some of the hiccups were the same. Customers reported difficulty activating their devices and were told it might take 48 hours to steadfastness the problem.

While, Apple declined to say how many iPhones were sold on the first day, but Gene Munster, a senior research analyst at the Piper Jaffray investment firm, predicted that Apple would sell about 500,000 devices on opening weekend - half the number sold when the iPhone 3G was released last July.

Apple and AT&T stores have begun to sell the third-generation iPhone on today, which has faster processor, a digital compass, a video recorder and a three-megapixel camera.

But it has a hefty price tag for many current owners of the iPhone 3G because, unless we are a new AT&T subscriber or purchased an iPhone 3G before September 2008, the iPhone 3GS can cost as high as US$499 for the 32-gigabyte model.

For that reason, a Boston company has made a way to drum up funds to buy Apple’s new multimedia device other than by cashing old birthday checks and emptying out your kitchen change jar.

Gazelle, the name of the company is ready to pay cash for used electronics like cellphones, digital cameras, LCD televisions and laptops, said it has had a surge of customers sending in their iPhones.

Today, Gazelle has pledged to pay out around US$200 for a 16-gigabyte 3G in good condition, compared to eBay sellers that appear to get US$300-370 for used iPhones in excellent condition.

Even last week, Gazelle purchased more than 1,000 units of the iPhone 3G and on Tuesday it bought 400 units, while expecting to do about the same on Wednesday. The company said that 95% of the iPhones acquired by Gazelle are resold through retail channels like Amazon.com and eBay. The rest are usually recycled. On a gross level, the company turns a profit of 5-15%.

Gazelle operates in the same way as Netflix. After a gadget owner fills in the form of short survey about his device, the company makes an offer online and sends out a box with prepaid shipping included for mailing.

The company expects to sell three to four times as many iPhones this summer as last year and will have no problem liquidating them. Many people are trading in their 3Gs to make up for the lack of an AT&T subsidy, but the company has had  tons of trades already this week and it imagines that it is going to skyrocket as it gets today.