Sell an Old Phone: Trade-In, Resale or Recycle

"Sell old phone" is searched about 110,000 times a month worldwide, according to Ubersuggest, which makes it the largest search in the electronics family, and "sell old iPhone" is about 6,600, "sell old phone online" about 6,600 and "where sell old phone" about 2,900. The volume is misleading as a sales signal. The cost per click is only about 15 cents for the main term, many of the related searches are for specific retailers and exchange sites, mostly in India, and the people searching are trading in a handset and not buying anything from us. This guide explains the three routes, what a lock does to each and the steps to take first. It builds on selling old electronics and selling a broken phone or laptop, and our Australian companions are Sell an Old Phone for Cash and Sell a Broken or Old iPhone. We give no prices. ScrapTrade benefits from scrap trading, which is a conflict you should weigh.

The three routes

• Trade-in. Convenient, with credit or cash from a retailer, carrier or manufacturer. One source calls it the highest guaranteed credit, and another says it usually pays less than selling it yourself.
• Peer-to-peer resale. If the phone works and has no activation lock, listing it on a resale marketplace will almost always net more than a trade-in offer, according to one marketplace's guide, which sells that service. You handle the buyer, shipping and disputes.
• Recycling. For a phone that no longer works. One source says that if your phone does not work you cannot sell or donate it, and recycling may be your only option, though repairers also buy faulty phones, as our broken phone guide explains.

We found payout figures only from vendor pages, such as a range for recent iPhones, and we do not repeat them.

Locks decide the outcome

• Activation lock. On an iPhone this is tied to Find My, and on Android to factory reset protection. Sources agree that a phone with an active lock cannot be set up by the buyer, and one marketplace will not approve listings with active locks. A standard trade-in fails until it is removed, and a recycler cannot wipe, resell or refurbish a locked phone. Turn off Find My, or the Android protection, before you do anything else.
• Carrier or SIM lock. The most forgiving. One guide says these are often accepted for trade-in if the phone is yours and works, though they can narrow the buyer pool.
• Blacklisted IMEI. Phones reported lost, stolen or blacklisted are typically rejected by normal buyers. The same guide suggests contacting the carrier if the blacklist is an error. On iPhones the IMEI is engraved on the back panel, according to one source, which may not hold for every model.

Steps before you sell

1. Back up. Once you wipe, the data is gone.
2. Sign out of accounts and release locks. Find My on an iPhone, factory reset protection on Android.
3. Remove the SIM and any memory card.
4. Factory reset. Wiping alone does not fix the problem if Find My stays attached, as one source notes, and our broken phone guide covers what a reset does and does not guarantee.
5. Check the IMEI. Confirm it is not reported lost, stolen or blacklisted.
6. Describe the condition honestly. Screen, battery, damage and lock status. We found no source on how battery health changes a price.

Which route to pick

If the phone works and is unlocked, compare a trade-in offer with a resale listing and do the arithmetic after fees and shipping. If it has a known fault, a repairer or a refurbisher may buy it. If it is dead and locked, recycling is the fallback, though a recycler cannot refurbish a locked phone. For a drawer of phones, sort by working, faulty and dead first, as our old electronics guide describes.

Where ScrapTrade fits

One phone belongs with a trade-in or resale service, and ScrapTrade is not a better route for it. The marketplace suits lots: a repairer or reseller with a bin of faulty handsets, a business clearing a fleet or a recycler with boards. E-waste is one of its twelve categories, and its verified traders in more than 50 countries bid for lots. Listing is free with no commission, you negotiate in real time and the buyer's 5 percent deposit is held in escrow after a bid is accepted. Businesses and individuals can sell once verified. Wiping and releasing locks is the seller's job, and we could not confirm how working handsets are treated, so write to cs@scraptrade.com.au first.

What we could not verify

• What any phone sells for. The payout ranges we saw are vendor pages.
• How battery health or condition grades change offers.
• Whether the IMEI engraving applies to all iPhones.
• How ScrapTrade treats working handsets.

Frequently asked questions

Where is the best place to sell an old phone?

It depends on its condition. A working, unlocked phone often nets more on a resale marketplace than in a trade-in, and a faulty one may suit a repairer.

What do I do about Find My before selling an iPhone?

Turn it off to release the activation lock. A locked phone cannot be set up by the buyer.

Can I sell a phone with a carrier lock?

Often yes, though it can limit buyers. Blacklisted phones are usually rejected.

Can I sell old phones in bulk on ScrapTrade?

E-waste is a category and verified businesses and individuals can sell. We could not confirm how working handsets are treated, so ask support.

Sources

1. Ubersuggest keyword data, global, queried November 2026.
2. Resale marketplace, trade-in and recycler guides on activation locks, carrier locks and IMEI checks, as summarised in search results.
3. ScrapTrade website, accessed November 2026.

General information only. Trade-in and resale terms vary by provider.