Is there ANY money to be made from old cell phones and chargers?

[pjlla]

And when I say old I mean OLD! Pulled out the box of old cell phones, batteries, and chargers last night (DS lost his phone battery ) and decided there is NO SENSE in putting this back on its shelf. Time to make it disappear. But I hate to just trash it. I'd love to get just a bit of cash, if possible... or at least recycle it all!

I am talking really old phones here though.... 11-12 old phones, 10+ wall chargers, and 4 car chargers. Most of them have an issue like a cracked screen or don't hold a charge, but a few are still in good working condition.

Any chance of making a bit of spare change from these????? TIA..............P

 

[descovy]

And when I say old I mean OLD! Pulled out the box of old cell phones, batteries, and chargers last night (DS lost his phone battery ) and decided there is NO SENSE in putting this back on its shelf. Time to make it disappear. But I hate to just trash it. I'd love to get just a bit of cash, if possible... or at least recycle it all!

I am talking really old phones here though.... 11-12 old phones, 10+ wall chargers, and 4 car chargers. Most of them have an issue like a cracked screen or don't hold a charge, but a few are still in good working condition.

Any chance of making a bit of spare change from these????? TIA..............P

I don't know about value... Certainly iPhones always have a decent resale value.

If you don't find any $$ value, please don't throw them away in the trash. Both Best Buy and Target have bins to recycle them.

Are your current cell phones under contract? Are any of your old working phones under the same carrier? If so, keep one as insurance. If your current phone breaks/gets lost, etc... You can use old phone until eligible for upgrade.

This is what we do. We refuse to pay monthly for insurance on our AT&T i phones... Especially since there's a deductable anyways. We keep a old AT&T flip phone in the closet. In case of broken/lost iphone we will use old flip phone until one of us is eligible for an upgrade. As long as we keep service, we can upgrade/downgrade features (like data) throughout our contract.

 

[descovy]

Also consider joining a FB garage sale group in your area. Take a photo/itemize what you have and see what you can get for them. I have had better luck in a local FB group selling stuff than craigslist or old fashioned garage selling. You never know!

 

[MOpGrad2013]

DS19 uses kiosks in the mall. He received $5 for a samsung bar phone and .50 cents for a slider phone (forgot brand). His recent touch screen was worth $3 as a donation to a charity, but $0 to him.
Not much money, but at least the phones are out of house and landfil.

 

[Marionnette]

You can check trade-in websites like gazelle.com or Amazon, Best Buy or Target . Most really old phones are pretty much worthless with the possible exception of iPhones. However, almost all of those websites will recycle your old phones for free.

 

[tvguy]

I still have my bag phones from 1990. Used them for 14 years. Soooooo much better audio quality than the phones they have today. But, I couldn't play Candy Crush on them.

 

[pjlla]

I don't know about value... Certainly iPhones always have a decent resale value.

If you don't find any $$ value, please don't throw them away in the trash. Both Best Buy and Target have bins to recycle them.

Are your current cell phones under contract? Are any of your old working phones under the same carrier? If so, keep one as insurance. If your current phone breaks/gets lost, etc... You can use old phone until eligible for upgrade.

This is what we do. We refuse to pay monthly for insurance on our AT&T i phones... Especially since there's a deductable anyways. We keep a old AT&T flip phone in the closet. In case of broken/lost iphone we will use old flip phone until one of us is eligible for an upgrade. As long as we keep service, we can upgrade/downgrade features (like data) throughout our contract.

No iPhones here.... We still live in the dark ages here with dumb phones! When I say OLD phones, I'm talking 5+ year old flip phones and slide phones.

All of the phones are with our current carrier (Verizon) and we have always kept them for "emergency" back up.... but we now have a ridiculous number of these unworking/semi-working phones for back up. I will definitely recycle them if I can't get any $ for them.... but with one child in college and another taking a trip abroad this spring, I could use all of the extra cash I can get my hands on!

Also consider joining a FB garage sale group in your area. Take a photo/itemize what you have and see what you can get for them. I have had better luck in a local FB group selling stuff than craigslist or old fashioned garage selling. You never know!

I am actually part of 4 FB yard sale groups, but these are SO OLD I don't really think I would have any takers. But you are right, you never know!

DS19 uses kiosks in the mall. He received $5 for a samsung bar phone and .50 cents for a slider phone (forgot brand). His recent touch screen was worth $3 as a donation to a charity, but $0 to him.
Not much money, but at least the phones are out of house and landfil.

I will definitely check out that thing at the mall... I'm pretty sure I've seen one at my mall here.

You can check trade-in websites like gazelle.com or Amazon, Best Buy or Target . Most really old phones are pretty much worthless with the possible exception of iPhones. However, almost all of those websites will recycle your old phones for free.

Well.. recycling is better than trash, but cash would be best!

Thanks for all of the idea and suggestions!..................P

 

[penn19]

They have one of those kiosk things at Walmart now also. Can't remember what its called. I keep meaning to bring my cell phones with me next time I go. Even if I got a couple of bucks its better than just sitting in my house.

 

[mcuoghi]

We trade ours in at Target. We take them to the electronic dept. Not sure how much they'll give you for the phones since they're old and some don't work, but it's worth a try! They give you the value in a Target Gift card that can be used anywhere in the store.

 

[3boymthr]

Check with your local elementary school/high school or other charitable organization in town. Some of them collect the phones to sell. Our school does this. They have a bin at the library and people just drop the phones in. They usually don't get much on them but everything they get is money for balls, etc. for the playground.

 

[ilovemk76]

Check your local battered women's shelter. Many take them and give them to the women so they can call 911.

 

[winniedapooh]

Verizon Hopeline collects any old phones, etc for battered families...

 

[Jex]

Check your local zoo, ours recycles them and uses the proceeds for the zoo.

 

[lisaross]

Check EBAY! look up what you have and see if its selling and what its selling for.

We sold some old phones - anywhere from 8 bucks to 35. Also sold an old ipod touch 2nd generation for 70 bucks!

And when I say old I mean OLD! Pulled out the box of old cell phones, batteries, and chargers last night (DS lost his phone battery ) and decided there is NO SENSE in putting this back on its shelf. Time to make it disappear. But I hate to just trash it. I'd love to get just a bit of cash, if possible... or at least recycle it all!

I am talking really old phones here though.... 11-12 old phones, 10+ wall chargers, and 4 car chargers. Most of them have an issue like a cracked screen or don't hold a charge, but a few are still in good working condition.

Any chance of making a bit of spare change from these????? TIA..............P

 

[wdwmom0f3]

I sold all of mine on ebay, even those with cracked screens. Just search for what you have and list it. Most of mine I sold as a buy it now price, priced just lower than what others were listed for. They sold fast!

 

[Fire14]

if u have any car chargers I maybe able to find a home for one or 2 ( neighbor has old cell and would like a car charger. I know I cleaned out my china cabinet and got some money at vzw store.

 

[Chelley00]

Check your local battered women's shelter. Many take them and give them to the women so they can call 911.

This was going to be my suggestion too. Our local shelter refurbs them and gives them to women when they move out of the shelter.

 

[ProudMommyof2]

This was going to be my suggestion too. Our local shelter refurbs them and gives them to women when they move out of the shelter.

Ditto.