Last updated April 12, 2019
Here are the answers to the most popular questions in the cell phone buyback world, we hope they help you understand how cell phone trade-in works and solve a few queries you have.
Can I Sell a Broken Phone?
Yes: almost all of the phone buyers featured on our site will still pay you for a phone that’s not working. To find out how much your phone is worth just enter the make and model of your phone into the search box at the top of this page and click Search. Then select “Broken” on the filters to get the price for a broken phone.
Remember to check the definition of broken on the site – some devices are beyond repair if they are crushed or have a blown circuit board due to water damage.
Where Does My Cell Phone End Up?
Most of the phones are either are refurbished and sold in the US or sent for reuse in markets such as Asia, Africa, and India. Your old cell phone could give someone in the third world their first glimpse of the internet!
Did you know that you cannot throw your old cell phone in the trash; not only is against the law, but it is harmful to the environment.
Here is a video to show the steps a phone takes:
Do I Need To End My Contract?
You need to make sure your device has a clean ESN (Electronic Serial Number is a serial number unique to each CDMA phone) or for GSM phones you must have a clean IMEI ( International Mobile Equipment Identity ). When we say clean we mean that it should be clear for activation by a new user.
Possible reasons why your ESN/IMEI would not be clean could be:
The device is still “Active” on your account
The account associated with the device has an outstanding balance
The device has been reported as lost or stolen
To find out what your IMEI number is, we have a section in the FAQs dedicated to locating it.