How to Value a Mixed-Grade iPhone Lot Before You Bid

A mixed lot is not a price per unit: it is a portfolio of grades, each with its own exit, handling cost and risk of arriving worse than described. Bid on the headline number and you end up holding stock that only clears at a discount.

Value the portfolio, not the headline

Two lots can carry the same top-line price and be entirely different businesses: one converts into clean retail stock, the other into repair hours and a parts tail. The difference is the distribution inside the mix.

So ask for the mix before you discuss the price, and get it in writing. A supplier who can only say "A/B/C mixed" is asking you to buy an unknown. Our grading systems explained piece covers why the same letters mean different things to different suppliers.

Get the grade mix in writing first

Ask for counts by grade band, by model and by storage. Add lock status, battery bands, whether the lot is boxed or loose, and whether any units carry replaced parts.

Then request evidence tied to that lot: photos or short video of a defined sample drawn from the actual stock, plus a per-unit IMEI list before payment. A sample that cannot be tied to the lot is marketing, not evidence.

When the mix genuinely cannot be documented, price the worst plausible case instead of the stated average.

Convert the declared mix into a structure you can sell

Declared grades are a starting point, not an output: each band converts into something worth less once you grade, test and fix it.

Activation-locked units deserve special attention: an unreleased lock turns a sellable phone into a paperweight, which is why we treat it as a hard no on bulk purchases.

Price each band from its exit, not from the lot price

Work band by band. Take the exit you actually have — your own retail price, your trade price to local shops, or the parts value — and subtract your handling and selling cost for that channel.

Use your own sales history wherever you have it: the number that matters is what your customers pay this month, not a directory price.

Do this before you see the supplier's asking price, and write the values down. The parts channel belongs in the model too — some units are worth more disassembled than whole, as set out in our parts catalogue overview.

The costs that sit between the bid and the profit

• Grading labour — every unit needs a record; hours multiplied by units is a real number.
• Rework — screens, batteries, adhesive and seals, each with parts cost and bench time.
• DOA and return reserve — sized from your own claim history (DOA and returns handling).
• Freight, insurance, duty and clearing — the landed figure, not the freight quote (landed cost).
• Cash cycle — money leaves at payment and returns over your rotation weeks.
• Storage and grade drift — the lot that sits is the lot that ages.

Work backwards to a maximum bid

The arithmetic is simple enough to run in a spreadsheet in ten minutes, and it should be run the same way each time:

• Step 1 — expected units per band: declared counts multiplied by your conversion haircut.
• Step 2 — net value per band: exit price minus handling, sales and channel cost.
• Step 3 — gross sellable value: sum the bands.
• Step 4 — deduct: rework, DOA reserve, grading labour, freight, duty, clearing and finance cost.
• Step 5 — apply your target return: the result is the highest price at which the deal still works.
• Step 6 — write the number down and stop there. The ceiling is set before the negotiation, not during it.

No currency figure belongs in a published guide — your exits and costs are yours. The structure is what transfers.

When to walk away or renegotiate

• The mix cannot be documented in counts, models and storage.
• Battery or lock data is missing on any meaningful share of the lot.
• Water-damaged or refurbished units are sitting inside a lot sold as used (detecting water damage).
• The sample offered is not drawn from the lot you are buying.
• A request for a per-IMEI file before payment is answered with "later".
• Payment terms demand the full amount before any grading access.

Any of these can be priced if you know the share; none can be priced if the share is unknown — that is the honest reason to walk.

Put your valuation into the contract

Grade mix counts belong in the purchase order as a term, not as a courtesy. Add the per-unit IMEI list before shipment, documented battery readings and lock status, a defined DOA window with fixed remediation options, and a clause naming who pays return freight when the mix does not match.

The boundary between a supplied fault and a later one belongs in writing too — see our guide to warranty and after-sales practice. Terms like these let a buyer bid close to real value instead of adding a personal-risk discount.

Frequently asked questions