Trade-in vs selling: Which is the better option for your old phone?

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New phones hit the market all the time, and eventually, you'll end up leaving your old phone behind for a new and improved model. However, the phone you're moving on from can still offer you some good value. If you don't have any reason to keep it, don't throw away your old phone when you might be able to sell or trade it for cash.

Of course, how much you get for it won't only depend on the make and condition of the phone you want to give up, but the means by which you get rid of it — whether that's taking it into a shop to exchange or by selling it yourself.

Trade-ins are more convenient, but lead to less reward

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There are many places where you can sell an unwanted phone, and trade-ins are the quickest and easiest way. Your options include chains like Best Buy or GameStop, as well as small-scale independent traders. Here you can sell your phone in exchange for store credit or, in cases such as GameStop or CeX, straight cash — though usually for less value when compared to the store credit. You can also trade-in at official stores like Apple or Samsung, either for an instant discount on a new device or for credit to use down the line.

This method offers a great many upsides over selling your phone yourself: you don't have to worry about anyone running off without paying (à la Facebook Marketplace) or whether your listing is seen in the first place, not to mention taking photographs and monitoring the account for purchase inquiries. On the other hand, you make much less money trading-in compared to selling yourself, as the cost of convenience comes out of the value you get back. Take the iPhone 17, for instance, which retails at $899 in the US. Apple's trade-in page asserts that the maximum value when returned (which assumes the phone is essentially good as new) will only be $585. Moreover, an Apple store will only pay you back in a discount or store credit. The same applies to Samsung, Best Buy, and many other retailers.

Selling a phone yourself is harder, but more rewarding

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If you want the best value possible, you'll need to sell your phone yourself on a platform like eBay or Facebook Marketplace — which will incur all the hassles mentioned above. However, on these platforms you can set the terms of the deal and sell for a much better value. Furthermore, as long as you provide an accurate and honest listing, you can sell devices that, while they might work fine, are just a tad too damaged for what your local store will accept.

Of course, this will mean much more preparation, and you may even want to get an expert evaluation, such as the service Apple provides at its stores, before pulling the trigger. You'll need accurate details regarding the make and condition of the phone, as well as the right keywords in your listing to make it visible. 

Regardless of whether you're trading-in or selling yourself, you'll need to take some steps to prepare your phone before offloading it. Make sure your data and passwords are backed up and that your old phone is scrubbed clean — log out of all accounts and factory reset the phone.