On June 29, I wrote about my experience selling my one year old iPhone 3G to the electronics buying service, NextWorth. Their actual appraisal was much less than the original quote, but right after my review was published, I received a new quote, revised substantially upwards.

Recall that before I mailed it, I shot a video of the exterior of the iPhone 3G with an iPhone 3GS showing that it was in perfect condition. However, my first email from the company claimed it had scratches and offered me about $64 less than the original quote of US$253. That appraisal arrived via e-mail on June 29, the same day my review was published. (I intentionally never told NextWorth that I was with The Mac Observer.)

First e-mail, June 29

I have no evidence that my review was ever seen by NextWorth. However, on July 3rd, I received a second identical, boilerplate e-mail but with the dollar amount of the offer revised upwards. There was no explanation offered whatsoever.

Unexpected, unexplained second e-mail, July 3

Note that the e-mail states that I might have to wait up to 10 business days to receive my payment via PayPal. However, on July 3rd, I received an e-mail from PayPal stating that US$224.25 had been deposited to my account. That was, to say the least, a fast transaction.

Again, I have no way of knowing whether NextWorth saw the review. It could be that a manager who reviews appraisals stepped in, found this one amidst many hundreds or thousands, and overrode the initial appraisal. I'll let the facts speak for themselves and let you, the readers, draw your own conclusions about the timing of events and this company.

Also, the original review linked above had several reader comments, worth reviewing, that also described experiences with this company, both good and bad, and a competitor, Gazelle.com.