Updated 12th September 2023
The annoying thing about tech is that pretty much as soon as you buy anything, it's already out of date. That expensive iPhone you bought in November will be replaced by a faster, slicker, shiniermodel the following year. As forthat super speedy laptop you just paid for, it will probably feel likean old banger once the nextmodelhits the shelves. Fortunately, however, all is not lost, because there are plenty of ways to make somemoney back when you're planning an upgrade. If you've got lots of older devices gathering dust in the back of your wardrobe, you'll find our tips on how to make money from your old tech super useful. Who knows, you may be sitting on a goldmine!
On the high street
A visit to CEX might be just the ticket if you're looking to sell some gadgets - any gadgets. There are almost 400 CEX stores in the UK, so chances are there's one close by to where you live.
The great thing about CEX is that they take pretty much anything, from video game consoles, cameras, smartphones and tablets, to DVDs, games and computing accessories. And while we've always found CEX to be a tad overpriced, the good news is that they tend to pay more for your devices.
The store usually holds onto your device for an hour or so in order to test it, before assigning it a grade value based on its condition - the higher the grade and better the condition, the more money it's worth.If you don't want cold, hard cash, CEX also offers in-store credit, and for quite a bit more than the monetary value. You can still sell online if you'd rather too.
Top tip: It's a pain, especially when space is tight, but most devices will be worth more in the second-hand market if you keep the original packaging. Collectable items, in particular,will fetch a lot more moneywhen sold in the box.Take the classic N64 console, for example, which can be sold to CEX for £42 unboxed, or £72 in the original packaging. That's a huge difference for something as simple as keeping the packaging.
In addition to CEX, you've probably walked past countless independent stores that buy and sell various gadgets, games and gizmos. Computer and phone stores are the most popular, but you'll also find the odd gaming shop that specialises in just video games and consoles.
You may also live near a Cash Converters, which sell all manner of household and electrical goods, not to mention watches, jewellery and even musical instruments. As a pawnbroker, Cash Converters gives you the option to buy your devices back within six months of sale, albeitwith interest. Alternatively, you can sell your goods upfront without any buyback clause, provided you're over 18 and have proof of address.
In my experience, independent stores and places like Cash Converters don't offer as much money as CEX, but like anything, it's worth shopping around to get the best sale price.
Top tip:Some devices - particularly retro gadgets from decades past - are highly sought after by collectors. There's no hard or fast rule on what exactly becomescollectible, but first generation devices usually fall into this category, as well as rarer devices that weren't around for very long, or had a limited production run - like special edition games and gadgets. iPod Classics sell for hundreds of pounds on eBay, while limited edition models can sell for thousands! It's always worth doing a quick Google search to see which devices are collectable, and how much other people are selling them for online.
Selling gadgets online
It probably won't come as much of a surprise to find out that in this day and age, the majority of tech sales and trade-ins take place online. First up let's start with the online juggernaut that is eBay, which is arguably the best way to get rid of your items.
Pretty much anybody can create an eBay account, and you can list upwards of 1,000 items a month without paying a listing fee. You pay 10% of the final sale price to eBay, although this is capped at £250. If you sell more than 1,000 items in a month (and that's a lot of tech), you'll pay just £0.35 for every new listing, so even then it won't break the bank.
The good thing about eBay is that it gives you a bit more control overthe sale of your items, and potentially a greater share of its cash value, especiallywhen compared to somewhere like CEX.
Taking good quality photos will definitely help you make a sale, as will writing a detailed description of the item and condition it's in. You'll also want to do a little research into postage options, just in case sending the item costs more than you think.
Top tip: If you're selling on eBay and time isn't an issue, try putting your old device on sale for the maximum ten days. The extra time will increase the likelihood of getting more bids, which in turn means more money. Furthermore, you'll want to list your items so the bidding ends on a Sunday, when eBay is at its busiest.
Alternatively, you could sign up to become an Amazon seller, which will give you enormous reach when selling your old goods. However, the £25 monthly price tag combined withseller feesmeans that Amazon is only really worth investigating if you're planning on setting up an actual online business. There is a basic plan that costs less, but we'd recommend using the company's calculator tool to find out if it's worth it for you.
A potentially more profitable move would be to list your items on local selling sites like Gumtree. While not limited to people in your local area, Gumtree is typically a collection-only affair, although there are Gumtree affiliates that offer discounts on delivery.
We'd argue that Gumtree is potentially the best of all the re-seller sites because it's completely free to use, unless you pay to bump your item to the top of the page. However, while this can be useful in bigger city locations like London - where there are more items for sale - sellers from smaller towns shouldn't have many problems with visibility.
In addition to Gumtree, sellers can get rid of their items on Facebook Marketplace, which is another massive site with a huge reach. Selling on Facebook is arguably even more straightforward than Gumtree, because chances are you already have an account.
The biggest problems with the aforementioned sites compared to eBay is thatbuyers and sellers don't have the same level of protection.You're not paying fees, but you're also far less likely to get your money back if something goes wrong.
Finally, sites like musicMagpie will also buy your old gadgets, video games and DVDs. Just scan the barcodes or enter the name of the device and musicMagpie will give you a price. They'll even come and collect it from you.
While it's most definitely the easiest and most convenient way to sell your gadgets - you don't even have to leave the house - musicMagpie prices aren't as competitive as some of the other options listed above, so it's not going to be as profitable.
Top tip:If you're planning an upgrade andwaiting for the next modelto launch, our advice would be to sell your current device sooner rather than later. Unless it's a collector's item that's likely to increase in value the longer you keep hold of it, mostdeviceswill lose money the longer you wait to sell. If you've got a spare device that willtie you over untilthe upgrade launches, you might want to beat the rush and sell your current model for more cash.
Trade in your gadgets
Don't let your old phones, computers and gaming devices gather dust in a box - use them to save when you trade in old devices for new gadgets when upgrading your tech.
Lots of consumer tech companies offer trade-in deals for your old tech, particularly when you're upgrading phones and laptops. Currysis the king of trading in and will acceptphones, tablets, laptops, gaming consoles and smart devices, even if they're not in working order.
Even the mighty Apple offers trade-in deals for their old devices, which is handy if you've got your eye on the latest upgrade. You can quite often get a few hundred quid towards your new model by trading an older device, especially if it's in good condition.
The next time you're planning to make the upgrade, ask the store or salesperson about a potential trade-in, because you'll be surprised how many places offer the service.
Top tip:If you're selling an old phone or laptop, make sure you completely wipe the device by restoring the factory settings. While a retailer will probably do this for you, it's particularly important when you're selling online, because you don't know who's buying the device. Safety first!
Photos by Getty, VoucherCodes
