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How To Make A Living

Selling Used Cell Phones

The cell phone industry is booming, everyone I know these days has a smartphone. Just

a few years ago, only a few of my friends, family, and coworkers had an iPhone. Not

only does every US consumer have the newest technology in their pocket, they can’t

wait to upgrade to an even newer phone. I remember when I would use a flip

“dumbphone” until it broke.

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Just like any other guy, I work a nine to five job. However, I wanted a second source of

income on the side. In the last few years I started to take advantage of the cell phone

industry’s growth and began researching arbitrage opportunities from buying and

selling used cell phones. I needed a motivation and resources to get started with

making some extra cash flipping phones on the secondary market.

Just last month, I sold a total of 21 phones for an average profit of $77 per phone. I did

all of this in the time I had after my day job and a few hours here and there on the

weekends. That is a total of $1,617 in one month. That’s enough to pay my rent, utilities,

phone bill, groceries, and car insurance.

The Secondhand Phone Market Is Thriving

There are millions of cell phones being sold on the secondhand phone market. This

means that people just like you and I are selling their phones. As of today, there are a

total of 176,316 cell phones listed for sale on eBay (September 26th). This is just one

website and just one day, think about how many phones are being sold every month or

every year all over the world.

Every time someone upgrades to a new cell phone, they are going to want to sell their

old cell phone. And because so many people want the newest technology, there are

constantly older cell phones going up for sale. That’s where I come in; I find the best

phone deals, and then resell them for what they’re actually worth.

Remember, when you buy a phone directly from your cell phone service provider with

a two year contract, you pay a subsidized price. So a new phone iPhone costs $199 from

Verizon. However, if you are not eligible for a phone upgrade, you have to pay full

price for the phone which can reach up to $700. Therefore, every person that breaks

their iphone and doesn’t have insurance will have to pay full price for another one. It

makes sense for someone in this situation to buy a used phone from you or I at a

cheaper price.

How To Value Used Cell Phones

Before you start buying cell phones, it’s important you understand what they are worth.

I use several tools to determine what every phone I buy is worth. First, start with a

handy tool called Movaluate. Movaluate is a free used smart phone calculator. On the

website, you can choose a specific phone model and the phone’s condition, and the tool

will show you the current fair market price. The fair market price is the median price

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paid for this device, which is the statistically accurate representation of the average

price that buyers have paid. You can also see a historical graph of how the exact

phone’s value has fluctuated over the last few months.

The next tool to determine a phone’s value is eBay. You can search for a specific phone

model on eBay, select auction listings, then sort by “time: ending soonest”. Look at the

top few listings that have active bids to get an idea of what the phone is selling for. You

can add a phone to your eBay watchlist and then check later to see the final price the

auction ended at. If you calculate an average of a few of the recently ended auctions,

you can determine a realistic price of what the phone is worth on the secondhand

market.

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You should always buy and resell used cell phones that have the highest profit margins.

That means the newest and most popular phones will make you the most money. I

usually sell iPhones because they are very trendy, but there is also a large Android

community that offers a variety of popular phones. I completely avoid Windows

phones because there isn’t enough demand at the moment. Keep up with industry news

and phone review blogs to see which phones are most wanted. Also keep in mind that

used cell phones depreciate as manufacturers introduce newer and better phones. The

new iPhone 5s that was released by Apple a few weeks ago caused the value of last

year’s iPhone 5 to slightly decrease.

Buy Your Phones On Craigslist

I buy all of my used cell phones on Craigslist for one main reason. I can negotiate with

the seller on Craigslist. What I have learned over the past few years is how to haggle

with Craigslist sellers through emails. Most people are going to list a price higher than

what they expect to get. It’s important to make sure you don’t offend people with a low-

ball offer and instead let them know you’re ready to meet them with cash if they agree

to your offer.

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The key to getting great deals on Craigslist is to live in an urban area. I live in

Washington DC and I’m surrounded by several corners of DC, Northern Virginia, and

Maryland. The dense population here creates are large supply of used cell phones. Since

there are so many, I can afford to pass up on sellers who won’t come down on price.

What I’ve noticed is that most people want to sell their phone ASAP, and because there

are a thousand other people selling the same exact phone, it is more difficult for sellers

to compete. Therefore, sellers must be more reasonable with their price.

Before I start searching for cell phones to buy, I’ll refer to my spreadsheet where I keep

a list of the current phones that are currently the most popular. Start with a specific

phone model and search for it locally on Craigslist. Check your spreadsheet to see what

is fair value, aka what you can resell the phone for. My goal is to find phones that I can

buy for $100 less than fair value. If I can buy a phone at more than a $100 discount, even

better. After you search for your target phone, your results will include a list of phones

for sale that are detailed, while others are less descriptive. For example, Some of the

listings will include a thorough description and pictures revealing every angle of the

phone. However, other phones for sale will simply have one sentence and no pictures.

I prefer to use both types of listings to my advantage. If I see a phone that is detailed

with information and meets my price expectations, I will email the seller and let them

know I can immediately meet with them to make the exchange. Remember, the seller is

looking to sell the phone as quickly as possible to the first person that hands them cash.

If the phone was well described, there will be several other interested buyers so be the

first person to message the seller if the price is right.

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When you find a listing for a phone that has a little to no description, this provides you

the opportunity to talk down the price. Since there is less information presented by the

seller, there will be less buyers. And with less buyers, maybe none, this gives you an

advantage. I usually will start an email conversation with the seller, asking for pictures,

if the phone works, and if there are any problems with it I should be aware of. If

everything checks out, I will make an offer usually less than what the seller is asking

for, and I will say I can pay “this much” and can pay cash and pick up the phone today.

If the seller doesn’t have many other interested buyers, and wants to sell the phone fast,

they will most likely agree to your offer. I usually offer $100 less than fair value price.

In your email conversation with the seller, you should ask for the cell phone’s ESN,

IMEI, or MEID number, which is the phone’s serial number. You can use this number

to check to see if the phone has been stolen. Also, when you meet the seller, inspect the

phone. Check the physical condition of the phone for scratches or anything that is

broken. Make sure the phone turns on and works. I always try to meet the seller at the

local wireless store because they can checkout the phone for you. Most of the time if the

seller is hiding something, they won’t want to meet at the store.

The Risks Of Craigslist

A Craigslist transaction involves a seller providing a cell phone in exchange for cash.

After the transaction is complete, the phone now belongs to the buyer, and there is no

return policy. Before handing over the cash, I always perform my due diligence in both

the seller and the phone. I will do my best through email communication to obtain the

seller’s name and phone number. If they are willing to give that information, I will call

them to arrange a meeting spot to pick up the phone. If someone is not willing to give

that information, I avoid doing business with them because I fear they may be selling a

bad phone and don’t want a trail leading back to them. You can also search the seller’s

email address and phone number on both Craigslist and Google. Look up the seller’s

name on Facebook as well.

When arranging to meet to buy a phone, always suggest a public location such as a

shopping mall, fast food chain, coffee shop, or a wireless service store. You will be

carrying a large amount of cash so you don’t want to meet in the back of a dark

alleyway. Always meet in person and don’t agree to wire the payment; pay in cash.

