Broken Doesn’t Mean Busted – Here’s Where to Sell Your Broken Phone for Cash

Want to sell your broken phone? It might be worth more than you think. Here, we show you where to sell broken phones for cash or trade in credit.

What does “broken” mean?

In general, a phone is considered broken if it has battery damage, water damage, does not properly function and/or does not turn on. However, there is no universal definition for what constitutes a “broken” phone, as policies vary between carriers and other buyback companies. Some might consider a functioning phone with a cracked screen to be broken, for example, while others might place it in the “poor” condition category.

Getting a new phone? Here’s how to protect your phone & make it last

How much are broken phones worth?

It depends on the buyer, model and type of damage, but you can typically expect to get around 50% to 80% less than the value of a phone in “good” condition. For example, you can sell an iPhone XS (64GB Verizon) in good condition for $445 on Flipsy. In broken condition, it’s worth $218. In the comparison below, you’ll notice that damaged iPhones tend to have more relative value than damaged Samsung phones.

PHONE	GOOD CONDITION VALUE	BROKEN VALUE	DIFFERENCE
iPhone XS	$445	$218	51%
iPhone 8	$206	$76	63%
iPhone 7	$118	$55	53%
Galaxy S9	$174	$47	73%
Galaxy S8	$112	$31	72%
Galaxy Note 8	$175	$32	82%

Retrieved 1/14/2020 via Flipsy. All base models on the Verizon network

Where to sell broken phones

The table below lists where to sell broken phones and how much each is currently paying for two popular, non-working models: the iPhone XS and the Samsung Galaxy S9.

OPTION	IPHONE XS OFFER	GALAXY S9 OFFER
Flipsy	$218	$47
ecoATM	$40	$11
Apple Trade In	$0	$0
Verizon	$58	$25
AT&T	$54	$22
Sprint	$75	$34
Online Marketplaces (eBay)	$155	$88
Local Stores (Target)	$46	$18

Retrieved 1/14/2020. All base models on the Verizon network. Prices for broken phones that will not turn on. eBay prices averages of recently sold phones, less fees

Phone Insurance: Worth it or waste of money?

Flipsy

Flipsy instantly compares buyback offers from dozens of Trust Verified Stores that compete to pay top dollar for used phones. Browse or search for your phone, then scan the results to see how much you can get for your phone in broken condition. Buyers offer cash payouts sent within 2 days of receiving your damaged device.

Carrier trade in

Carriers typically pay via store credit applied to your account within 2 to 3 billing cycles. Each has its own policy for broken phones.

Verizon

Select “damaged” during the trade in process, and Verizon will ask whether your phone can be powered on, if the screen is free of cracks and functioning correctly and if your device is free of battery damage.

At the time of this writing, Verizon pays $160 in credit for an iPhone XS with a cracked screen. If the phone can’t be turned on, the offer drops to $58. Verizon will not buy phones that have battery damage.

Want to fix your phone instead? Here’s how to make any iPhone repair

AT&T

Like Verizon, AT&T offers credit for some broken phones. For example, at the time of this writing AT&T offers $150 in credit for an iPhone XS with a cracked screen. The offer drops to $54 if the phone won’t power on.

Sprint

Sprint will also pay credit for broken phones, but unlike Verizon and AT&T it doesn’t ask a series of questions to identify condition. Instead, it lets you choose between “fair” and “poor” conditions, where fair condition represents a phone that is cracked, broken or has something missing and poor indicates a phone that does not power on.

Using our iPhone XS example, Sprint will pay $150 for the phone in fair condition and $75 in poor condition.

Want to recycle your phone instead? Check out our list of the best places to recycle your used phone

T-Mobile

T-Mobile likewise offers credit for some broken phones. We couldn’t get exact offers because the company requires IMEI numbers to estimate damaged phone prices, but prices for phones in good condition suggest T-Mobile’s payouts are similar to other carriers (if not a little less).

ecoATM

ecoATM will pay cash for broken phones, but at significantly lower prices than they’ll pay for working devices. A damaged iPhone XS nets $140 at the kiosk, and just $40 if it won’t turn on.

Apple Trade In

Apple Trade In offers gift cards for some broken phones, good toward purchases made in the Apple Store. Apple will ask if your phone is in good condition; if you answer “no,” they’ll ask it will turn on and if the buttons work, if the body, touchscreen and cameras are in good shape. Using our iPhone XS example, Apple will pay $90 if the touchscreen and/or cameras are cracked. If the body or buttons are bad or your phone won’t turn on, Apple won’t buy your phone (but they will offer to recycle it for free).

Online marketplaces

You can’t sell broken phones on Swappa, but you can sell them on an online marketplace like eBay. As of 1/14/20, you’d get around $155 for a broken iPhone XS on eBay (after fees). Of course, there’s no guarantee you’ll sell your phone on eBay and you might wait a long time for a buyer.

Is spyware wrecking your phone? Find out

Local stores

You can trade in broken phones at local stores like Best Buy, which currently pays $75 credit for an iPhone XS with a cracked screen – but it won’t pay anything if the phone isn’t functional. Target, however, pays $46 credit for an iPhone XS that doesn’t power on.

Other local options include cell phone repair shops, which might offer cash or store credit for your broken phone. Search Google for phone repair shops in your area to see how much they’ll offer.

Thinking about opening your own phone repair shop? Here’s how to learn phone repair

Classifieds

Finally, you can post your broken phone for sale on classifieds sites like Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace. Offers and pricing will vary, and you’ll need to meet the buyer in person to complete the sale. Be sure to keep an eye out for potential scams.

Related Help