Make money selling vintage cell phones

Reading time: 3 minutes

We all laugh at the brick-and-mortar cell phones of the 1980s and 90s, or the silly cell phones of the early 2000s, compared to today’s ultra-slim and sleek handsets.

However, many people don’t realize that collecting some cell phones from those decades and selling them on eBay can be a good way to make some extra money.

Here’s our quick guide to doing this successfully:

The basics

As with all products, the rarer your vintage cell phone, the more you’ll be able to charge for it. Which, in this case, means that devices dating back to the 1980s are usually worth a lot more than those made between the 1990s and now.

However, age is not the only thing that matters. Here are some factors to keep in mind:

• Is the phone in perfect condition? Phones that are well maintained can command a much higher price than ones that have nicks, scratches or cracks.
• Do you still have the original packaging? If you can sell the phone in the box it came in, your price can go up even more.
• Has the battery caused any damage? If you have an old phone, it is wise to remove the battery and store it separately, as they tend to corrode with age. Rather than risk damaging the phone, remove the battery and keep it safe.

Phones worth selling

Wondering if your old brick is worth listing on eBay? Mobile Phone History has a great price and rarity guide that you can use to cross price eBay and the likes.

However, we did a quick search and found the following are all good bets to get you more than £500 a pop:

• 1981 Senator Mobira – the ‘daddy’ of them all and Nokia’s first phone which currently costs around £1400 (if in good condition)
• Orbitel Citifone – About as rare as you can get, selling a 1985 Citifone could make you around £900 richer.
• Motorola DynaTAC 8000x – The world’s first commercially available portable mobile phone first arrived in the UK in 1985 and cost £3,000 per handset. These days you can sell one of these mobile dinosaurs for between £300 and £800.
• Motorola 8100L – First made in 1988, this rare find can fetch up to £550.
• Nokia 9000 Communicator – fast forward a decade or so, the Nokia 9000 Communicator is considered the progenitor of the modern smartphone and was first introduced to the market in 1996. If you have one in good condition, you could sell it for almost £1000.
• Nokia 8800 – entering the new millennium, the Nokia 8800 slide phone was considered super chic, luxurious and highly fashionable at the time. It’s making a huge comeback with vintage fashion lovers and – depending on condition and color – you could fetch more than £1,500 for your old phone.

How much can I do?

Anything from small changes to hundreds depending on what you have.

If you have one of these phones and can’t remember what happened to it, you might still have it in your attic or in the back of a cupboard, so it’s worth looking for.

While the phones listed above can run you a lot of money, let’s be honest – most of us don’t have these models. And if we do, it may be too late to save them from the toy box or junk drawer.

No need to despair, though, as you can even get pretty decent prices on eBay for more mainstream powerhouses like the Nokia 3310 and Blackberry Pearl Flip.

Of course, there’s always the option of selling your discarded devices at electronics shows or car boot sales. While you may not be able to market it to an audience as large as eBay, the people who frequent these types of sales usually know exactly what they’re looking for (which might just be your old phone) and will pay good money for rare finds .

If you’ve just upgraded to a great new phone and want to get some cash from your old one, check out our article on cell phone recycling.

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