Bring a friend or a roommate if you have one, especially if you’re meeting at night.

Selling Your Phone On Ebay

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After you buy a phone on Craigslist, it’s time to flip it on eBay. I prefer to sell my

phones on ebay because I can get the most money in the least amount of time. On

Craigslist, sellers are limited to the local region so they are more willing to reduce their

asking price. However, eBay is a worldwide platform that hosts buyers everywhere. It

‘s a simple concept, buy a phone in a smaller market and then resell it on a larger

market for more money.

When selling your phone on eBay, it’s all about presentation. You will need to sign-up

for an eBay seller account and a PayPal account so you can get paid. On eBay, buyers

are only going to trust paying for a cell phone if the seller is reputable. Therefore, they

are going to look for a seller with great feedback. Unfortunately, if you’ve never used

eBay before, then you are going to have a difficult time because you won’t have any

feedback history. If you want to build up your feedback you can start buying things on

eBay which will result in sellers adding to your feedback score. Fortunately, most

people have already used eBay so they already have a feedback score. As a buyer,

wouldn’t you want to find a seller with a perfect feedback score?

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So now that you have an eBay account and a great feedback score, it’s time to create a

rockstar listing to sell the phone. The title should include the phone model details and

the condition of the phone. In your description of the phone, you should write as much

about the condition as possible. Don’t bother copying and pasting the phone

specifications from the manufacturers website, eBay will take care of that for you.

The most important part is the visual. Take great pictures of every angle of the phone,

with a great camera. You want to show every single scratch, buff, or imperfection. The

higher the quality of the photo, the better the presentation is. A buyer is looking for

great pictures of the phone they are going to buy. Remember, someone is about to pay

several hundred dollars to buy a cell phone across the country from someone they have

never met before.

Select the option to only sell to buyers in the United States. You don’t want to deal with

overseas headaches. Stick to the US and your life will be easier. Additionally, in the

description of your listing, add “All bidders must have over a 90% feedback score.” Just

like buyers are looking for great sellers, you should also be looking for a great buyer.

When selling on eBay, you can choose to use an auction or the “Buy It Now” feature. I

prefer to use the auction feature because when you use the Buy It Now feature, it may

take longer to sell. Also, when you set a price for Buy It Now, it may be higher than the

market is willing to pay. I start an auction, with the opening price at $0.01 and set it to

end in 24 hours. While some people may prefer to set the auction to 7 days, I have

found it doesn’t make a difference if you set it to 24 hours. Most people wait until the

last few hours to bid anyways.

Shipping

After your phone sells, you should receive a PayPal payment from the buyer. Hopefully

everything went smoothly up until this point. Now you will have to ship the phone to

the seller. I always keep boxes around the house so I can reuse them to ship out my

phones. If you don’t have a box you can buy one from any parcel store. Package the

phone in the box and use bubble wrap. You don’t want the phone to be damaged in

transit. These boxes get thrown around a lot in the truck so the more protection the

better. Inside the box you will want to put some sort of receipt. This is simply to remind

the buyer about the phone’s auction ID and details. Both eBay and PayPal offer

printable receipts in the account settings.

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When you bring your phone to USPS, UPS, or FedEx you want to buy three additional

services in addition to the standard shipping. Make sure to buy shipment tracking,

insurance, and signature upon delivery. You want to cover all you grounds so if

something happens to the phone you won’t lose your money.

Every Business Needs A Spreadsheet

If you’re going to be buying and selling multiple cell phones, I highly recommend you

create a spreadsheet to stay organized. The more information you keep record of, the

easier it will make your life. I use a spreadsheet to track every phone I buy on Craigslist,

it’s status of being sold, and how much money each phone profits. You can also keep a

tab to keep record of which phones are most popular and have the highest demand

paired with their estimated fair market prices. You’ll need to constantly update the fair

market prices to keep them up to date.

From Start To Finish

So as an example, here is a complete flip I made a few weeks ago. I searched on

Craigslist for a Black iPhone 5 16GB. I found one for sale for Verizon. The seller was

located five minutes down the road from me. He only listed a brief description of the

phone without any pictures and requested $350. I emailed the seller, asked for some

pictures, the ESN #, asked if anything was wrong with the phone, and requested his

phone number so I could call him about it. In the email I also noted that I live in the area

and could possibly pick it up later in the afternoon. The seller got back to me with the

information and two pictures he took from his wife’s phone. Everything looked good so

I called the seller, offered him $315, and arranged to meet him at a Verizon Wireless

store that was close to both of us. When we got there I looked at it, all the ports looked

good, I tested the charger and the camera. There were some minor scratches but they

were barely noticeable. I said everything looked good and asked a Verizon employee to

add the phone to one of my extra lines and he did this at no charge. I gave the seller the

cash, the deal was done, and we went our separate ways.

When I got home, I logged into the Verizon wireless website and unlinked the phone

from my extra phone number. I was only able to do the extra step of having the Verizon

employee link the phone to my account because I already have Verizon service. If it had

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been an AT&T phone and we met at the AT&T store, I would have simply asked an

employee to verify that the phone could be activated. I made sure all the old user’s data

was deleted from the phone and it was restored to the default settings.

Next, I logged into eBay and uploaded some high quality pictures I took with another

phone I have. I started the listing at $0.01 and set it to expire in 24 hours. The next day

my auction ended with 26 bids at a final price of $403.50. I immediately received the

PayPal payment from the buyer, who was located in New York. The following day I

packed the phone up and brought it to UPS to be shipped out. By the next week the

seller had received the phone and had left me great feedback on eBay.

I paid $315 for this iPhone and resold it on eBay for $403.50. That is a profit of $88.50.

However, after eBay and PayPal fees the profits were slightly less. This was a great deal

and a perfect example of how to make money buying and selling used cell phones.

Why Doesn’t Everyone Do This?

Simply put, not everyone realizes the potential of this plan. Even now that I’ve told you

about the potential, as you can see, it still can be a lot of hard work. I am constantly

searching on Craigslist looking for good deals, while trying to negotiate prices and

meetups at the same time. You may also have to drive around quite a bit between

picking up phones from Craigslist sellers and trips to the post office to send off phones

to their new home. If you don’t live in a populated area, this may not work for you. If

you don’t have an established feedback rating, you may not have as high of profits.

However, if you are willing to deal with all these challenges, you can make some great

side income, or possibility a full-time salary.

Sell Your Used Cell Phones On Facebook And Twitter You may not be comfortable selling your used cell phone on a marketplace such as eBay

or Craigslist, so you might want to try listing your phone on a social network, such

as Facebook or Twitter. Google Plus is also another viable option; however, it doesn’t

have as many users yet so you may have more difficulty here. It doesn’t hurt to try

selling on all three networks since it won’t cost you a dime.

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Avoid Risk And Seek Your Social Groups

When you sell your phone on eBay it requires you receive payment via PayPal and

you’ll have to ship your phone to the buyer. Although the chances are slim that you will

be scammed, you still may want to avoid an online marketplace. The same goes with

Craigslist. Meeting a local stranger may seem convenient, but there are still precautions

to take. Avoid the creepy Caigslist stalkers at all costs.

