Although I mentioned a new way to make money from your old mobile phones a few weeks ago, it’s also worth noting there is also quite a big market for second-hand mobile phones on eBay, and I recently tried to sell an old Samsung mobile that we had lying around.
I’m pleased to say that we managed to get over £90 for the phone, but the sale was not without its difficulties.
The first time we listed the item, the winning bidder was unable to pay by PayPal (our preferred method of receiving payment on eBay). When we listed the item again, the winning bidder this time had a Canadian address, although we had specifically said on our listings that we’d only post to the U.K. Thankfully, it was third time lucky, and we’d eventually sold the phone for more than had been bid in the first two auctions (which was very satisfying).
If you are planning to sell you mobile on eBay, I’d recommend being as clear as possible about the features of the phone – whether it comes with a SIM card, what network it is on number of megapixels the camera is, whether it takes videos etc.. Obviously, if you’ve got the original box, handsfree set, charger and other original accessories, then you’re more likely to get more interest and a decent price for the phone.
As with all eBay listings, it also pays to make sure that the bidders know which payment methods you accept and where you will post to – this will hopefully cut down on the amount of timewasters bidding on your item. I’m not sure whether it was the mobile phone market, but I had more problems with this listing than with any other previous eBay auctions.
If the hassle of listing your phone on eBay sounds a bit much, then Envirofone will trade your old mobile in for cash or Argos vouchers – in this case, we earned twice the amount by going the eBay route, but Envirofone is probably a more hassle-free and socially-responsible way to recycle your mobile. I went the greedy route, but hey, I’ve got kids to feed and a house to buy!