Black Friday is only a few days away, but there is already a host of great deals out there. It’s a good time to grab the generous savings on a new phone, gaming laptop, or even a new TV.
The issue for many of us is that, while getting new tech is exciting, it does raise the question of what to do with all our old stuff. I know that I have, in the past, discovered that nearly every drawer in my house is filled with old hardware and cables.
You can trade it in to offset the price of your new phone
One of the best things you can do with your old hardware is to trade it in when you buy a new phone. Most of the major retailers will offer at least a discount when you trade in an older device while purchasing a new phone.
For instance, you could trade in your Google Pixel 8 when looking to buy a Pixel 10 Pro or Pixel 10 Pro XL from Google. Alternatively, Samsung and Apple also offer a similar offer on their respective websites when you’re buying a new phone.
Not surprisingly, the value you’re given with your old phone depends on what you’re trading in. Google offers an estimated trade-in value of $350 for a 256GB Pixel 9 in good condition. Meanwhile, Samsung can offer up to $400 for a Galaxy S24.
While these might be some of the best prices you’ll get, credit isn’t all that useful when you’ve already bought a new phone. In that case, you’ll want to start looking into getting cash.
There are plenty of second-hand retailers and websites out there. Two of the most prominent, GameStop and Best Buy, will buy older cell phones and offer either cash in hand or credit. Just with anything, though, the value can vary wildly depending on the retailer.
It’s worth noting that second-hand value in the U.S. isn’t usually great, at least when it comes to cash. For instance, a 256GB Galaxy S24 that is marked as “good” condition will get you around $56.70 from GameStop, or around $81 in credit. In contrast, Best Buy would offer you $140 in credit for the same phone.
Alternatively, if you’re in the U.K., then you could use a company like CeX to sell the same phone and receive either £413 in cash or £512 in a voucher. As such, if you’re in the U.S., then one of your best bets will be to sell your phone on eBay instead.
While there’s the potential to get more value, there is a whole new set of risks here, including just not making a sale at all. That’s why it’s worth making sure you’re comfortable with selling on eBay and doing a bit of research before you do so. One thing I recommend doing is to check the listings of other sellers to make sure you know what a good price will be.
Finally, if your phone is broken, some stores and sites will still buy it, but don’t expect much. Compounding that is the risk of it being much harder to wipe a broken phone, depending on how it is damaged. If you want a safer bet, big companies like Apple will usually recycle damaged phones for free.
What to do before you sell a phone
There’s a lot you need to consider before selling your phone, and we have a guide that might help, but the main thing to note is that you need to completely wipe your phone. This is for the company’s benefit as much as yours, because most will not complete the purchase if there is a Google or Apple account still on the device — or worse yet, a pass code.
If you’re looking to get the best price possible, then it’s a good idea to give the phone a good cleaning, while also looking to see if you can find the phone’s original box. On top of that, if you have a screen protector, try to remove it as the screen underneath will usually be much better looking.
Hopefully, that has given you some ideas for what you can do with your old phones, but if you have any questions, please leave them in the comments.
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