How to Sell Your Phone Online: Maximize Your Payout for Your Old Phone

We’ve all been there: You just opened your junk drawer, and you’re wondering what to do with that old phone you found. Maybe it’s time for an upgrade, or perhaps you simply need to do some decluttering. Either way, learning how to sell your phone online is an easy way to make a quick buck and give your used phone a second life.

But how do you know where to sell it? After all, there are countless platforms to choose from, not to mention scams to avoid and price comparisons to consider. How do you get the best price with the least hassle? By following the steps in this guide, you can maximize your return and minimize your inconvenience.

Why Sell Phones Online?

Compared to using a manufacturer or carrier trade-in program or just letting your device collect dust, selling your phone on the internet has plenty of benefits. You can even sell broken phones! Here are a few of the benefits of online phone sales:

• Potentially Higher Prices: With many online platforms, you have access to more potential buyers than with some competing options. For example, eBay sales can be accessed by just about anyone in the world, so there’s more potential competition for your cell phones. When you compare prices with pawn shops or trade-in deals, online marketplaces can often maximize how much cash you get in return.
• Less Legwork Required: Compared to selling your phone at a pawn shop or trading it in at a Best Buy store, selling your phone on the internet doesn’t require you to go anywhere. You can complete the whole process from home — you can even get a prepaid shipping label and have your mail carrier pick it up at your house if you really want to!
• Plenty of Payment Options: With many platforms offering several options regarding how you get paid, you often get to choose your selected payment method. Some sites will even accept credit cards through their payment platforms, providing an easy and stress-free sales process.
• Many Brands and Models Accepted: With manufacturer trade-in programs, your only option is to swap one company’s device for another of that same company’s devices. For instance, if you’re trading in Samsung Galaxy phones through the Samsung Trade-In Program, the only form of payment offered is credit toward another Samsung device. When you use online platforms like eBay or Facebook Marketplace to sell electronic devices, the phone’s model doesn’t matter nearly as much.

Why Should You Not Sell Your Old Smartphone Online?

While there are certainly advantages to selling your phones on online marketplaces, there are disadvantages as well.

• Tons of Competition: While it’s true that a site like eBay has millions of potential buyers for your phone, it also has lots of phones just like yours for sale. What makes your used iPhone 15 more appealing than the thousands of other used iPhone 15 models already available on eBay?
• Negotiations Often Required: Some online platforms require back-and-forth negotiations with buyers. For example, if you’ve ever sold anything on Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist, you already know exactly what we’re talking about. Even platforms that don’t require haggling sometimes require you to create and maintain online listings, which can be time-consuming.
• Potentially Long Waiting Periods: With some options, like selling your phone at an ecoATM kiosk, you get cash today when you sell your device. If you use an online platform, you often have to wait for payment confirmation, wait for the customer to receive your phone, wait for them to confirm the receipt with the selling platform — long story short, there can be a ton of waiting when you use these sites.
• Look Out for Scams: There are plenty of illegitimate buyers and sellers prowling around on a site like Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace, and it can sometimes be hard to discern who they are. If the prices offered seem too good to be true, maybe they are! Furthermore, if you use a platform like OfferUp that requires you to exchange the item with your buyer in person, obvious safety risks come into play.

A Step-by-Step Guide to Selling Used Cell Phones for the Best Price Online

Prepare Your Phone for Sale

No matter where you sell your phone, there are some steps you need to take to get it ready first.

Back Up Your Personal Data

First, you’ll want to create a backup of anything that’s important to you. By the time you’re done with this process, you will have wiped all of your personal data from the phone, and you may not be able to recover it. Back up your photos, videos, contacts, texts, apps, settings, and anything else that matters to you. Use iCloud or Google Drive to create a backup file in the cloud, or use a USB cable to transfer data to a computer.

Sign Out of Your Accounts

Never sell an old phone without first logging out of your Google account, Apple ID, Samsung account, etc. First off, this helps protect your privacy by preventing the phone’s new owner from accessing your accounts. Secondly, this can help prevent issues with activation lock, a situation in which the buyer of a used phone can’t activate it because it’s still logged into a different user’s account. (Note that this is different from a network carrier lock, which is a phone that isn’t fully paid off and is still financed by a wireless provider, like T-Mobile or AT&T.)

Perform a Factory Reset

Next, you’ll need to erase all saved data, apps, and personal settings to restore the phone to its original factory settings. This factory reset process makes the phone work like a new phone for its next owner, and it also wipes your personal info clean from the device, protecting your privacy and security.

