How 'old phone buying' companies work

These are specialist, mainly web based companies, which will take an old phone off your hands and give you cash. Better still, you get much more than the ‘trade-in’ discount you received when handing in your phone to a high street retailer.

What type of phones do they want?

Sadly, digging a mobile out of the wardrobe isn't a guarantee of decent cash. Your phone needs to be in decent working condition, have no more than mild cosmetic damage, the original battery, hopefully the charger, and be able to be switched on.

Companies won't pay a decent whack for all phones so if it's old, rare or 3G (there isn't a market for these yet) a bigger hunt's needed to find one that'll accept it. If your phone is only slightly under the weather, check how much you'd get for a fully working model. Often all it takes is replacing the battery, so it may be worth doing that yourself to get the decent sales value.

How do they operate?

They give you a price, and if you accept it, then usually send a jiffy bag for the phone, which you can return freepost. Yet they don't accept responsibility for non-delivery so depending on the value of the phone, it's worth considering sending the phones by ‘Recorded Signed-For' delivery which insures it for up to £32 and costs around 70p on top of the usual postage.

Send the phone charged, switched off, without the Sim card, and remove any security or pin codes that'll hamper its testing. To do this, just opt for ‘reset factory settings’ on your phone’s menu. If it isn't up to scratch (usually only 20% of phones are rejected) you'll generally be contacted and offered a reduced price, which you can accept or have the phone returned free of charge.

The Environmental Bit: Where do old phones go?

Getting rid of your old phone isn’t just about de-cluttering though. There are potentially noxious substances in decaying phones. It's reckoned cadmium batteries can infect the water system and lead, brominated flame retardants and beryllium could harm the environment if incorrectly disposed of, so even if no one will give you cash for it, don't throw your old phone out with the rubbish.

What happens to the phones?

Once they’re tested, if the phones are decent, they’re then shipped abroad and flogged. For example Envirofone sells phones in the Middle and Far East, Africa and South America. The one thing to be aware of is if it’s a particularly high value phone there is a chance these companies will sell it on eBay* to get the most money, therefore if you find your phone is high value, you may want to consider doing that yourself, and cutting out the middle man (see Alternative Options later).

If your phone is of a lower class then it will be broken down and sold as component parts and if it’s totally worthless, these companies will dispose of it in an environmentally friendly way.

Best Buys: Comparing the top phone buying companies

While I’ve compiled the best payers for you, the golden rule is try a few to see who’ll give you the most for your phone. In one comparison where two companies said one old phone was worthless, a third was prepared to pay £20; for another phone the amounts varied from £25 to £75. So don’t give up too soon.

Phones in good condition

• Fast, high paying and reliable. Web only company Envirofone* pays well, though not the very top prices, but wins due to its simple procedure and strong feedback. Enter the phone's details and it instantly gives you a price. This is either paid in cash (by cheque) or you can opt for roughly 15% more in Argos points. It also donates £1 to charity per phone.
  
  
• The highest payer for high spec mobiles in top notch condition. Cex comes out top for many higher value models, because rather than ship your phones abroad, it simply tarts them up and sells them to others. But this means it’s very picky about the phone’s condition. To sell your item simply click on 'Sell to CEX' at the top of the page. It won't send you a jiffy bag, you'll have to bundle it up yourself. Yet if it's good enough you could consider flogging it yourself (see Alternative methods). Recently feedback on Cex has been shaky, with users finding service bad and many phones being returned because they're not meeting requirements. If you want a quick, easy sale opt for one of the others.
  
  
• Best of the rest. Mobile2cash, Mopay*, Mazuma* and Mobilephonebuyer are the other big players and the more you try, the better.

Please feedback which of the companies perform best for you in the mobile recycling discussion.

Damaged phones

Envirofone*, Mopay* and Mobilephonebuyer will look at non-working phones, offering a reduced price for these (expect to get around 10-50% of the working price) or at the very least will re-cycle them for you. Alternatively Greener Solutions (who also run Mobile2cash) works in partnership with Tesco and offers 100 Clubcard points (worth £4 in Deals vouchers) for non-working phones or donates £1 to Tesco's current charity. Disposal bags are available from Tesco customer services.

There's also a mobile recycling scheme operated via Nectar which pays out its points, but it usually doesn't come close to the best of the cash payers, so it's best left as a last resort.

Phone-buyers aren't the only option and whilst they're by far the least hassle with a bit of effort you make make even more cash.

• Ebay or car boot
  
  The most profitable way to ditch your old mobile is DIY. There's a thriving old phones market on eBay*, earning you on average 20–30% more than the best ‘phone-buyer' sites. It's up to you to balance the extra cash with the extra hassle though, and of course, there are no guarantees.
  
  The best thing to do is go to eBay and search for a phone identical to yours and preferably in similar condition; then just check what price they’re going for. This should give you a rough indication of whether it’s worth considering.
  
  
• Sell it to a friend
  
  If you don't want to give it to a friend, selling it can be mutually beneficial, both earning you more and costing them less than doing it commercially. The difficulty is deciding on a price without ruining the friendship.
  
  My easy formula is, take the best price from the ‘phone-buyer' companies and add 10%. If there's a dispute, simply show them this, proving it's an unbiased parties' assessment.
  
  
• Re-use it
  
  Just because the phone no longer has the package you want, it doesn't mean you need a new phone. Most phones can be legally and freely unlocked to work on any network (see the Unlock Your Mobile article).
  
  This also means it can be used as an alternative handset for things, such as texting only mobiles, using Sim cards offering cheaper texts, as a phone for your children, or specially to use abroad (see Mobile Phone Cost Cutting and Cheapest Roaming Mobile articles).
  
  
• What about the charity option?
  
  Many people see ‘we’ll collect your old mobile for charity deals’ and think woo hoo; yet I’m not a fan. This isn’t due to a philosophical objection to giving to charity, but more because this simply isn’t an efficient way to do it for mid to high value phones (it's not bad for lower value ones).
  
  These schemes work by simply giving the charity a cut of the cash you would’ve received; yet if you sell it, you get more than the charity does. So to maximize your donation, sell it yourself then donate the cash to the charity, which means not only does the charity get more cash, but because of the ‘Gift Aid’ scheme (see give charities more at no extra cost it can reclaim your tax too, which is an extra 28%.
  
  
• Trade in low value phones
  
  If you’re trying to get a new phone, and you have an old phone which the recycling companies aren’t willing to give you much for you could try and trade it in with the company you’re buying from (this mainly applies to high street retailers).
  
  Car Phone Warehouse, for example, offers £100 on old phones but this comes with some hefty conditions. It’s only available on new O2, Orange and T-Mobile contracts that cost over £30/month and tied in for 18 months. Don’t choose a phone on this basis but if you do fall into this category it’s worth a look. For info on how to get the best mobile tariff read Mobile Phone Cost Cutting.

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