How to Sell Your Smartphone For Cash (2024)

With the holidays just around the corner, I wanted to start sharing some easy ways to save money and make extra money without adding more hours to your already busy work at home schedule. There are plenty of opportunities out there for the taking. You just need to know where to look.

The new iPhone 6 release reminded me that we recently traded in a junk drawer full of old cell phones. We opted to go with cutting down on our wireless bill, but there are plenty of opportunities to sell your smartphone for cash as well.

What You Need to Know

Newer, undamaged phones bring the biggest offers. Don’t wait too long to sell. uSell tells us used iPhone offers are expected to drop 20% in the next few weeks. With every new release, the price goes down further. Don’t wait for a full drawer like we did.

Where to Sell Used Smartphones

eBay is always a popular auction site when it comes to smartphones and electronics. You may have even heard of many people pre-listing their new iPhone 6 on eBay before they had even received it because the demand was so high. This was also true of the most recent versions. As is always the case with eBay, there is some work involved. Check out our post on making a living on eBay for some great selling tips.

Gazelle is perhaps the leader when it comes to selling used smartphones. Enter the version and condition of your phone and you can currently lock in your offer for 45 days. The site will take any phone worth $1 or more. You can choose to receive your payment by check, Amazon.com Gift Cards or PayPal. You can track the status of your trade-in online. Gazelle also takes tablets, iPods and Apple computers.

uSell offers a different setup than Gazelle. Enter your phone information and you will see a number of offers from individual buyers. You then select the offer and uSell will send you your shipping kit. Once your phone has been received by the buyer a payment will be issued to you by check or PayPal within 5 days. They will send you status emails along the way. In addition to phones, uSell also connects buyers and sellers for tablets, game consoles, textbooks, video games, gift cards and more.

Locally – Local Facebook Groups and Craigslist can be a quick way to unload your old smartphone if you want to handle things yourself. Do be aware that this may be your worst option for getting good money. These buyers are used to haggling and will probably want to negotiate a lower price.

Trade-In – Most providers offer a trade-in program. You will receive a gift card in most cases that can be applied towards your bill or store purchases. In addition to wireless providers, Walmart and Amazon offer similar programs. I say it often. Saving money is just as important as making money.

Important Steps

Always Wait Until You Have a New Phone – Once you start getting your phone ready for sale you won’t be able to access important data. Wait until your new phone is in your hands to start working through the prep steps.

Backup Your Data – There was a time when upgrading your phone was a labor-intensive task. You could spend hours manually typing phone numbers into your new phone. That’s no longer the case. Most providers offer some type of cloud service for storing your data. Pull up the app on your old phone or go online to sync. You should then be able to sync the new phone with the cloud service once activated.

Deactivate and Delete – Always make sure your smartphone has been deactivated with your provider and any personal information has been removed. This is especially the case when working with private sellers.

Follow Directions – Most sites like Gazelle and uSell have a very specific way they want phones shipped. You may need to use a prepaid envelope that has order information on the outside. They may want the battery removed and wrapped separately. Follow the directions. Some sites will take money off if you don’t.

Don’t Lie – Another way to end up as a disappointed smartphone seller is to fib about the condition of your phone. Every item is carefully inspected upon receipt. If you didn’t mention a few cracks or issues, expect a lower payment.

You may not earn huge cash selling your used smartphone, but $60 to $100 would buy a nice gift or look nice in your savings account. It’s certainly a good wage for 15 minutes of your time!

Have you sold a smartphone or tablet? Tell us about your experience in the comments.