Remove SIM Cards and Other Tech Accessories

Too many people forget this step, only to regret it later when they realize their SIM card is still plugged into their old device. In addition, remember to remove any cases or screen protectors you may have used with the phone, as its new owner will likely want to get their own instead of using someone else’s old case.

Figure Out Where You Can Get the Best Deals

If you don’t already know your phone’s exact model, storage capacity, and carrier, now is the time to find out. You’ll need these details in the following steps. Once you have this information, you’ll want to take a quick look around the internet to see where you can sell your phone for a competitive price.

• Search for your phone’s make and model on eBay, Craigslist, and/or Facebook Marketplace to see what similar phones recently sold for on each platform.
• Use the ecoATM “Price Your Device” tool on our website to get an instant quote. If you like our offer, you can lock in the price to make sure you get the exact same rate when you bring it to a kiosk.
• Check with your phone’s manufacturer and/or wireless carrier to see if they have any trade-in programs available, then find out how much you can get if you’re eligible. You can check with retail trade-in programs too (Best Buy, for example). Just remember that these options typically only offer store credit.

Once you have quotes, you can choose the right selling platform for you. There’s not a “right” answer here, and it relies entirely on your personal preferences and top priorities. That said, you should think about whether you prioritize convenience, efficiency, profit, etc.

Many of our customers find that ecoATM offers the best combination of pricing and convenience available, but we’ll let you figure out if it’s the right option for your unique circumstances.

Create and Maintain Your Online Listing (if Using Online Marketplaces)

You can skip this step entirely if you’re using an ecoATM kiosk or an official manufacturer’s (or retailer, carrier, etc.) trade-in program. However, if you’re using a platform like eBay, Craigslist, or Facebook Marketplace, this is a step you’ll need to take seriously.

To create an eye-catching listing, use a descriptive title that’s catchy and describes the item accurately. List the device’s brand, model, storage capacity, color, and condition. Make sure to take high-quality photos of the phone and add them to your listing — buyers are more likely to trust your listing and take it seriously if it includes original photos, not just stock images from the internet.

Then, write an honest description of your phone, including details about its cosmetic and functional condition, any known problems, and included accessories (chargers, cords, cases, etc.). Then, compare prices between similar listings to come up with a fair offer for your device. If you want to sell your phone quickly, you might want to consider setting a price just below its resale value.

Again, if you want to skip this step, sell your phone at an ecoATM kiosk or use an official trade-in program.

Get the Phone to Its New Owner

This step can take many different forms, depending on which option you choose to sell your phone. Here are the most common ways it works.

• Ship Your Phone to Its New Owner: If you’re selling your cell phone on a platform like eBay or using the mail-in option for a trade-in program, you’ll need to mail your device to its new owner. Depending on the terms and conditions of your chosen platform (and your personal preferences), you can take it to the Post Office, ship it at a UPS Store, or arrange for a delivery service to pick it up from your home.
• Meet Up With the Buyer in Person: When you use peer-to-peer resale networks like Facebook Marketplace, OfferUp, or Craigslist, you’ll usually need to meet your buyer in a public place to exchange your device for payment. Always exercise extreme caution with this part of the sales process, and don’t take any unnecessary risks!
• Drop Off Your Phone at an ecoATM Kiosk: If you like the price we quote on our website, you can simply bring your phone to your nearest ecoATM kiosk and exchange it for instant cash! We also offer your choice of digital payment through PayPal or Venmo, if that’s your preference. We make it easy for our happy customers to sell all kinds of used devices. Fast payments and hassle-free sales are the name of the game when you sell used electronic devices with ecoATM.

Why ecoATM Is the Best Place to Sell Phones

Why bother with the hassles and haggles of these other options when you can simply bring your phone to the nearest ecoATM kiosk, drop it off, and walk away with cash in hand? We have over 6,000 kiosks located across the United States — use our kiosk locator to find one near you. We’re proud to offer top dollar for all sorts of used phones and tablets.

In addition, when you use ecoATM, you’re promoting an eco-friendly future for our planet. Even if you have a phone that’s 10 years old or completely broken, we’ll still offer to recycle it on your behalf for free. We’ve helped recycle over 50 million used devices already, and with your help, we hope to recycle another 50 million phones and tablets in the next few years.

Why use any other platform to sell your old smartphones, tablets, and MP3 players when you can count on the reliability, instant cash, and efficient convenience of ecoATM?