We all have a phone that we use every day, but at home, we all have spare phones lying around that we stash away thinking they’ll be required someday. But these phones stay unused for years. Today, we’ll talk about how you can sell your old phone online at the best price. That too, from your home! 

Gone are the days when smartphones were meant to enhance productivity, now they have become a status symbol. We’ve all been there: you simply want to upgrade your older device to the latest model, or your phone’s generation is now outdated and you wish to stay ahead with the fashion and modern requirements. 

Once you have done the upgrade to the latest smartphone, you will stash up your old phone in a drawer assuming you will make some use of it someday. This electronic junk lying in your drawer is of no use but still can garner you some extra cash. Is it really worth selling an old smartphone online? 

Keeping an old phone in a drawer is also an unsafe practice. These smart gadgets are made up of some really hazardous components. For instance, a single phone battery could contaminate tons of water. On the other hand, selling an old phone would certainly bring some extra cash in your hands which you can use for a better purpose, so selling an old phone is always good unless you are thinking of building an old phone museum.

You’ll find lots of online and offline services, which offer you to recycle your old phone, get your old phone repaired or refurbished for fresh use. The hassle of trying to get a good deal is real. Doesn’t matter how much the offer is, you will always suspect the deal isn’t right as you have spent a huge amount of money when that phone was launched as a sensation. 

Here in this article, we are focusing on how you can use any of these online services to sell your old phone in some simple steps. 

There are many options available if you want to sell your old phone in India – you can sell it on sites like OLX or Quickr, you can sell it to a local shop, you can exchange it for a new phone on Amazon, or you can sell it online on selling stores like CashMartIndia, InstaCash, Yaantra or Cashify. All these options have their own pros and cons, we will discuss this one by one.

What if you sell your old phone to a local shop?

Selling any phone in the offline market is also easy, but if you have bought your mobile phone from online sites such as Amazon or Flipkart and it is from less recognizable or discontinued brands like LeEco, Qiku, Asus, HTC, Huawei, Lenovo, Lava, Spice, Intex, Gionee, Xiaomi, Poco, etc it would be hard for you to sell your old phone in the offline market due to lack of the offline presence of these brands.

And even if you find a buyer for these brands you won’t get a good amount of money for your old device as these brands do not have a great resale value. Another concern is a safe transaction between a seller and buyer. As you would be visiting a shop or store yourself, you are more vulnerable to cheap deals, frauds, and other mishappenings.

Also, you need to be a little cautious while selling your old phone to a local market. You should have a written contract which mentions that you have used that certain phone till date and day onwards the new buyer would be solely responsible for any usage in future. You should also collect a copy of valid ID proof from the person whom you are handling over the phone.

Is selling your old phone on OLX or Quickr safe?

Be it OLX or Quickr, both are basically online marketplaces that list your product and then connect sellers and buyers who are interested in the same product. When you make a deal on your own, there are many risks involved in the process as these platforms bear no legal liability for any kind of buying or selling.

Many incidents have been reported when sellers sold counterfeit products, stolen phones or buyers duped the seller for money or tricked them in fishy UPI transactions. Another concern is there will be no legal evidence for the transaction, in case a buyer misuses your phone or a seller has previously used it for any suspicious activity. 

Still, if you want to sell your old phone on such a marketplace with a highly vulnerable nature, you need to be careful about any repercussions post-transaction. It is better to collect a copy of valid identity proof for both buyer and seller.

The real problem with exchanging your old phone on Amazon

You can also exchange your old device with a new one on e-commerce sites. You’ll have to enter the model number of your phone and IMEI code and you will find an exchange offer. But again, you will find exchange offers on select brands or select models of the phone on popular websites.

Then there are conditions like the screen should not be broken and the phone should be intact in its actual physical condition. But, if you were selling an old phone to get rid of it or for money, wouldn’t exchanging it for a new phone burden you more?

So what is the best way to sell an old phone online in India?

All the ways we have discussed previously in this article might seem easy but they have their own risks. If we explore all the options, we find that selling your old phone online with a trusted store like CashMart India, InstaCash, Yaantra or Cashify is a way better idea than selling it to some suspicious market which can invite some serious repercussions.

Selling an old smartphone is very easy with these online platforms. All you need to do is visit their official website and specify your phone’s brand, model, and physical condition. You will see a dropdown menu or a list of different brands and models in which you have to pick up your old phone. 

Once you are done with these details, an artificial-intelligence-based smart algorithm will start working to find a fair value for your phone depending on the brand, condition of the phone, and how old your phone is. After a thorough assessment, the website will offer you a price for your old phone.

If you are happy with the offer made by the website, you can now proceed further to schedule a date and time when someone from that company can come to your place to pick up the phone. You can specify your home or office as a pickup location.

On the day and schedule by you, some executive from the company will reach your doorstep to collect the phone from you. You need to keep ready the phone and related documents, box, or accessory prior to pick up. Once the executive confirms the device’s physical condition and other essential things, you will get the money transacted into your bank account instantly.

What makes this process easier, better, and safer than others:

• Selling your old mobile this way is safer than other options.
• You have a safe transaction of money.
• You have legal proof that you have sold your phone, and you will not be responsible for future usage after a specified date and time.
• You can get the best deal on your old smartphone.
• The process is usually easy and smooth and everything works fine if you remain truthful about the device and its physical condition.
• You are not forced to buy anything else against your old phone.
• You can earn good money by selling your old phone and that money is instantly credited into your bank amount through a secure payment gateway. You can now use that money in any way you want.
• You can even sell a smartphone with a broken screen or some other hardware issue, all you need to specify the problem when getting a quote from the company.
• Even if your device is generations old, less popular, or not in demand, you can still sell it.
• There is a huge list of thousands of models from hundreds of phone makers, in which it is easy to find yours and sell it for a fair value.
• By selling your old phone to such an online store, you know you have responsibly disposed of your phone and it would not end up in landfills contributing to the menace of e-waste.
• The device you just sold will be refurbished, recycled, or repurposed, and this way your old piece of junk will be used to push money or to help those underprivileged folks who cannot afford to buy a new phone.