If you’re going to sell your phone on Facebook or Twitter, it helps to have a larger

group of connected friends and followers. Odds are that someone will have interest if

you have a large amount of people in your network. The simplest technique is to post

an update on your social network that you have a phone for sale. You should include

the same details in the post that you would include on a marketplace such as the

phone’s make and model, the condition, pictures, the wireless provider the phone is for,

and a price. Any details you left out you can add to the comments or reply with to your

friends’ questions with. In your status update/post make sure you sound like yourself,

rather than an advertisement. The last thing your friends want is another advertisement

in their news feed. Hopefully your friends will share or retweet your post to spread the

word. You can even ask them to help you out and click the share button. This might

help you sell your phone to a friend of a friend.

Selling your phone on facebook or Twitter is an easy exchange once you find a buyer. If

you’re friend from down the street wants to buy your phone they simply have to

contact you and then you can meet at either your own or their personal residence. You

don’t have to worry about inviting a questionable character into your home.

Research A Price

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You want to sell your phone for a price that is fair for you and fair for the buyer.

Sometimes it can be tricky to find a price that both you and the buyer agree on. As the

seller, you’re going to try to get as much money as you can, and at the same time the

buyer is going to try to haggle the price down as low as possible.

When you are selling your phone, keep in mind the idea of supply and demand. If you

are selling a Nokia phone from 2004, there isn’t likely to be very much demand. I have

found Apple iPhones to have the most demand and to retain their value more-so than

Android and Windows phones. Most likely, any of your friends that are interested in

buying your phone will make you an offer less than what you are asking for so be

prepared to come down slightly on your original price.

One way you can figure out how much to sell your phone for is to browse other

marketplaces. As an example, lets look for a good price to sell an iPhone 5. A few days

ago the iPhone 5s was announced so let’s say I have an iphone 5 I want to sell so I can

upgrade. If I search on eBay for an iPhone, I can narrow down the results by choosing

the “5” model, the Verizon carrier, 32 GB, Black, and used condition. Next I will sort by

“Time: Ending Soonest” and I will choose Auctions only. These settings will allow me

to see how much money buyers are bidding on a used iPhone 5 with similar specs as

mine just before the auction ends. Start at the top of the page and look for an auction

that will end soonest and has several bids. The phone I found has approximately five

minutes remaining until the auction ends and the highest bid is $455. Check out a few

more examples to get the best idea of a good price to list your phone for in your

Facebook or Twitter post.

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You can use a similar process by browsing the Craigslist classifieds. On the Craigslist

homepage, in the search box I entered “used 32 iPhone 5″. In the results I selected the

box that requires an image be included in the post, this way I know the sellers are more

serious. Within the local search results I can see other people are trying to sell their

phones for $550, $500, and $350. Based on these results I would try to find a price

somewhere in the middle and sell the phone around $475.

Another option to determine a price is to use the Movaluate tool. Movaluate’s fair

market appraisals are based on data collected from the millions of transactions made on

online auction sites. When I look for a fair market value price for a used Verizon iPhone

5 32 GB it shows a price of $460.

Include High Quality Pictures

When posting your phone for sale on Facebook or Twitter, you’ll want to include

detailed high quality photos that show and prove the condition of your phone. I’m sure

most of your friends will trust you if you say your phone is in great condition, but a

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high quality picture will grab more attention than a post without one. It will also help

you sell your phone at higher price, rather than coming down to a lower offer.

You can take pictures with a camera and upload them to your computer, or if you don’t

have a camera you can take pictures of your phone in the mirror. If your personal cell

phone is your only device that you own that takes pictures then I recommend you ask a

friend to take pictures of your phone on their own cell phone and then email them to

you.

Avoid Fees Selling Your Used Cell Phone

If you are selling your phone on eBay, there will be a much larger audience of interested

buyers. You’ll find a buyer quicker amongst a group of millions of registered users.

However, the downside is that eBay charges fees to use their marketplace. Although

their isn’t a membership fee to register for an account on their website, there are selling

fees. There are a wide variety of fees including fees for listing a product for sale, adding

pictures, a percentage of the final price, etc… On top of eBay fees, you’ll also have to

pay a transaction fee to PayPal, which will handle the payment from the buyer to the

seller. If you think this is outrageous, join the millions of others who make a living

selling stuff on eBay that are furious with the eBay’s policies. There are even blogs and

message boards dedicated to support people who hate eBay. Luckily, there isn’t a fee to

sell your phone on Facebook or Twitter.

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Top 5 FAQs For Selling Used Cell Phones

1. Where Can I get the most money for my used cell phone?

You can get the most cash from selling your used cell phone from Craigslist. The

runner-up is eBay; however, eBay has selling fees as well as PayPal transaction fees.

There aren’t any fees associated with selling your phone on Craigslist. You should be

able to sell your phone for the same amount on Craigslist as you would on eBay. The

downside of Craigslist is that you will have to filter through all the spam responses you

receive and low-ball offers to find legitimate buyers. Additionally, you will have to

meet the buyer in person to make the exchange. I recommend you meet the buyer at a

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public place such as a shopping mall. The best place to meet is at a wireless store, such

as as the Verizon Store so the buyer can activate the phone on their account at the same

time of the exchange.

Many people like the convenience of buyback websites, such as Gazelle.com, which will

buy back your phone from you. These websites are more convenient, but they will not

offer you as much money as you can sell your phone for on Craigslist or eBay.

2. How much is my phone worth?

There are many ways to check how much your phone is worth. The best way is to

search for your phone on Movaluate. Movalute is a simple tool that will show you the

current fair market value of your phone. Movaluate combines data from millions of

completed transactions with statistical analysis and expert review, in order to refine this

massive of amount of information into actionable results for used cell phones.

The cool thing about Movaluate is that it will show you all kinds of cool statistics about

the value of your cell phone. It will show you a range from a high to low price points,

price certainty, as well as a historical chart that displays the selling trends of your exact

used cell phone model. You can adjust the condition to show details pertaining closest

to your phone.

Another great way to check your phone’s value is to check the price that auctions are

ending at. For example, go to eBay.com and search for your exact cell phone model

including wireless carrier, make, and model details. (Verizon Samsung Galaxy 4). On

eBay’s left-side navigation panel, specify the exact phone model, the carrier, storage

capacity, and condition to narrow your results. Then at the top of the page, choose

Auction only. Click the drop-down box and choose sort by “Time: Ending Soonest”.

Now you will be able to see auctions for your exact phone that are ending within a few

seconds or minutes. Use the first few results to get an idea of exactly how much buyers

are willing to bid on the phone. This should provide you a good idea of how much you

can get for it.

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3. How Can I avoid being scammed?

This depends entirely on which website you are using to sell your phone.

