There is some deal for new customers I think sign up for a new plan, and then you get large trade in credits.
For those already on a plan, the website offers you very small credits for 5 and 6 trade ins.
Thanks @blevine —that is what I am seeing…and now that the 7 has been announced, the trade-in allowance for the 6 has dropped a bit (perhaps $40 lower). I was just surprised as @deb922 said she had been with Verizon for a long time and had been offered a $400 trade-in allowance.
Geez I hope I did things right when I did the estimate for my old phone. I did say that the phone was unlocked as when I read up on how to trade in your phone it said to turn off the find your iPhone feature and that it wouldn’t be passcode protected.
I went right to my Verizon account and selected the line to upgrade. Then when I selected the option to trade in the phone, I selected the phone I was upgrading. I answered all the questions and it told me it was worth $400. I sure hope I didn’t do something wrong.
Maybe I will go to the Verizon store next week and check to make sure I did everything right. Contrary to almost every other Verizon store, mine isn’t super busy and they are really helpful. I know, it was hard for me to wrap my head around it.
That sounds like s great deal @deb922 !
I think Apple is trying to prevent folks from buying more than one iPhone 7 at this time by forcing them to provide their carrier info. There is no option to buy an unlocked one outright. For 6 and 6S there is an option to get one outright bypassing the “select your carrier” page. I think I will wait a couple of months until the craze dies out.
@deb922 -It sounds like you said “yes” that it was unlocked because it’s not passcode protected. Usually, “unlocked” refers to the ability to be used on any carrier (i.e. it’s not just a Verizon phone or a Sprint phone or an ATT phone etc.) I would assume that makes them more valuable. I wonder if that might have something to do with it.
My iPhone is unlocked. I looked into it extensively when we went to Europe last year. Went into the store and made sure. And I will turn off the find your iPhone app, delete the passcode and wipe it clean before I send it in.
I got an email today from Squaretrade giving me the chance to “reserve a coupon” for $30 off iPhone protection for any iPhone - the coupon will be released on Sept. 16, the day of the 7 release. Did anyone else get that?
But I’m not shopping for a new phone or warranty right now!
How does this work getting a new phone? Can you buy a new phone at an Apple store and put the sim card from the old phone? Would it work that way or do you still have to go through your carrier?
Kiddo made the Apple Genius stick her existing ATT SIM card into her new unlocked phone which she bough - right there, on the spot. It magically worked with iPhones 5 back in the days of dinosaurs. 
I think she needed to stop by the ATT store, but only because she needed to fix a “small glitch” while going from 5 to 6 (oops, lost her SIM card!). So yes, if the phone does not work, take it to your carrier’s store and make them fix it.