How to sell your old phone
Have an old smartphone lying around? Don鈥檛 let it sit and collect dust. Instead, sell it聽for cash.
Online marketplaces make it easy to sell smartphones you鈥檙e no longer using. You just need to聽answer a few questions, post a picture or two, and wait for a buyer to bite.
Allan Hammell recently listed his wife鈥檚 Samsung Galaxy S5 on Swappa. It sold in 45 minutes.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know how many phones that I have set aside thinking I might repurpose,聽but never got around to it,鈥� says Hammell, a project manager from Minnesota. He netted about $100 from the sale after postage and fees. 鈥淏etter to reclaim some value while it still is worth something,鈥� he adds.
Swappa gives users聽total control over the sale: You set the price, deal directly with potential buyers, and package and ship the phone when it鈥檚 sold. Other sites, including Gazelle, do most of the work for you.
Where to sell your old phone
Craigslist聽can聽have聽scammers on both sides of the transaction 鈥� but other sites protect both phone buyers and sellers. Here are a few to consider:
- : Your phone must be fully functional to be listed聽on Swappa. That means the聽screen, buttons, battery and ports must all work. It聽must also have a 鈥渃lean鈥� serial number, meaning it鈥檚 not stolen or under a contract or聽repayment plan with a cell phone carrier.听To create a listing with Swappa, submit a photo that shows the full device, with the screen on and case removed, next to a listing code provided by the site.
- : This app, which is available on Apple and Android devices, lets you sell your phone locally. Start by downloading the app and聽creating an account using your email address, Facebook login or Google account. Then upload a photo. LetGo doesn鈥檛 charge fees to sell or buy phones. It also isn鈥檛聽stringent聽about the condition of the phone, so you sell devices聽with a little more wear and tear.
- : Don鈥檛 want to deal with selling your phone? Trade it in for cash or a gift card.听Just answer a few questions on NextWorth鈥檚 website to get a quote for your phone, then send it聽in for inspection to receive the final offer. If you agree to the price, you鈥檒l receive payment within seven business days. If you don鈥檛, they鈥檒l return your phone at no cost to you, says Brendan McCue, a sales manager at NextWorth. You can also trade in tablets, laptops and other electronics.
- : This site works a lot like NextWorth. You select the make and model of your phone, as well as its condition and whether it鈥檚 factory unlocked or with a carrier, and Gazelle gives you a quote. Then send your phone in and wait for your payment via PayPal, check or Amazon gift card. Allow a week or two for your phone to be shipped and inspected and another seven to 10 business days if you opt to be paid via check. Payment via PayPal and Amazon is instant. Gazelle only accepts phones from AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile or Verizon.
Another way to get cash from your phone: An old-fashioned garage sale.
Joe Howard recently sold his iPhone 4 for $50 at a garage sale he organized with a few friends in Washington.
鈥淚t wouldn鈥檛 turn on and there was no proof someone could get it working,鈥� Howard says 鈥� but he adds that聽it was one of the first items to sell. 鈥淐onsidering I didn鈥檛 have to do any extra work at all to sell it, that was a win for me.鈥�
Before聽the sale
Do a little housekeeping before you sell your old phone.
First, confirm that the phone is聽no longer聽under a contract or payment agreement with your carrier. If it is, your buyer won鈥檛 be able to activate it and your seller reputation could take a hit, making it hard to sell any used devices in the future.
禄 MORE:聽
One you have a buyer,聽Lauren Fairbanks 鈥� owner of Digital Remedy, a chain of electronics repair shops 鈥� recommends taking the following steps.
- Back up your phone book, photos, videos and any other important information stored on your phone.
- Unlink your accounts from your phone. This includes Facebook, Twitter, Google, iCloud, Find My Phone and Instagram.
- Perform a factory reset to wipe any other stored data. On an Android device, go to 鈥淪ettings鈥� and select 鈥淏ackup and reset,鈥� then choose 鈥淔actory data reset.鈥� On an iPhone, you鈥檒l find the reset option under 鈥淪ettings鈥� and 鈥淕eneral.鈥�
Android users can also encrypt their data before performing the factory reset on their old device to ensure stray texts or selfies stored on the聽phone aren鈥檛 visible to its next owner. The same is true for anyone selling an iPhone 4 or older model. Apple聽owners with an iPhone 4S or newer need not take this step; your personal data is encrypted by default.
Kelsey Sheehy is a staff writer at NerdWallet, a personal finance website. Email:聽ksheehy@nerdwallet.com. Twitter:聽.
This article first appeared in .听