If you are selling your phone on Craigslist, make sure you exchange a few emails before

meeting the buyer. Ask for the buyer’s phone number to discuss the details. Someone

who is going to scam you won’t provide their phone number to you, and if you ask for

it, you probably won’t hear from them again. Also, check the email address for their

name. Sometimes people use their full name in their email address. It also may be in

their email signature. If it shows up in either of those locations, search their name on

Google and Facebook.

Make sure to meet the buyer in a public location. This is to protect both you and the

buyer. A scammer most likely won’t show up where there are other people around.

Never agree to ship an item on Craigslist or to accept anything except cash. Many

scammers will offer to send a bank check or some other form of payment, and will ask

you to either ship the phone or say they have someone coming to pick it up. This is a

scam, completely avoid this situation.

If you are selling your phone on eBay, make sure you post detailed pictures and a

thorough description of the cell phone you are selling. Include details about every

single scratch that is on the phone. You don’t want to create a situation where someone

can say the phone isn’t in the condition that you described it as and wants their money

back. Also take a picture of the ESN/IMEI/MEID that is on the phone. This is the serial

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number on the phone. This is so you can prove which phone you sold. This prevents a

scammer from trying to buy your phone, and then returning a different phone to you.

When you are shipping your phone to an eBay buyer, don’t ship it until you receive

payment. Make sure you only accept payment with PayPal from someone with a

confirmed shipping address. Only ship the phone to the PayPal confirmed address,

even if the buyer asks you to do otherwise. If you don’t send it to the confirmed

address, you won’t be protected by PayPal’s seller protection policy.

At the post office, spend the extra money on insurance, signature upon delivery, and

tracking. This will save you a ton of headaches if your phone were to get lost in the mail

or the buyer were to claim that they never received it.

4. What do I have to do to my phone before I sell it?

Before you sell your phone, make sure you do the following:

Transfer all your data from your old phone to your new phone, or back it up with an app.

Clear all your personal data off of your phone and reset it to the default factory settings.

Also clear any external memory cards that you are selling with the phone.

Remove Your SIM Card.

Gather all the accessories that your phone came with (charger, box, instruction manual).

Clean your phone (buttons, smudges, air canister to the charging port).

5. Can I sell my phone if it is broken?

Yes, you can certainly sell your broken phone. You won’t get nearly as much cash for it

as a working phone but you can obtain some money for it. Just like a working used cell

phone, try to determine the value of your broken phone using the steps listed earlier in

this article.

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You can sell your broken phone on Craigslist and eBay. Just make sure to describe what

is wrong with it. There are plenty of people out there looking for broken phones to use

for the parts, or looking to fix broken phones to resell as working phones.

You can also get cash from some of the buyback websites for broken phones. Sites such

a Gazelle.com will pay you for your broken cell phone.

How I Made Over $1,000 In A Week Buying And Selling Used Cell Phones I can say I’ve sold my fair share of used cell phones. I have a day job, and flip phones on

the side when I have the time. Yes, you can probably make some decent money if you

dedicate the time and effort doing this full-time. However, having the security of a

paycheck from a day job is nice.

I receive many emails every week from readers with all sorts of questions from asking

about a specific listing on Ebay or to some of the techniques I use to get a good price on

Craigslist. I also have received messages from a few people that struggle to find the

time to flip phones on the side and have asked for advice.

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The truth is, you can go on a binge buying and selling phones to make some quick cash.

However, you will have to put in the time emailing, driving around, and upfront

money.

I was very busy at the end of 2014 going into the new year and hadn’t spent much time

flipping phones. Towards the end of January I decided I was going to try to make some

quick cash. I figured I would devote all my time and energy in a weekend in return for

a nice payoff.

I created a spreadsheet with a list of phones I was going to target. My list was mainly

iPhones since they are easiest to flip, but had a few Samsung Galaxy’s on it. In another

column, I put the price of what I think I could sell each phone for based on research

from Movaluate and Ebay. In the next column I put the highest price I would buy each

phone for which was $50 less than fair market value.

So now I have a spreadsheet with phone models, what I could sell them for, and what I

would buy them for. That’s the easy part. The next thing to do is buy the phones. I

spent all of Saturday and Sunday searching Craigslist and Ebay for as many deals I

could find. For all of the phones I found on Craigslist, I would try to get the phone for

$100 less than market value. This required a few techniques and a lot of back and forth

emails. Most of the phones I negotiated to a price closer to $50-$75 less than market

price. I also spent several hours in between emails running around town inspecting and

buying phones. I found several listings that had terrible presentation (no pictures or

details), and I was able to negotiate a great price simply because they didn’t have many

other people contacting them. It also helped to let the buyer know I could be there to

pickup the phone within the hour. At the same time, I followed several auctions that

were ending soon on Ebay and placed bids on anything I thought I could get under fair

market value.

Throughout the entire weekend, I sent a total of 148 emails and placed 38 bids on Ebay.

By the end of the weekend this lead to a total of 11 phones I bought using Craigslist and

4 I won from Ebay. I bought all of the phones used, but in great condition. This cost a

lot of cash up front. The average cost per phone was $298. Fronting almost 4,500 was

risky but I was confident I could resell them at a higher price. I put the 4 Ebay phones

on my credit card and paid cash for the phones from Craigslist. Unfortunately I would

have to wait for the Ebay phones to be delivered before I could resell them. I resold all

of the phones on Craigslist at higher price in a week. The Craigslist phones I sold right

away, and the Ebay phones I listed a week later and turned them fairly quickly. The

average profit per phone was $72 for a total of $1,080. The trick is to have great

21

presentation and not to budge too much on your selling price. I used very details

descriptions with pictures and listed every phone just above market price. Besides my

time, the only other cost was half a tank of gas driving around to pickup phones from

Craigslist sellers.

Anybody can do this. It can be done at a larger or smaller scale. If you don’t have the

money up front, start with just one phone and work your way up. If you do your

research on fair market value for each phone, you can eliminate most of your risk

because you will have a good idea what you can resell for. Also, I sold all of my phones

on Craigslist which eliminated the fees I would have encountered if I sold on Ebay.

The hustle here that is going to annoy you is constantly trying to get Craigslist sellers to

meet your offer. Your are going to get a lot of people that won’t respond at all or will

tell you to fuck off. That is why it took me 148 emails to get only 11 people to sell to me

at the price I offered. I’ll admit, it was pretty exhausting buying so many phones at

once, but it’s not something I do often so the extra $1,000 in my pocket was worth it.

Buying and Selling Used Cell Phones:

Ebay Versus Craigslist

Two of the most popular used cell phone markets are eBay and Craigslist. Both are

extremely useful websites because they have millions of users buying and selling

phones everyday. However, while both marketplaces have their advantages, they also

have their disadvantages. I have sold hundreds of items on both eBay and Craigslist,

including a handful of cell phones, and I’m going to provide you with all of the ins and

outs of both marketplaces.

