The process of signing up for a contract phone can be a daunting, expensive and a costly process. Having the knowledge and know-how can greatly give you an advantage in this ever-competitive market.

So what’s it all about?

When you sign up to a contract for a mobile phone, most providers charge you a monthly fee to cover the cost of the unit itself, with the airtime, data and text message packages attached. After you have fulfilled your contract, you are free to do whatever you wish to do with that phone. You can go out to your local city centre and trawl shops to find the best price for a used phone. You could store it away for a rainy day, let it collect dust and devalue in price and usage. You could list it on one of the many auction sites and run the risk of paying hidden fees and costs, and THEN hope that the buyer is happy with the condition of the unit.

Or you could be savvy and wise whilst earning a little extra cash toward a new model.

Mobile Phone Recycling.

Most people think that once their contract is up that their mobile phone is yesterday’s news – the truth couldn’t be further from that very notion. If like me, you are looking to purchase one of Apple’s new iPhone 8 models, then you may have an iPhone 7, which now seems about as useful as a doorstop or paperweight. The truth is that there is still a market for used or old mobile phones and an Apple iPhone 7 32gb is still worth something to someone.

Think about it – not everyone can afford the Apple iPhone 8 and there are even people out there who cannot afford the Apple iPhone 7. There may be people out there who have never used the iPhone and who may want to dip their toe in the water with an older model. There may be people out there who just want to buy a second-hand phone for development purposes. Whatever their motives, there are people still interested in iPhone 7’s.

This is where mobile recycling comes into play.

The process is fairly straight-forward and can be performed within a matter of minutes from the comfort of your own home. You find a mobile phone recycle company and follow the easy to follow instructions, post your phone and sit back and wait for the cash.

I recently funded the cost of a new contract phone by selling my old iPhone 7 on the website sellmymobile.com. An easy to follow process is presented whereby you enter the model of your mobile phone into the search box and are then presented with a list of prices and companies to compare and eventually select.

There are a few things to take into consideration, such as:

Is my phone working correctly as it should?

Most of the sites in question that I saw, had a checklist which was quite easy to understand and follow. Even if it isn’t working, I saw many sites that would still take my phone and offer me cash for it.

Do I get the money right away?

No, but most offer a free postage policy and you have to remember that their engineers have to check over the phone to make sure it is working or defective in the way it was explained.

Do I have to do all the postage and packaging myself?

Yes and no – if you are lucky to have a recycling company close to you – they may offer to pick-up, but this is location and company dependent. Most will send you out packaging which will have a Freepost authorisation slip that you can present at your local post office.

How much can I earn?

This is dependent on your model – you should visit a site (as I did with sellmymobile.com) and gauge this for yourself.

To summarise…most new mobile contracts can cost between £25-£50 per month; the average price of a used mobile phone is around £100. Depending on what you select, recycling your old mobile could cover the cost of up to four months.