How to Get the Most Money for Your Cell Phone

Kat Tretina

December 4, 2018  •  3 Minute Read

Financial Tips

If you have your heart set on the latest smartphone, you better be ready to pay a high price tag. The Apple iPhone XS Max costs nearly $1,500. That’s more expensive than many people’s mortgage or rent payments.

However, you can greatly reduce how much you need to spend out of pocket by selling your old phone. You can recoup some of its original price, which you can then use to pay for the new phone.

5 ways to get the best price for your phone

While it may be tempting to just trade it in for a new phone because of convenience, you may be throwing money away. Instead, check out these five tips to get the most money for your phone.

1. Sell your phone for parts

First, if your phone is in poor condition or isn’t working anymore, don’t assume it’s worthless. Many broken phones can actually be sold for parts.

Most trade-in programs, such as those offered by your cell phone carrier, won’t accept broken phones or may offer you just a few dollars. By contrast, if you sell your phone to an online merchant, you can take in much more cash.

For example, if you had a 256GB iPhone Plus 8 that was broken, you could sell it for as much as $100.

2. Collect all accessories

Phones in good condition with all of the accessories will get more return than a phone missing pieces. If possible, collect your earbuds, charger, and cords to ensure you get the best price for your phone.

3. Skip trade-in programs

When you buy a new phone, you can often trade-in your phone as part of the process. Although that approach is quick and easy, you might end up losing money.

For example, pretend you had an 128GB iPhone 6. Through T-Mobile’s trade-in program, you’d get just $50 for it. You might think that’s a fair price for a used, older phone, but it’s actually a very low offer.

Instead, if you sold your phone online, you’d get more than double for it. Retailers like Decluttr and Cellular Returns offer as much as $110. By doing a little extra homework, you can get a lot more value for your phone.

4. Comparison shop

To get the best price for your phone, you should compare offers from multiple phone sellers. Here are a few sites that offer competitive rates for smartphones:

• Flipsy: Flipsy is unique in that it helps you compare offers from dozens of retailers at once. Just enter your phone’s information, such as its make and model number, and Flipsy will give you a list of offers at once.
• Gazelle: Gazelle will give you an instant offer your phone. Besides the sale price it will offer you, you could also qualify for a credit to use toward the purchase of a new phone.
• Gadget Salvation: Gadget Salvation offers competitive pricing on multiple types of phones. Plus, you can get paid via check or PayPal.

5. Consider selling privately

If you’re not happy with the offers you get from resale companies, consider selling the phone on your own. If your phone is in good condition and you have all of the accessories, you may be able to get a better price selling it on eBay or the Facebook Marketplace.

For example, a like-new 128GB iPhone 6 recently sold for $219 on eBay. That’s four times higher what you’d get through a trade-in program like T-Mobile’s.

However, there are some drawbacks to this approach. With resale sites, you’ll get paid right away. By selling it yourself, you have to wait for someone to make an offer, and you have to handle shipping and customer issues on your own. When deciding how to sell your phone, make sure you consider if the extra hassle is worth the money you’d get for it.

Selling your phone

Your cell phone is a significant purchase, costing hundreds — and sometimes thousands — of dollars. Before running out to purchase the latest model, do your research and find out how to get the most money for your smartphone. With a little homework and extra legwork, you can ensure you get the best price.