Selling Your Cell Phone: A Look at Your Options
I recently upgraded to a family share plan (hooray marriage) and we got two new LG VX8600s. Thus, I need to sell my Motorola E815. I have a few of the typical options — Craigslist, eBay, donating/recycling it…
But you have other options too! Specifically tailored sites to sell your cell. Let’s take a look — are they similarly priced?
I looked at the following sites:
Also to note, Cellphone Tradeins requires you to input:
Each site, of course, is a little different. For the most part they are the same. You input the make and model, occasionally the provider you used it through. Add the condition and what accessories you have, and you are presented with a price. I’ll test with the Motorola E815, my new phone the LG VX8600, and my terribly old phone the LG VX4500. We’ll see if it matters how old the phone is.
The results are below:
A mixed bag of results! I was surprised that two of the five sites did not list my newest phone, the LG VX8600.
As you can see, the oldest phone did not have much variation in the price you could receive. One site didn’t even list it as an option — most likely from its age.
The E815 did not have a ton of variation, except for CellForCash. $11? Are they serious? That’s $1 more than the price I would receive for the VX4500 from CashMyPhone. And they are offering $48 for a brand new $200 cell phone? No thanks.
Judging from this small test, CellForCash looks like an absolute rip off. The cash you would receive for your cell there is 1/3 or 1/4 of what you could get elsewhere. SimplySellular may take your phone for nearly nothing if it is really old. Your mileage may differ.
Overall, the winners look like Cellphone Tradeins and CashMyPhone. CashMyPhone had an edge in the amount of money I would receive, but remember this is a small test of three phones. SellYourCell and SimplySellular may be decent options depending on the phone you are selling.
I also checked eBay for E815 prices and saw a few phones with bids at $46, $56, $59, $37.50 all with 12+ hours of bidding left. That would be another option if you take eBay (and PayPal) fees into consideration.
Conclusion:
It looks like I’ll be selling my two older phones to CashMyPhone. The only price I pay is shipping. 30 days after they receive my phones, I will get a check in the mail. I might make a tad bit more money on eBay, but there is also the risk I would make less. With CashMyPhone I know the exact amount I should be getting after shipping.
Updated: I ended up using Cash My Phone for a combined total of $55. Shipping cost me something like $3. My phones have been received and I should get my check in about 30 days.
Updates!: One, two, three, and four. Did I ever get my cash? Read on and find out!