When it comes to brand loyalty, Apple customers are truly in a league of their own.
Every single announcement that Steve Jobs makes is met with a fever pitch of energy, and people are willing to line up outside of stores in freezing weather or call out of work just to enjoy the benefits of spending cash on a new product.
But at the same time that there's a rush for the new models, those who are working with older ones are able to keep up the functionality, thanks to the fact that products actually manage to maintain.
Whether it's because of the fact that even with the first iPhone 2g board, the phones were built for communications and durability or simply because Apple is known for getting people into a particular generation model, the fact is that just as many old models are out there are new ones.
This is actually quite helpful for anyone who wants to upgrade to the latest iPhone, because people who are still enjoying the older generations' worth of technology are often more likely to shell out cash to replace parts that are bound to start screwing up after a while.
For those who have dropped a phone a few times over the course of the past few years, being able to hop online to buy an iPhone 2g board rather than going to someone at the Apple Store or dealing with the stress of getting a part factory-direct for an increasingly high price.
And this is actually helpful for more than just a thrifty shopper who wants to do the right thing when it comes time to shell out some cash: it's also an incredibly effective way to help out the environment, as it means that people do not need to spend money on new parts, which encourages the re-use of older phones that might otherwise end up destined for a distant dump somewhere.
As far as the parts that go for the most money, they are often the ones that people tend to need replaced more often due to human error, like cracked touchscreens due to the fact that people tend to drop their phones occasionally.
But other pieces that also have a legitimately decent resale value--and thus make affording a new model of a phone slightly easier--don't tend to corrode over time quite in the same manner.
This is one reason that people with older generation phones can enjoy a respectable profit off of pieces like the iPhone 2g board, which is required for communications on a phone to run.
It's an integral piece, yet can run even repair people such a high cost that finding one that works on another model is simply the smarter choice for everyone concerned.
So whether you're selling that iPhone 2g board to finance a new model or being conscientious enough to sell the pieces on 3G model rather than dealing with the environmental implications of tossing the phone into a dump somewhere, there are plenty of ways to help out others and the planet while also getting the chance to finally make a much-needed upgrade.
Go ahead and look for those locales where it is possible to sell for parts, rather than simply try to handle an all-or-nothing kind of deal.
It's definitely the best case scenario for all people and objects concerned.