Looking to make some cash by selling your mobile phone? We’ve checked out the best sites to bag yourself some money from your old phone.
Whether you buy your phone outright (SIM free) or on a pay monthly network contract, when it’s time to upgrade to a new model, you have a decision to make – what to do with the old one?
Some people keep it in their drawer at home as a spare or pass it on to a family member, but selling your old phone for cold, hard cash is becoming increasingly popular as people realise the value these devices still have. Especially in the current climate of increasing household bills and utilities.
The extra cash can then be used to help fund the cost of a new phone or spent on something else, such as something for the house, a holiday or one of those gadgets from your Amazon Wish List!
With some flagship phone models from the likes of Apple and Samsung worth up to £1000, selling your old phone is something worth considering, rather than have it stashed away in a drawer depreciating in value. Plus you’ll normally end up with much more cash in your pocket compared to trading it in.
Often, it’s difficult to know the best place to sell your phone. With varying quotes, average selling prices and different terms and conditions, it can over complicate what is essentially a pretty simple process.
Some places can overcomplicate trade-ins, with cashback or purchases of new products required to realise the full trade-in value of your phone. With trading in a phone, although it can be convenient, you’ll normally only get paid a small percentage of what your phone is actually worth. You’ll usually get far more if you sell it yourself.
We’ve kept it simple here with this guide to the best places to sell your old phone with a no fuss process that pays cash straight into your bank account once sold.
Facebook Marketplace
A bit like eBay but without the auction feature, with Facebook you list your phone for a fixed price set by you and potential buyers will then contact you via Facebook Messenger. You set the payment and delivery terms, so can decide whether the buyer will need to collect from you and pay on delivery, take payment via PayPal or deliver the phone to them.
Facebook Marketplace is great for reaching local people as most of the sales that take place on there are between buyers and sellers that live in the same area so you’ll normally not have to worry about postage costs.
The risk is that it’s totally up to you to ensure you get paid, and if you’re letting the buyer collect, then you need to happy with someone you potentially don’t know coming round to your house (or going to theirs if you’re delivering). To get round that, you can post the phone to them but you’ll need to agree whether you’re going to take payment first which the buyer may not be keen on.
Bear in mind, there is zero buyer or seller protection with Facebook Marketplace. If you change your mind, the phone you bought or sold is faulty or you haven’t been paid properly – it’s up to you and the buyer/seller to resolve it between you.
eBay
eBay is the obvious one, it’s the original online marketplace. List your phone at a fixed price you choose or start a bidding war with an auction. Searching on eBay gives you an idea of what your phone may sell for but it’s not guaranteed. Thanks to eBay’s tight integration with PayPal, you’re protected to a degree and will be able to receive payment before posting your phone to your buyer (or having them come and collect if that’s your preference).
The challenge with eBay? Everyone uses it – it’s huge and the price of a product on there is based on supply and demand so you may find you’re up against a few other people selling the same phone.
There are also thousand of business sellers and retailers on eBay now which means it can be pretty competitive for us consumers to compete when selling a phone, but on the positive side, due to it’s size, there are also a lot of buyers and you can reach the entire UK and even international customers if you choose.
It’s not that clear on their site but note that eBay will take around 12.8% of the final selling price as their fee for using the platform, so be sure to factor that in, plus any postage and packing costs.
MusicMagpie
One of the more well-known technology trade in websites, MusicMagpie will give you a value for your phone and you post it in. You’re selling to them and then they will resell your phone for more to someone else, that’s how they make their money.
If your phone is in the condition you stated, they you’ll receive your money. If they disagree with the condition or don’t think it’s worth the full amount then they’ll offer you a reduced amount which you can choose to accept or have the phone sent back to you.
The process is pretty simple but the prices they’ll pay can fluctuate so it’s worth getting a couple of quotes if you want to get the best possible value for your phone – and make sure you take photos of the phone before you send it. They’re rated 4.5 out of 5 on TrustPilot.
Mozillion
Mozillion claim you’ll sell your phone on their site for up to £252 more on compared to trading it in.
A marketplace specifically for selling mobile phones that is ‘built around bringing fairness to buyers and sellers’, Mozillion are the only UK marketplace that tests, verifies and adds a 24 month guarantee to every seller’s phone free, and handle everything for the buyer.
What this means in reality is that your phone is given an extra ‘value boost’ by offering your buyer some assurances around the quality which means you’re likely to be paid a bit more than you’d probably get from a trade-in website or generic marketplace. At the time of writing, you can get up to £252 more compared to trading in with a mobile network, depending on the model.
Like MusicMagpie, you can search on Mozillion’s site for your phone model and they’ll give you the current selling price. If you’re happy with the price you can sell your phone immediately at that price or list your phone on their site at a price you choose. Once its sold, you post your phone to Mozillion, they check it and they’ll send it onto the buyer and pay you your cash within 2 working days. This means that unlike eBay or Facebook, you don’t need to deal with the buyer and Mozillion will pick up any after sales queries too so once your phone is sold and approved, there is no worry about returns.
The nature of Mozillion being a mobile phone specialist marketplace makes it a good place to buy refurbished phones from too as you know that regardless of the seller, every phone has been tested by Mozillion and is given their 2 year warranty. They have an impressive 4.8 out of 5 on TrustPilot.
If you sell a phone on Mozillion, used code DIRECTMOBILES to get an extra £10 on top of the sale price.
Envirofone & Mazuma
Envirofone and Mazuma work in the same way as MusicMagpie so it’s worth comparing the three for quotes if you’re going down the trade-in route and then compare these prices with perhaps Mozillion and eBay.
Search for your phone model on Envirofone or Mazuma and they’ll give you a price. Pack the phone up and send it to them and if it’s in the condition you stated, they’ll pay you your money. If not, they’ll reduce the quote which you can choose to accept or they’ll return it to you.
Like all these resale websites, be sure to check the condition of the phone you’re selling matches the description on the website.
Envirofone and Mazuma both sell phones too.
Don’t forget to back up your data
One of the requirements for most marketplaces, and indeed something you’ll probably want to do anyway, is that your phone is factory reset with all personal data removed before you sell it.
This means you should take the time to back up all your important photos, contacts, emails and other documents somewhere else so you don’t lose them when you sell your phone.
Remove any accounts and passcode locks from the phone too so as not to give anyone else access to your account logins and passwords, and so whoever you’re selling your phone too can actually use it.
If you have a question about selling your phone, feel free to reach out to us on Twitter.
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