How to Sell Your Old Cell Phones

Reader Chris Spear writes: I have several old cell phones, all prepaid, from VMobile and Boost. Can I sell these? If so, tell me how to go about it as I'm told something needs to be removed, or the buyer has to buy something in order for it to work?

Good idea: Rather than toss your phone into a drawer to rot, why not sell it for easy cash? Here's what you need to do.

First, find out if your phone is worth selling at all. eBay is the place to go. Do a "completed items" search. Sort by price to see if the phone is selling for much: Be careful, though, many items may look like they sold when in fact they didn't. As well, new phones will be worth much more than used ones. If your phone isn't worth at least 10 or 20 bucks, I'd donate it or recycle it instead.

Your next issue, and the big one, is how to remove personal data from the phone. With a GSM phone (like the Boost handset), remove the SIM card, which is underneath the battery. Next, with either GSM or CDMA phones, you'll want to do a complete reset of the handset to wipe out personal info lingering in the phone's memory. (Note that removing the SIM card alone won't do the trick.)

Resetting a phone is often tricky, as the method is different for every handset. Worse, there's no central repository for this information online. Start by looking in the phone's manual, if you have it. (And I hope you do, because it's worth more if you resell it with all the original accessories.) Do a web search with the phrase hard reset phonemake phonemodel, replacing phonemake/model with your handset make and model. You can also try browsing through the tools or settings menu on the phone: You want a "reset all" or "reset to factory defaults" option. If all else fails you can try calling the phone carrier's tech support line.

Once the phone is reset and your personal data deleted, it's ready to resell. Note that some stories have surfaced claiming that data may still be recoverable from a phone even after it's been reset, but unless you think hackers are going to spend time trying to recover your friends' phone numbers, I really wouldn't worry about it. If you've ever stored sensitive information in your phone, like passwords or credit card numbers, I'd advise recycling it instead of trying to sell it. 

As for the new owner: With a prepaid phone, a buyer will typically just need to call the carrier or visit the store in person to have it reactivated (and/or add his own SIM card) and add money to the account. This process varies by carrier, but most purchasers of unlocked phones use them with accounts they already have.

Also note that if you're selling a locked phone that you got from a major carrier, be sure to mention that in your sales listing: Cingular phones won't work on the T-Mobile network without being unlocked, for example, and not all phones can be easily converted and unlocked.

Happy eBaying!