Sell iPhone 3G the Fast Way

Image credit: Engadget.com

If you have an iPhone 3G that you don't want anymore, it's a good idea to try to sell it. In general, there are two ways to go about selling second-hand goods. You can do it yourself, or you can use a middleman to help you out. If you haven't any experience in selling things by yourself, it's usually good to enlist the help of a middleman to work as a broker for you. However, a middleman usually takes a cut in order to cover their expenses and earn some money. So, if you want to sell iPhone 3G, you can go one of two routes.

If you want to sell iPhone 3G by yourself, you'll most likely have to:

-        Get your phone in reselling condition. That means replacing any missing or broken pieces, and correcting any cosmetic damage to the phone itself. You'll also have to delete all of your personal information from your phone, including your photographs, phone numbers, and other info. This is true any time you try to sell old cell phones, but is especially true for iPhones due to the large number of apps and files they can hold.

-        Advertise your phone. You can do that on an auction website like eBay, your local paper, a classified site like Craigslist, or anywhere else that lets you put up used goods for sale. Alternatively, you can price your iPhone and put it out as part of a yard sale.

-        When an interested buyer contacts you (which could take several weeks), it's up to you to sell your phone. That means talking up its features, and honestly discussing any damage or repairs it has received. You might have to go through two or three interested people before you find an actual buyer.

-        When you sell your phone, you have to take payment. The easiest and safest way is to just take cash, but not everyone walks around with a lot of cash in their pocket. Otherwise, you can take checks or money orders, but these can be counterfeited. Unless you go through a site like eBay, you probably won't have a way to take credit cards.

-        Deliver or mail your phone to the buyer. If you have to mail it, that means packaging your phone so it isn't damaged in transit, paying for shipping to get it there, paying for insurance so you don't lose any money if something happens to it in transit, and paying for tracking so you can prove the phone was delivered.

-        If all goes well, you're done. If all doesn't go well, you may have to deal with things like customer complaints, and shipping problems. This is why things like insurance and tracking are usually well worth the money.

If you choose to sell iPhone 3G with a middleman, your process will go more like this:

-        You find someone who sells used electronics. These companies usually have websites where they offer to help you sell old cell phones for cash, and may even offer to take broken or damaged cell phones.

-        You contact them for a price quote. Some people may not like the fact that they can't set their own price point for their iPhone, but when you factor in what you save in not having to pay for advertising, shipping, insurance, or tracking, using a used phone company usually means you come out ahead.

-        If you like your price quote, you contact them for a free mailer. This mailer will have postage, packaging, and tracking included, so all you have to pay for is the gas it'll take you to get to the post office.

-        Once your phone is mailed in and received, you'll get paid the price you were quoted. If your phone doesn't actually match the description you gave when you requested your quote, your quote may need to be amended first.

Trying to sell old cell phones is tricky, and it can end up being way more expensive than it's worth. Don't make the same mistake that a lot of new sellers make. Rely on the help of an experienced middleman to help you sell your phone, so you can maximize your earning potential and minimize the number of headaches you'll have to deal with.