Over the past few months I’ve been desperately trying to clear out some of my older phones and tablets. Anyone that knows me personally will testify as to how much of a hoarder I am when it comes to technology however the tech cupboard was bulging and it really was time to start shifting things.
When it comes to shifting things like this there are a few options, some of them could end up costing you money and others are simply too dangerous. It really is a minefield knowing where is best to sell high or medium value phones / tablets whilst trying to get the money that they are actually worth.
I decided to look at each avenue that I would normally go down and document what I thought of each avenue then give you all what I believe is the best of those options.
Option 1: Social Networking
We all know about the power of social networking, it’s the one place where you could literally sell snow to an Eskimo however the key to this is making sure that you have people within those social networks that would be in need of a phone. For me this one is dead easy as almost everyone I engage with on Twitter or Google+ have a keen interest in technology. The reach (viewers) of what you have for sale has the potential to be huge.
Sadly a lot of this relies on trust on both the seller and the buyers part. If you, as the seller, get paid then there is trust needed by the buyer that you will send the phone. If you decide however, as the seller, that you will send the phone and wait for payment then you have to trust that you will be paid when the buyer gets the phone.
What was mentioned as a pro can also be seen as a con. Unless you have your networks filled with people who love technology then you might find it hard to sell via this method.
Option 2: eBay
eBay is tried and tested. You can almost guarantee that you will sell whatever you have for sale on eBay and the reach is massive. The people who see what you are selling are the very same people that are looking for what you are selling. Payment is (in most cases) instant and you are protected by PayPal if you have your account set up correctly following the buyer / seller protection guide..
The eBay fees are horrendous! Firstly you are charged for selling your item (this can be quite costly if you have a Buy It Now and a Reserve set) then you are hit with fees based on your final sale price. Overall the costs can often outweigh the value of using the site especially when, after you take the fees from your profit, you find that you could have easily have sold it for that price elsewhere (a lowered price). Add this to the fact that technology is one of the most scammed categories on eBay and that you may well have to list it 3 to 4 times following fake (ship to my cousin in Nigeria) winning bids.
Option 3: Gumtree
Gumtree is huge, especially on a local level. Your reach can often be twice that of social networks and often the people looking at what you have for sale are in the market for that very thing. There are no fees at all (unless you chose to upgrade your listing) and you can list it for any price you want knowing you will get that exact amount.
TRUST & SAFETY - this is the biggest problem with Gumtree. Whilst it is completely free and increases your reach you are bound by the fact that you either have to ship the item to the buyer or that you have to meet them in person. Even being paid by PayPal is not a guarantee that you will get your money as there are often PayPal charge-backs / reversals resulting in you losing both the item and the money. There is no seller or buyer feedback and anyone can list pretty much anything.
If you do choose to use this avenue then please, for the love of all things intelligent, never meet anyone anywhere that isn’t public and busy.
Option 4: Forums (like PCS forum)
The reach of this is ideal.The people who use specialised forums are often the people looking to buy technology. There are safeguards are rules in place which are normally set by the forum administrators and often there are feedback measures in place for people too.
A lot of the cons for this avenue are the same as Gumtree and Social Networks. You have to take people at face value and be trusting (which is often very hard to do as a human). Whilst the pro for this option is the reach, this could also be a con if it’s a niche or super expensive item you’re selling. The reach could be drastically reduced.
Option 5: Swappa
Option 6: Phone Recycling Sale Sites (including CEX)
Conclusion:
As you can see above, there are a lot of options available to you with varying degrees of selling success. After carefully weighing up all options as well as the pro’s and con’s of each avenue I would be more persuaded to take the Swappa route. There are several reasons for this choice but here are just a few…
- It’s FREE - yeah that’s right, you don’t pay to list it or when you sell it.
- There are fees for buyers but they are a flat rate of £5 in the UK, $10 in the US, $10 in Canada and €5 in Europe
- It has a massive reach - the reach is almost as good as eBay in terms of item views
- It’s geared for phone and tablet sales - with things like damage and condition disclosures you know exactly what you are buying
- The people using the site want a new phone or tablet specifically.
- They use PayPal - thought PayPal is an eBay company, the use of PayPal on Swappa is just the same as it is on eBay and a sale is not considered complete until the buyer has paid.
Most importantly for me, and the winner as far as everything else goes is the GLOBAL ESN CHECK ( Electronic Serial Number). In the UK we call them IMEI numbers and the tool will also check those. This gives massive peace of mind that the phone / tablet is not blacklisted which is impossible to check on the other selling sites.
Of course you are free to sell your items wherever you want, you could even take them to a car boot sale if you chose but if you want the items true value and peace of mind then I would fully recommend using Swappa.
Share your thoughts and experiences below, we would love to hear where you sell your phones and why.
PSA: Don’t be a jerk when testing
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