A MONEY whizz has revealed how he’s made thousands of pounds just by selling old phones.
Ben Pine, 31, told The Sun how he’s boosted his bank balance with the easy money-making trick – and anyone else can too.
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Everyone has been forced to tighten their purse strings as we battle through the cost of living crisis.
And the software designer from Halifax was looking for a side hustle to bring in extra cash each month.
Ben discovered he could sell old phones for a decent price after initially buying them second-hand.
Instead of signing up to a new contract that includes a monthly phone plan and a new device, he went for a SIM-only deal and a used handset to save money.
He then realised he could sell his old phones too.
Ben said: “Having gone through all the options over the years I concluded that your best bet is buying a secondhand phone and then selling your old one on the secondhand market as well.”
The first port of call for selling, Ben said, was eBay, which he said is a handy site but can be a lot of effort.
He said: “In terms of selling your phone I’ve had people send it back because they’ve changed their mind or just not paid.”
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He then tried selling site CEX, butwas not impressed with the prices and profits he could make were too low.
For example, he recalled being quoted £20 for an iPhone but then when he checked how much the retailer was selling a similar model online, it was going for nearly £200.
After doing some digging, Ben discovered Doji.co.uk which is a secondhand mobile phone site that allows shoppers to buy and sell old phones.
Ben said it’s a lot simpler than other sites because you don’t need to take photos of the device beforehand. The seller lists it, then when it sells, Doji checks it and you get the money.
Once the phone has been sold, Doji deals with any issues that the buyer may have and is responsible for refunding them instead of the seller.
There are no fees for sellers and Doji takes a cut from the buyer. So if you’ve sold a phone for £100, you’ll get the full £100.
The software designer first sold his own iPhone in October last year, pretty much straight after listing it for sale and since then Ben has sold more devices.
Here’s how much Ben has made by selling each phone:
- His own iPhone 13 128GB on October 2022 – sold it for £548
- His parents’ iPhone XS 256GB in October last year – sold for £232
- Sister’s iPhone 12 pro max 128GB in October 2022 – sold for £723
- Brother-in-law’s iPhone 13 pro max 128GB sold in November – sold for £723
- A friend’s iPhone 12 64GB in December last year – sold for £348
- An iPhone 13 mini 128GB he bought on Facebook Marketplace for £330 – sold it for £414 in April
- An iPhone 12 mini 64GB he bought on Facebook Marketplace for £190 – sold it for £271
In total, Ben has made £3,054 selling these phones.
But bear in mind that Ben hasn’t taken all of this money for himself – he sold family phones on behalf of them and transferred the money made to them.
And there are the original costs of buying the phones to take into consideration.
Ben said that the money made is a huge amount considering it took little effort.
If you’ve looked in drawers or under the bed and you’ve found some old phones, you might be able to make some money from them.
Prepare as early as possible
If you’re able to, Ben said, prepare to sell your phone as early from when you got it in the first place.
He said that if you’ve got the money, buy it outright – this means you won’t be tied to a contract.
Ben said: “Think about where you want to buy it from in the first place, don’t buy it contracted.
“It isn’t financially sensible so don’t go down that route.”
He suggested buying a new phone secondhand – these are often in very good condition and won’t cost you as much as buying brand new.
For example, at the time of writing the iPhone 14 pro is going for £1,099 on the Apple website but on Doji it was being sold for £659.
That’s a £440 saving.
Another thing Ben said to do to prepare for selling your phone is to look after it as well as you can.
He said: “When you buy the phone, put a case and screen protector on it right away because then you’re really preserving value for when you come to sell it.”
Companies can knock quite a bit of money off for any damages to the device so keep it in the best nick as possible.
It’s worth more than you think
Of all the phones Ben has sold he thought his parents’ XS model would make little to no money.
The iPhone XS isn’t sold by Apple anymore and he figured no one would want to buy it.
But after putting it onto Doji he managed to make £232 – though this went to his parents’ wallets.
He said: “It was just sat in a drawer doing nothing, thinking it’s worthless but actually we managed to get a decent amount of money for it.”
Therefore, Ben suggested trying to sell any phones you’re not wanting to keep, even if you don’t think they’re worth much.
It couldn’t be easier
If you’re worried about it being a complicated process, Ben said it couldn’t be simpler.
He said: “It’s so convenient, you just go on to the website and input the details.”
If you’re not sure what price to set your phone for, Ben said to choose one somewhere in the middle of what other sellers have listed the same model at.
So for example, if the lowest price is £100 and the highest price is £500, go for somewhere around £300 – that way you’re most likely to make a sale.
Now that he’s made a fair buck or two from his old devices, Ben said he’s looking into buying cheap phones and selling them on again.
He said: “I think having dipped my toe in the water and done a few tests, I can see a great deal of potential.
“If you can find phones that are cheaper then it’s a great opportunity.
He added: “It’s just something extra to keep ticking you over.”
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