22

Convenience – Quick And Easy Is Best

There are a few factors to consider when comparing how convenient one marketplace is

compared to another. First, let’s start with becoming a registered user. To buy or sell a

phone on eBay, you will have to register for a user account. You’ll have to submit your

contact information, choose a user ID and password, verify that you’re at least 18 years

old, and then agree to the user agreement and privacy policy. If you’re selling on eBay,

you’ll have to also create a PayPal account so you can accept online payments. On the

other hand, Craigslist simply requires an email address to list an item for sale. All

communication between the buyer and sell on Craigslist is through email so neither

party will be required to register. However, if you do want to create a Craigslist

account, which is completely optional, you will have access to a control panel where

you can publish new ads, edit current listings or re-post expired ones. Craigslist also

saves basic user information such as email address and default geographic location.

Without a Craigslist account, there is no way to manage a post except through a link in

an email that you receive whenever you post as an unregistered user. If that email gets

lost or if you lose access to that email address, you will not be able to modify your post.

Since I use both eBay and Craigslist multiple times a year, I have accounts with both

websites. If you are only selling a phone once and don’t plan on selling anything ever

again, registering for an account may or may not be convenient for you. Craigslist will

hide your email address from buyers, although you still may get some spam messages

and low ball offers.

23

If you’re selling a phone, you’ll have to manage the delivery to the buyer. If you’re

selling on eBay, you’ll have to ship the phone after you receive payment. This will

require printing an order receipt from the eBay seller tools, buying a box, and safely

packing the phone inside the box. Then you will have to bring the box to the USPS,

UPS, or FedEx store. If you want to pay a little more, you can have UPS or FedEx pack

the box for you. It’s nice that selling phones is easier than selling larger items because it

doesn’t require dragging a heavy box down to the local post office. As the buyer in an

eBay transaction, it is a little bit easier because you simply have to wait for the package

to arrive to your mailbox. When selling on Craigslist, you will have to agree with the

buyer on a local place to meet and exchange the phone in person.

When selling your phone, time is of essence. As I said in other articles, phones

depreciate, so the sooner you can sell your phone, the more money you will get for it,

Additionally, if you’re like me, you’ll be anxious to get the cash sooner rather than later.

You’ll have to remember, supply and demand play a big part in how fast your phone

will sell. If you have a newer more popular phone, you will find a buyer faster. If you

sell your phone on eBay with the “But It Now” fixed price option, you will have to wait

24

until a buyer chooses to buy your phone. If you choose to sell on eBay as an auction,

you still will have to wait until the end of the allotted time which is usually seven days.

On Craigslist, there is only a fixed price option. So when you list your phone, if you

don’t immediately receive offers, you’ll have to reduce the price or accept lower offers.

A speedy sale is also important for a buyer. If someone loses or breaks their cell phone,

they are going to want a replacement as soon as possible. Therefore, on eBay they will

have to wait for an auction to end and for the phone to ship. On Craigslist, there is less

of a wait time for a buyer as they can arrange for a sooner time to meet with the seller to

make the exchange.

Riskiness – Better Safe Than Sorry

There are always precautions to take when buying from or selling to someone you don’t

know. In some way or another, the item being sold is going to have to transfer from the

seller’s hands to the buyer’s. With Craigslist, after a buyer and seller agree on a price,

they will have to designate a time and place to meet to swap cash for the cell phone. I

always recommend meeting in a public place such as a hotel lobby, fast food chain, or a

shopping mall. However, there are still scammers and criminals out there to be careful

of. You’ll also have to deal with people not showing up to the meeting place or

cancelling at the last minute. It’s best to bring a friend with you when meeting someone,

and avoid any emails you receive that seem strange and shady. Also, don’t agree to

accept mail order checks in exchange for shipping an item. When using Craigslist,

always meet in person for the exchange and only accept cash. With eBay, luckily you

don’t have to meet in person. The seller can see the payment as been sent by the buyer

through PayPal, and the buyer can see when the item was shipped through tracking.

When using eBay or Craigslist, you’ll be making transactions with complete strangers.

There will be buyers and sellers that you have never met and don’t know anything

about. Thankfully, eBay has a feedback system in place. Every registered user on eBay

has a feedback score that is calculated from all of their previous transactions. If you are

buying a cell phone on eBay, I recommenced you only buy from a user that has a high

percentage of positive feedback from a large amount of previous transactions. As a

seller, you can cancel any bids that are made by users that don’t have any feedback.

Just make sure to say in your listing that you only accept bids from users who have a

feedback history. Unfortunately, Craigslist doesn’t have any type of feedback, review,

or rating system for users. You won’t be able to see what kind of previous transactions a

buyer or seller has because Craigslist doesn’t monitor or manage these. All transactions

are arranged through email so it will be up to you to use your best judgement and to

filter out all the questionable messages you receive. Although some people may not be

25

comfortable meeting strangers in person to make a cash transaction, others prefer to

meet face to face.

In the investment world, they say cash is king. Many agree that cash is also the best

form of payment on marketplaces. If you are buying and selling on Craigslist, you can

use cash as your form of payment. You can’t really get scammed if you accept cash as a

payment unless someone gives you counterfeit money, which is very unlikely these

days. Most people also prefer to have cash rather than using a third party payment

system. To reduce your risk using Craigslist, make sure to only accept cash as a seller.

Avoid anyone that offers you a check, money order, etc… Although these other forms

of payment sounds legitimate, there are various ways that buyers can scam a seller by

using a form of payment other than cash. With eBay, the primary payment method is

PayPal. PayPal is a very secure money transaction that allows a buyer to send payment

to a seller just by knowing their email address. You’ll have to add your bank account

details to your PayPal account so you’ll be able to withdraw your funds. While an eBay

user can’t fake a PayPal transaction, they can file a dispute after the transaction has

been completed in an effort to get their money back. For example, after a buyer receives

their cell phone in the mail, they may say it doesn’t work, or they may say they never

received the phone at all. Unfortunately this is the world we live in, and buyers can lie

about the quality of the transaction. While you can limit your risk by providing

tracking, insurance, and delivery confirmation from the post office, there still is the

chance that a buyer will have a dispute with you. If eBay and PayPal investigate the

dispute and agree with the other party, then they will reimburse the buyer and the

funds will be deducted from your account.

26

Best Monetary Value

Buyers won’t have to worry about transaction fees on either marketplace but sellers

will. Craigslist is a local cash exchange so there no listing or transaction fees. Ebay does

have fees which include listing, final price, as well as some extra fees. The seller will

also have to pay a percentage fee for the PayPal transaction.

The best part about selling your phone on Craigslist or eBay is that you’ll get more

money in return than what you’ll be offered from any of the online or in-store buyback

programs. That’s because there isn’t a middle man and you are selling your device

directly to the consumer. Even for a cell phone buyer, you can get a great deal if you

take advantage of the search filters. I have found that there are generally higher prices

for cell phones on Craigslist than there are on eBay. This is because of the demand from

local markets. While you can buy a phone from any location on eBay, you can only buy

from local sellers on eBay. I currently reside in Washington DC and you can sell most

used phones for a better deal on Craigslist. Therefore, I recommend buying used cell

phones on eBay and selling them on Craigslist to get the most bang for your buck.

