What To Do With Old Cell Phones and Electronics

You’ve just upgraded to the new Android smartphone or iPhone of your dreams. Yet, that trusty smartphone that just came off contract is still hanging around. It would work fine if it had a service plan, which it does not. You don’t need it. You don’t want it any more. You wish it would just leave. But it won’t. It has nowhere else to go.

So, you keep it around and the years go by. Eventually, you open a drawer and there it is. In your surprise you just want to exclaim, “Are you still here?”

Oh, you hurt its feelings. Well, you would have if it had feelings. It’s just a chunk of inert technology now. The battery is long dead and gone. No point in trying to recharge it. This model is too old to do much of anything even if it had power. What a shame. When you think that this marvel of electronics was once worth hundreds of dollars, you start to wonder, “Could I have sold it and at least gotten some cash?”

Oh, you could have done better than that. You might have pocketed a nice crisp Benjamin if you’d spent 10 or 15 minutes online right after you made the upgrade between phones. Yep, $100 or maybe even more for a few minutes work. But noooooo. You couldn’t be bothered even trying to sell your late model working cell phone. It just seemed like too much trouble to figure out how to do it and probably a lot of grief trying to make the sale.

Well, here’s some good news for next time. There are companies that recycle old cell phones and electronics that are chafing at the bit to make you a competitive offer for your smartphone. No nonsense with trying to run an auction. No waiting for people to show up at your door and wasting your time just looking. This is all done online with no muss, no fuss, no grief.

Here’s how it works. You simply find the make and model of your device using the search box and the aptly named “Get Paid!” button. You’ll then have to check a few buttons for questions like working or not working, screen damage, water damage, broken parts, condition from like new to heavy wear, and which accessories you still have. Even if you are a little groggy this should take no more than 5 or 10 minutes. Then click the “Find Top Cash Offers” button.

You are likely to get multiple offers, because this particular operation is an aggregator for recyclers who actually make the offers and buy your phone. The advantage of using this service is that you don’t have to hunt down multiple buyers and get offers from each individually. That can take hours or more. You know those travel sites that give you multiple airline flights or hotel deals? It works something like that. It’s one stop shopping to get cash offers for your cell phone and other electronics.

Did you notice the question about screen damage? It’s not a disqualifier. Companies really will buy a cell phone with a cracked screen. So, if you have water damage, cracked screen, broken parts, or lots of apparent wear and tear on your phone, give it a try anyway. You might be surprised by how much money you can get for that piece of.... well... that unfortunate mobile device.

Say you get 5 offers for your phone from five different buyers. You can just pick the highest price immediately and click the “Get Paid” button. Or, you can choose to read the reviews about the companies you have in mind before you commit. Either way, once you’ve accepted the offer you are done for the night.

What happens next is that you’ll get a pre-paid shipping label or even a pre-paid shipping box delivered to your door. Either way, you will not have to pay to send in your device. The buyer takes care of that. Now take a few minutes and pack it up. Then drop it at the shipper next time you go out. Your work, my friend, is done.

When your equipment arrives at the buyer’s site, it will be unpacked, inspected and tested. As long as it agrees with what you described, the offer holds and you’ll get paid what you agreed to. You can have them mail a check or save the paper and get a deposit into your PayPal account. Your choice. Either way, you’ll be richer in a couple of weeks or so.

Here’s some even better news. This service also works for tablets, e-readers, game consoles, MP3 players and digital cameras as well as a wide variety of feature phones and smartphones. As you might suspect, the more valuable your device was originally and the sooner you get an offer, the more you’ll be paid. Obviously, if it’s too old there isn’t any value left. But don’t jump to the conclusion that you have nothing worth money. Gather up your items and spend some fun time online getting offers for your old cell phones and electronics right now.

Recycle Your Cell Phones and Electronics For Cash

How many old cell phones, digital cameras, MP3 players, tablets, game consoles and e-readers do you have laying around? I’ll bet it’s more than one. Some people have half a dozen or more cell phones stuck in a desk drawer because they just don’t know what to do with them. How about converting this unwanted technology to cash? You can do that now. It’s quick and easy to sell cell phones and other electronics for quick cash online.

What makes this really easy is a service called uSell that gets you cash for your unwanted electronic gadgets. You may have heard of or seen companies that offer to recycle your stuff for free or make you a cash offer if they happen to want your make or model. This is a similar idea, but with multiple buyers.

You know those travel services that mash up multiple airlines, hotels, and rental car offers so that you can find the best deal? This is something like that. What you do is enter the make and model of your cell phone or other device and then check the boxes on what condition it is in and what accessories you still have. Then click the “find top cash offers” button. Almost instantly, you’ll be presented with one or more offers to buy your phone. These are from a variety of companies in the business of buying, refurbishing and recycling used electronic devices.

I gave the system a try by entering a digital camera that returned one offer. An Apple iPad 32 GB WiFi came back with 7 separate offers. The top offer can be twice or more the lowest offer, confirming the benefit of having more than one vendor to chose from. Sure, you can do a lot of searching yourself, visit a lot of sites, enter a lot of data or even try selling your device through auctions or classified ads. That’s going to take awhile. This took a matter of seconds. Really, the system is so fast that I had the offers as soon as I clicked the button.

It gets even better. Your next move is to pick one of the buyers so you can sell your phone. You’ll probably go immediately to the highest offer, but it makes sense to do a little due diligence and check out reviews of that company from other uSell users who’ve recently dealt with them. This is all provided for you, so it’s still quick and easy.

Ah, but what does it cost for shipping? Shipping is always extra, right? Nope. Shipping is free. You fill out a form and the buyer will send you a free shipping kit that includes a prepaid shipping label and often a box, too. Put your item inside and send it on its way.

What happens next is that your device is received by the buyer and inspected & tested to confirm that it matches your assessment. If so, you’ll get a quick payment, typically by check or PayPal depending on what you prefer. This is typically a week or two, not forever and a day. To get to this point you have invested, what, an hour tops?

Compare this with other methods of selling or disposing of your old electronics. It’s getting to be that you’ll get in trouble with the law if you simply throw electronics in the trash. So, you have to haul it somewhere that accepts such items and do it during their business hours. What do you get for all that trouble? A satisfying feeling, perhaps, but no cash.

Wouldn’t you rather get paid as well as clean out all that old electronics? Of course. Cash is always the most satisfying of all. So, wouldn’t this be a good time to fish through those desk drawers, boxes in the closet, basement or garage? Don’t reject items that are damaged or missing accessories. There may still be a market for them. Enter the make and model number and see if you can get an offer before you give up on that junker.