I, like many of you out there, was once an extremely loyal Blackberry user. I swore that I would never abandon it’s clickable, raised keyboard and durable “I will fall down ten flights of stairs and still function” encasing. Then one day, my life just changed. I got an iPhone and was able to take a picture that looked like an old picture and never looked back. I felt terrible abandoning my old faithful Blackberry that was fairly new and worked just fine – so I did the respectful thing and sold it.
Americans throw away $350,000 cell phones a day – many of which end up in landfills. Here are some better ways to dispose of your old phone, and maybe make some money too.
Gazelle.com:
Using Gazelle, I was able to get $143 for my slightly used Blackberry Bold 9930. They send you free shipping postage, and then will pay you in your preferred payment method. Dass it!
Usell.com:
This is a great site that will let you know how much you can get for your phone from competing companies who refurbish and resell them. How much you are offered is based on the condition of the product as well as how many original accessories like the charger, box and cables you still have.
Other great sites that offer you cash for your old phones and other electronics include Nextworth.com and sellyourcell.com.
Donate:
You also have the option to donate your phone to a great cause like the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (www.NCADV.com). They send you a free shipping label and then refurbish and resell phones to fund financial education and other programs for abuse survivors. You can also donate to a local school or women’s shelter, and of course any donation will come with a tax deduction.
Recycle:
If your phone is just broken and useless after you dropped it in a toilet trying to drunk text at a bar… go to 1800recycling.com to find a place to recycle it. Many BestBuys offer this service, and Apple also has a program where you will receive a gift card for the fair market value of your old iphone – check out details of their recycling program here.
I’m sure one day my lovely new iphone will become obsolete too, but until then I’m going to use all of my earnings from my Blackberry sale to buy something super useful… like apps that make my pictures turn into collages with jagged edges and put double chins on my friends. Amazing.