Selling Your Phone Online? Compare The Fees From Ebay, Amazon, Swappa, and Glyde

If you are going to sell your cell phone or tablet online, you can get the most money

from auction and fixed-price marketplaces. Websites such as Ebay, Amazon, Swappa,

and Glyde can connect you with interested buyers for your mobile device. However, all

of these websites charge a fee to use their services, which should be considered when

choosing which website to sell your device with. I’ll compare the fees for the top mobile

marketplaces; please keep in mind this is a comparison for sellers in the United States

and the currencies are in US Dollars.

Ebay

Ebay’s seller fees may seem complicated at first, but after reading this page you will

know exactly how much their fees will cost you. There is a large combination of

27

different fee types and premium features you can buy for your Ebay listing, so I’m only

going to list the fees that I incur selling cell phones my way which is the same as what

you would incur if you follow the rest of the guides. Check out the Ebay fee calculator if

you want to quickly estimate your selling fees.

Insertion Fees: When you list an item on eBay, you may be charged a listing (or

insertion) fee. Thankfully, there is a $0.00 insertion fee for cell phones. Insertion fees for

your first 50 listings per calendar month are free. This applies to 7-day auction listings

only which is what I recommend using.

Final Value Fee: After your cell phone or tablet sells, you’re charged a final value fee.

Final value fees are calculated based on the total amount of the sale and are charged per

item. The total amount of the sale is the final price of the item, shipping charges, and

any other amounts you may charge the buyer. Ebay charges a final value fee of 10% the

combined sale and shipping price.

When selling your mobile device on Ebay, you will need to accept payment with PayPal

which has its own costs in addition to Ebay fees. PayPal fees are considered necessary

transaction costs when selling online, and they allow you to accept credit card and

money transfers from the buyer’s bank account. PayPal charges the seller2.9% plus

$0.30 for every transaction. This percentage is applied to the total amount of money

transferred from the buyer to the seller.

28

Swappa

Swappa’s fees work differently than Ebay. Swappa is a fixed-price only marketplace

which means all phones and tablets are listed at a buy it now price and the buyer can’t

bid on the devices like you can with an auction. Swappa charges a fee only if the device

is sold, and they charge the buyer rather than the seller a flat $10. However, this $10 is

tacked onto the selling price that the buyer sees in the marketplace so you should

consider this when determining a competitive price to sell the phone for.

Just like Ebay, Swappa also uses PayPal to complete money transfers and payments

from the buyer to the seller. The seller will incur the same fees from PayPal of 2.9% plus

$0.30.

Amazon Marketplace

If you are selling less than 40 items per month on the Amazon Marketplace, then you

don’t have to pay their subscription fee On Amazon, there is a selling fee and a referral

fee. The selling fee is a fixed $0.99per device that you sell. Additionally, Amazon

deducts as a referral fee a percentage of the total sales price (the total amount paid by

the buyer including the item price and any shipping or gift wrap charges), excluding

29

any taxes collected through Amazon tax collection services. Amazon charges 8% as a

referral fee for every cell phone or tablet that you sell on their marketplace.

Luckily Amazon has their own payment service which allows you to receive the funds

from the buyer without an additional fee. However, you cannot use PayPal with the

Amazon Marketplace. You must use Amazon Payments.

Glyde

You don’t have to pay an upfront fee to list your device on Glyde. When your item

sells, Glyde deducts 12% on the first $100 of the item’s sale price and 8% on the rest.

Glyde charges up to $6 to send you a prepared and prepaid shipping kit to send your

device in.

There aren’t any additional transaction fees. After the buyer makes the payment to you

using Glyde’s payment system, the money can be transferred to your bank account for

free.

Below is an example of how much your fees would be on

each marketplace if you sold a used cell phone for $315.00:

Ebay Swappa Amazon Glyde

30

Ebay Swappa Amazon Glyde

Sale Price $300.00 $300.00 $300.00 $300.00

Shipping

Price

$15.00 $15.00 $15.00 $15.00

Total Item

Selling Price

$315.00 $315.00 $315.00 $315.00

Fee 10% (final value

fee) + 2.9% +

0.30 (PayPal)

2.9% + 0.30

(PayPal)

0.99 (selling

fee) + 8%

(referral fee)

12% (first $100) + 8%

(rest) + $6 (prepared

shipping)

Calculated

Fee

$31.50 + $9.44 =

$40.94

$9.44 $26.19 $12 (first $100) + $17.20

(rest) + $6 (prepared

shipping) = $35.20

Sale Net Of

Fees

$274.06 $305.56 $288.81 $279.80

As you can see above, some marketplaces will allow you earn a higher profit from

buying and selling used cell phones. However, keep in mind that just because there is a

smaller fee, doesn’t mean there will be as many interested buyers.

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The Complete Guide to Selling Your Used Cell Phone

Upgrading Your Cell Phone

Most consumers in the US upgrade to a new cell phone once every year two years.

Although most of us don’t need and won’t use the latest in mobile technology, a

majority of subscribers will purchase the newest iPhone or Google phone as soon as

they are eligible for an upgrade from their mobile service provider.

When your contract is up (usually 2 years), you are eligible for “upgrade pricing” on a

new phone. Upgrade pricing is the price that is shown when you look at the mobile

service provider’s web site and the price is in big letters. The price of the new phone

will vary from “Free” to over $200, depending on what phone you choose to get. If you

upgrade your phone, you will be required to sign a new contract to get that pricing

(generally 2 years).

The reason for the contract is that the phone company is paying part (or all, in the case

of a “Free” phone) of the price of the phone in exchange for “locking” you into your

current plan for the next 2 years. Part of every bill you are paying goes to that cost of

the phone. If you are using your phone “out of contract” the phone companies LOVE it,

because they don’t have to contribute money to a new phone for you.

32

For example, I want an iPhone. If I go to the Apple Store, their base model phone will

cost me $649. However, if I go to the Verizon Wireless store and sign a new contract for

2-year mobile service plan, Verizon will sell me the iPhone for only $200. In this

scenario, Verizon Wireless is paying Apple the full $649 for the phone. But they are only

charging me, the consumer, a subsidized (lower) price in return for 24 monthly

payments towards a wireless service plan.

Why Sell Your Old Cell Phone?

After your 2-year contract expires, your mobile service provider will allow you to

purchase a brand new phone at a subsidized price, in exchange for an agreement of

another 2-year contract. If you choose to upgrade, which you are not required to do,

you can purchase a new phone and your previous phone will be disconnected from

your phone number. If you just bought the newest iPhone, then your older iPhone is

going to be unused, sitting in your closet collecting dust.

33

Almost all consumer products depreciate over time. So your old iPhone which is now 2

years old, is not worth $649 anymore. But it’s still worth something, and very likely it’s

worth a lot more than $0. Instead of storing your old iPhone in your closet where it isn’t

being used, why not sell it now when its value is higher today than it will be tomorrow?

When I upgraded to an iPhone 5, I sold my 32 gb iPhone 4S on eBay for $400. Even

though it cost me $300 to upgrade with Verizon Wireless, I actually made a profit after

selling my old phone.

