How to make money from your unwanted electricals
Written by: Charlotte D
Are you on the lookout for ways to save money or to make an extra bit of cash?
Could your unwanted tech be the answer? You might well have 31 unused items floating around in your home – and there are millions of people in the same boat. In fact, our research suggests there are currently 880 million unused working electrical items gathering dust in UK homes. And by reselling these items, we could make between £1,304 and £6,331 per household.
There are a range of ways to make some extra cash from your unwanted electricals. You can use trade-in offers to swap your electrical item for cash, use second-hand selling platforms who will purchase your item from you to sell on their website, or you can sell them direct on peer to peer platforms.
Here are our top tips for where to sell mobiles and other electricals for cash:
Trade in your electricals for cash
Many companies will trade in your old phone, laptop, headphones and other electricals for cash or money off your next purchase. Your old tech will be refurbished for resale or responsibly recycled, saving precious materials from going to waste.
Here are some of the best options available:
Currys’ Cash For Trash scheme offers at least £5 off your next purchase for any old tech items you recycle in store. Visit your local Currys with any unwanted tech, even if you didn’t buy it from them, and hand it to a member of staff to be recycled. You’ll get a discount voucher for online or in-store purchase on orders over £25. Recycling drop offs are available in all Currys stores – meaning customers can find a drop off point which works best for them! Find your local Currys on our locator.
O2 will give you cash for your old phone and recycle the device. Visit the O2 website to see how much your phone is worth. They will then send you the quoted amount or – if you’re an O2 customer – give you money off your next phone bill.
Vodafone’s Trade-in the Tool in their My Vodafone app offers new and existing customers an instant and guaranteed Trade-in value, providing trust and transparency when you trade in. You can receive your Trade-in value as an account credit to use towards settling an existing loan, as a monthly saving on a new Airtime Plan or directly to your bank account.
Turn your tech into cash with Back Market. Answer a few simple questions about the item you have, and an expert refurbisher will provide you with an offer within 2 minutes. Back Market offer trade-in for smartphones, MacBooks, tablets, consoles and audio devices. Send your item for free, and receive a direct deposit within 5 days.
Use second-hand selling platforms
Some companies will sell your old gadgets for you, so you don’t have to deal with the trouble and risks of finding a buyer on your own. Just go to their website, see how much your device is worth, and wait for a kit to mail your item. Then sit back and wait for your money.
Here are a few places where you can buy and sell used phones:
You can buy refurbished phones with Reboxed, and you can send your old mobiles to be valued and sold on their platform. Once you’ve received your offer, if you choose not to sell, you will get your phone back for free. A Reboxed phone is up to 40% cheaper than buying new and they promise to make it carbon positive by planting 5 trees paying to offset its lifetime CO2 emissions! All reboxed devices are fully tested and come with a 12-month warranty.
Mazuma Mobile makes getting cash for your old tech easy! Simply find the device you’re wanting to sell on their website, choose from a variety of free postage options (including them collecting from your door), post off your device and receive the payment on the same day they receive it. They have over 140,000 5-star reviews on TrustPilot and have been offering customers fast cash for their old tech since 2006!
Sell it yourself
There are many second-hand selling platforms, including eBay, Vinted, Gumtree and more. Read our advice, and tips from the platforms themselves, on how to sell your unwanted electricals online. Read more.
The most important thing to remember when deciding what to do with our old, unwanted electricals is that we should never bin them. Electricals contain precious materials that are lost forever when thrown away. If your item isn’t in good enough condition to sell, consider repairing or donating it. Otherwise, take your electricals to a local recycling centre or retailer. Some local authorities even offer kerbside collection for small electrical items. To find your nearest recycling, repair and donation drop-off points, pop your postcode in our locator.
Find your nearest reuse and recycling point
