iPhone 5 Trade-Ins To Soar On September 20

Several customers are about to dump their one-year-old iPhone. Mark Bowles, the founder and Chief Marketing Officer Outerwall's OUTR ecoATM, said that his kiosks typically enjoy an increase in old iPhone trade-ins whenever a new one is released. This includes everything from the first-generation iPhone all the way up to the most recent model. "We will definitely see an [increase], but not before the new iPhone comes out," Bowles told Benzinga. "Some of our competitors are getting in on this trade-in activity before the phone comes out. I think that's because they…don't actually collect the phones. I think they get price quotes on their sites, and then they get people to try and lock in a certain price. "But think about it: no one is going to go without their iPhone for two weeks because they're going to get $20 more [to trade it in now]." Related: Apple's Newly Announced $99 iPhone 5C, $199 iPhone 5S Coming September 20 The iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C are expected to deliver the biggest product launch in Apple's AAPL history. While the iPhone 5C is essentially a plastic-covered version of last year's iPhone, the iPhone 5S contains a fingerprint scanner that could allow Apple to become the champion of mobile commerce. As usual, Apple has endured some complaints about its iPhone event, which lacked any formal details regarding its plans to woo China Mobile CHL. Regardless, the iPhone 5S is expected to draw massive lines because Apple may not take pre-orders for the new model. The company will take pre-orders for the iPhone 5C on September 13, however. With or without a pre-order campaign, Bowles told Benzinga that ecoATM expects trade-ins to surge on September 20. And not just for iPhones -- consumers typically trade-in their Android phones to buy the latest iPhone model as well. "[The surge] generally lasts for two to three months," said Bowles. "We're expecting the same thing this time and, quite frankly, we're looking forward to it." Sprint S could benefit greatly from those who are switching to the iPhone from another brand. The carrier sells an average of 1.5 million iPhones every quarter. Forty percent of those units are typically sold to new customers. Disclosure: At the time of this writing, Louis Bedigian had no position in the equities mentioned in this report. Louis Bedigian is the Senior Tech Analyst and Features Writer of Benzinga. You can reach him at 248-636-1322 or louis(at)benzingapro(dot)com. Follow him @LouisBedigianBZ