So who is actually buying all of these used cell phones? On any given day, there are

over 100,000 phones listed for sale on eBay. Is the used cell phone market large enough

to support 100,000 people buying cell phones every day? The answer is YES. Every time

someone breaks or loses their phone, or is victim to cell phone theft, they will need to

buy a new one. Most subscribers have insurance on their phone, but if you aren’t

insured and you aren’t due for a new 2-year contract, then you will have to pay full

price from the phone manufacturer. Buying a pre-owned phone is the less expensive

solution.

Let’s pretend I renewed my 2-year contract with Verizon Wireless last month and

bought a brand new iPhone 5 for $200. This morning, I dropped my iPhone in the pool

and it no longer works. I don’t pay for cell phone insurance so I don’t qualify for a

replacement. Because I still have 23 months left on my contract, If I go to the Verizon

Wireless or Apple store, they will charge me the full price of $649 for a brand new

34

replacement iPhone. It seems I am out of luck. Except I’m not. I can go on eBay and buy

a used iPhone 5 for $400 which saves me $249 off of the Apple price tag for a brand new

phone. This example is exactly why their is a marketplace for used cell phones. If $400 is

out of my budget, I can buy an older model iPhone for $200. Either way, it beats paying

full price from the manufacturer.

Additionally, there are consumers who always want a new phone even if their current

phone works fine. Tech-savvy consumers want to have the newest technology on the

market. So they are always buying new phones. If they are up for a new contract, it

works in their favor. But when a new must-have phone is available and they aren’t due

for a new contract, they resort to one of the many marketplaces to buy used cell phones.

Don’t forget that not everyone uses a smartphone yet. So if you have a few flip phones

hidden away under your bed, don’t hesitate to see how much money you can get for

them. There are buyers out there that still use “dumbphones”. Even broken or water-

damaged phones hold value. There are buyers who are looking for non-working cell

phones to strip for parts.

Preparing To Sell Your Used Cell Phone

Before you sell your phone, you will want to take a few steps to increase the value of

your phone and also to protect and secure your personal data.

First, you should transfer all of your storage and content from your old phone onto

your new phone. Most mobile service providers can do this for free at one of their

stores. Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile, Sprint, AT&T, and all of the other major wireless

businesses have a large number of locations across the United States. If you want to

perform this task on your own, it’s not too difficult either. You can transfer all of your

data to a new iPhone as long as you sync your previous iPhone with iTunes on your

computer. For Android phones, you can download all of your data to your computer

and then upload to your new Google phone. As an alternative you, you can

use Rerware’s MyBackup Pro, available in the Android App Store for $4 USD. I strongly

recommend backing up your phone on a frequent basis even if you don’t plan on

upgrading anytime soon.

35

Next you should clear all of your personal data and reset the operating system back to

the default factory settings. This will return the phone’s software back to how it was

when you first bought it. For security reasons, you want to remove and delete all of

your data from the phone so the new owner won’t have access to your personal and

private information. It’s unbelievable how many people will sell their phone without

deleting their personal information and saved passwords. I personally keep my banking

login, facebook, credit card, as well as several other important credentials saved on my

phone. If this kind of data got into the wrong hands, it could potentially lead to identity

theft issues. Selling your phone to a stranger as-is gives that stranger access all your

music, email, text messages, and other data for the cost of buying your phone.

The way in which you delete data differs based on your cell phone and your carrier. For

example, GSM phones can store the address book data on the SIM card. These cards

make it easier when a user upgrades their phone provided they still use a GSM carrier.

These phones still allow users to write data to parts other than the SIM card. When you

decide to upgrade the phone, look at the type of data your present phone allows. Many

people make the mistake of just deleting phone numbers. Today’s smart phones allow

you to save much more such as:

Contacts

Phone logs

Appointments

Tasks

Voice notes and recordings

SMS messages

Pictures

36

Videos

Application data

Email

Email attachments

Each of the above items could contain personal or confidential information. While your

goal is to protect your data, you’re also protecting other people. You probably would be

annoyed if your contact information were revealed.

Your best solution is to find a way to overwrite the data on the phone or reformat it. If

you simply delete the data, it still can be retrieved with third party tools. Here are some

resources to help you find the correct steps to remove or reformat:

Cell phone manuals – Yes, I know. We rarely keep this item but sometimes you can

find an online version that is available from your cell provider. Look in the index for

items such as “delete data” or “reformat device”

Cell phone manufacturer’s website – These sites tend to be overlooked and often times

have just the info we need. In doing a quick scan, I found Palm had an article called

Performing a Factory reset for the Treo devices. Sometimes vendors like Nokia, have

specific reformat instructions based on the phone and carrier.

Cell carrier or their website – No promises here, but these folks can provide some

answers. If you plan to change carriers and maintain your contact lists on a hosted

system, you should ask how to delete those records too.

Here is a tutorial how to wipe iPhones, as well as most Windows, BlackBerry, and

Android devices.

iPhone on iOS Operating System:

1. Tap the Home Button to return to the home screen

2. Press the “Settings” icon

3. Select “General”

4. Select “Reset”

5. Tap “Erase All Content and Settings”

Most BlackBerry Devices:

37

1. Open Device Menu

2. Click “Options”

3. Click “Security”

4. Click “Wipe Handheld”

5. Click “Continue”

6. Type “blackberry” as prompted

1. This will initiate the erasing process, do not turn your handheld off

Most Android Devices:

1. Return to the Home Screen

2. Tap “Settings”

3. Tap “Privacy”

4. Tap “Factory Data Reset”

5. Tap “Reset Phone”

Windows Operating System Device:

1. Access the Settings option from the live tile or from the app list.

2. In the Settings page, scroll down to the bottom and choose about.

3. In the about page, there will be a reset your phone button at the bottom of the page. Click

on this button to continue.

4. Choose Yes when you see the warning message.

After you delete your data and reset it to the factory settings, you’ll want to deactivate

the phone from your mobile service provider. If you’ve already bought a new phone

and have activated it to your phone number then you can skip this step. If you are

selling your phone before buying a new one then you should deactivate it from your

phone number so the buyer can’t make calls with your phone with your service.

First, if you’re on AT&T or the T-Mobile network, just remove your SIM card. It’s as

easy as that. They should already have a SIM card from their old phone that they can

pop in, and you’ll do the same with your new phone. No big deal. If you’re using a

Verizon Wireless or Sprint phone you can call your service provider, go to your local

service store, or login to your account on your service provider’s website.

The last part of preparing your phone is to gather all the original materials that your

phone was sold with. Providing all accessories, manuals, and original boxing will

increase the value of your phone. This includes charging cables, earphones, instructions,

38

etc. Additionally you’ll want to clean your phone. Wipe off the screen and remove any

smudge marks.

Selling Your Used Phone

Now that your phone is ready to be sold, it’s time to get it out on the market. There are

several different ways to sell your phone:

Online Marketplaces – Online marketplaces are a great way to list your phone for

buyers to find. These websites connect buyers and sellers and take a fee for the

transaction. Some great marketplaces include eBay.com, Swappa.com,

andAmazon.com. Online marketplaces include auctions and ‘Buy It Now’ options. With

a traditional auction, you sell your phone to the highest bidder. If you choose ‘Buy It

Now’, you choose a fixed price for your phone. Generally, you list your phone for sale,

include pictures and a price. If a buyer is interested, they can purchase the phone from

you through the website. The website handles the transaction and provides you, the

seller, with the online payment and the buyer’s information. Usually the payment is

made with PayPal or another method that can be deposited into your personal bank

account. After the sale, you must ship the phone to the buyer. To complete the

transaction, the buyer and seller have the opportunity to leave feedback based on their

experience with the other party.

