Apple paying up to $345 for your 4S ahead of iPhone 5 launch

All signs are pointing toward a new iPhone. Apple is now offering up to $345 for your iPhone 4S, in return for a gift certificate to an Apple store, according to The Next Web.

The deal works like most buy-back programs. You fill out a questionnaire about your phone, the condition it is in, what model it is, how many GB it holds, and then a computer program will give you a quote on its estimated worth. There’s no guarantee you’re going to get all $345, and there’s no guarantee you’ll get the money quoted to you either. That comes after you’ve shipped the device (and its charger) to Apple, which will inspect the phone and see if it’s really in the condition you provided online.

If it is, you’ll get a gift card that you can use to buy the next iPhone, which is rumored to be announced on September 12.

In anticipation of the next iPhone launch, device buy-back company Gazelle extended its “price lock period,” or the time it commits to a quote before you actually send in the product. This is usually 30 days, but for the iPhone 4S, Gazelle now allows customers to hold on to their phones and their quotes until October 1.

This means customers will avoid any phone-less time (we all know how scary that can be) if the iPhone is released in September as expected.

Apple also recently reduced its pricing for new iPhone 4S models. You can now buy the phone for $150, but only if you ask. Visit Apple’s Reuse and Recycle program to trade your iPhone 4S in directly to Apple.

via The Next Web; Image photoshop by Meghan Kelly