Turn your old mobile phone into cash

As we try to keep up with the latest and smartest mobile phones, we’re left with a growing mound of old disused mobiles. Well, that mound could within a matter of minutes be turned into hard cash (to buy another phone perhaps?).
Mobile recycling sites make it incredibly easy, offering instant quotes, free postage and immediate cash transfers. All with a few clicks. However, it’s also easy to rush into selling your phone without shopping around to see who will offer you the most.
For example, when comparing prices offered for the iPhone 4 16GB, Mazuma offered just £95.00 in comparison to Top Dollar Mobile who offered £242.01! And for the Blackberry Curve 8520, Mazuma offered £14.00 in comparison to Money For Your Phone who offered £52.00.

Check out our very own mobile recycling price comparison tool to see how much your old phone is worth, and get the most amount of money.

Tips to getting the most from selling your old phone

1. Get the price that matches the condition of your phone. Don’t sell it as a broken phone if it is still working perfectly (you would be surprised how many accidentally do this!)
2. Challenge the company if they try to lower their original offer. There are certain companies who try to get out of paying the price originally offered by claiming that your phone has too much ‘wear and tear’. This can sometimes be true but sometimes they are just trying to avoid paying what they ought to. Challenge them and you will be surprised at how quickly they will backtrack.
3. If your phone is slightly damaged or has a broken battery it may be worth looking at how much it would cost to replace it before looking to sell your mobile. You may get £40 more for a fully functioning phone and find a battery for just £10 on eBay.

Other ways to make cash out of your old phone

Online auction sites

Online auction sites such as Amazon Marketplace and eBay can sometimes be a more profitable method of selling your old handset. This can certainly be the case when selling more recent phones. Selling recent models that are still in demand can result in a lot more interest and bidding. However older phones may not receive such levels of interest so recycling sites may be the way forward here.
TIP: Be aware that auction sites do charge selling fees that will eat into your profit so try to take this into consideration before inserting your listing.

More online options

You could consider using forums to see if anyone is in the market for your old phone. Try technology forums or perhaps even those that are phone specific.
Or head to online listing sites such as Gumtree.

High street

Although the high street is associated more with buying than selling it is possible to make good amounts of money from old phones there. Stores such as CEX offer money for your old phones as well as other electronics and can often by very competitive.
They will be selling your phone on so will pay more than companies that simply recycle. Also a friend of mine was offered an additional £25 for just having their charger! As well as well-known high street names independent pawn shops can also be an option worth looking into. Pay them a visit to see what they will offer and perhaps go in with a foreknowledge of what other companies are paying.

Local advertising or social media

Although not the most common way of selling mobile phones nowadays it might be worth a try. Try putting an advertisement up in your local supermarket or inserting a listing in your local paper’s selling pages.
TIP: Include a picture of your phone to show that it is in good condition.
Social media would never have been something I would have considered until a friend tweeted that he was selling his iPhone 4 to allow him to buy the 4S last year. He managed to sell his phone to somebody local who happened to see his post.

Selling to people you know

Friends and family may be in the market for a new phone and if they know your phone is in perfect working order and has been well looked after they may choose to buy from you rather than going and buying new. It is always worth asking!

If you can cover all of these options then you will be able to get the best price for your phone. Obviously, different methods will work better for different phone models so make sure you cover all the options. After all, it could mean getting up to £100 more for your handset!