Offline Classifieds – If you are not comfortable using an online marketplace, you can

sell your phone locally for cash. While the benefit is that you can avoid the marketplace

fee and don’t have to worry about online payment transactions, the downside is that

you have to meet the buyer in person. Be careful when meeting someone in person, and

39

always meet in a public location such as a coffee shop. The most popular offline

classifieds section is Craigslist. You can list your phone on the Craigslist website and

then you can receive emails or phone calls from any interested parties.

Online Buyback Programs – Online Buyback programs are websites that will buy back

your cell phone from you. On a BuyBack website, you can select your phone’s

manufacturer and model, as well as the condition. The BuyBack website will calculate

an offer for your phone within a few seconds. If you choose to accept the offer, they will

mail you a pre-paid postage box to ship your phone in. Once they confirm the quality of

your phone, they will send you a check for the offer price. There are hundreds of online

BuyBack programs, some of the more popular websites include Gazelle and Technollo.

uSell is a great website that compares the BuyBack offers for your current phone so you

can see which program will give you the most money.

In-store Buyback Programs – Several electronics stores offer buyback programs for

their customers. Stores such as Best Buy, Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T, Sprint, Radio

Shack, Game Stop, Walmart, and Target offer customers a gift card or store credit in

exchange for their cell phones. Some malls even have vending machines that will scan

you phone and offer you cash on the spot.

Least Risky Little Risk Slightly Risky Moderately Risky

In-Store BuyBack

Program

Online BuyBack

Program

Online Marketplace Offline Classifieds

There is little to

no-risk when you

sell you phone to a

well-known retail

outlet. The store

will inspect your

phone on site and

will immediately

make you an offer

and grant you a

gift card or store

credit.

As long as you use a

BuyBack website

that has great

reviews and

customer service

there is very little

risk here. Just make

sure to conduct your

due diligence on the

website you are

using and see what

other consumers

think about their

If you are selling your

phone online to a buyer,

make sure you protect

yourself as a buyer. Only

use trusted payment

gateways and make sure

you qualify for seller

protection. Avoid

fraudulent buyers by

investigating their

previous feedback and

only use trusted

marketplaces and

When listing your

phone for sale on a

classifieds directory,

you will receive a lot

of spam and fraud

emails. Make sure you

filter out all the

questionable buyers

and only meet in a

public location and

only accept cash as a

payment. This method

will bring in a lot of

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Least Risky Little Risk Slightly Risky Moderately Risky

business. CellSolo is

a great resource to

find reputable

BuyBack programs.

auction websites. When

shipping make sure you

insure the package and

request signature upon

delivery.

low-ball offers so

negotiate accordingly.

Worst Offer

($) Decent Offer ($$) Good Offer ($$$) Best Offer ($$$$)

In-Store

BuyBack

Program

Online BuyBack Program Offline Classifieds Online Marketplace

In-Store offers

are the lowest

and

sometimes

there is a fee

just to be

eligible for the

program.

These sites tend to rate

phones by condition, and

the lines between

condition assessments can

be blurry, such that devices

are often "requoted" to a

lower price once they are

received by the company.

You should expect to be

paid, but make sure your

phone fits the exact

description implied at the

time of sale.

When you find a

buyer locally, you

don't have to

worry about

shipping charges or

fees and you get

paid in Cash. Most

classifieds have a

large quantity of

buyers for newer

cell phones.

Online marketplaces

supply buyers from all

over the world so there is

a higher demand for your

phone. Higher demand

means higher value. You

can get the most money

for you phone online but

don't forget about the

transaction fees and

shipping prices.

Least Convenient Moderately

Convenient Very Convenient Most Convenient

Online Marketplace Offline Classifieds Online BuyBack

Program

In-Store BuyBack

Program

When listing a phone

for sale online, you

Offline classifieds

involve filtering

After just a few steps

on the website, the

Simply drive to your

local electronics store,

41

Least Convenient Moderately

Convenient Very Convenient Most Convenient

will have to take

pictures, write a

thorough

description, arrange

the payment, and

ship the phone.

through several

spam emails. Then

once you find a

buyer you have to

meet somewhere.

program will make

you an offer. Most

programs will mail

you pre-paid postage.

This method avoids

the hassle of finding a

buyer.

trade-in your cell

phone, walk out with

store credit. It's simple

and easy, and doesn't

require shipping, taking

pictures of your phone,

or meeting with

strangers.

To illustrate how much value your phone is worth I have investigated how much

money you can get from four sources. I decided to use a 16 gb iPhone 5 in “like New”

condition for this experiment. I drove to my local mall and Game Stop offered me $310

cash for the phone. Gazelle’s website offered $320. The average price for the same

phone on Craigslist was listed at $415. And the average phone in the same condition

on eBay was being bid at $450.

Tips For Selling Your Phone On A Fixed-Price Or Auction Marketplace

1. Check out the selling and payment processing fees of the marketplace. Some websites will

charge you a fee to add pictures or use a reserve price. Calculate what your fees will be

before selling online.

2. Only ship to the buyer’s confirmed Paypal address if using Paypal.

3. If you list your product for sale online, make sure you are available to ship it when it sells.

4. Post high quality photos and include a detailed description of your phone. Make sure to

include information about wear and tear as well as any damage that has occurred.

5. When shipping your phone, insure your package, and require signature upon delivery.

6. Check a buyer’s feedback before shipping your phone. If it looks suspect, contact the

marketplace support.

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Tips For Selling Your Phone In Your Local Classifieds

1. Use descriptive keywords in your listing so buyers can find your phone.

2. Don’t include your personal identity or home address in your listing.

3. Watch out for email scams, spam, and all other fraud.

4. Don’t give in to the low ball offers right away.

5. Include high quality pictures and descriptive content.

What Is Your Cell Phone Worth?

The best way to determine what your cell phone is worth is to look at what other people

are selling the same phone model for. I recommend starting on eBay. Search for your

exact phone model. Within those search results, sort the listings by ‘Time: Ending

Soonest’. This will show you how much money buyers are bidding on your exact

phone. You can also search Craigslist for your phone model to see what other people

are choosing for a selling price.

When Is The Best Time To Sell My Phone?

This is an easy answer. The sooner you sell your phone, the more cash you will receive

in return. Your phone will depreciate over time so why hold onto it longer than you

need it? I prefer to sell my previous phone immediately after upgrading to a new

phone.

It is easier than ever to sell a used cell phone, with more businesses buying used cell

phones to sell in secondary markets. Sell your old phones and earn some extra cash!

43

Links:

www.ebay.com

www.craigslist.com

Used Cellphone Price Guideline

www.movaluate.com