EcoATM

EcoATM Review:

EcoATM, which bought Gazelle in 2015, operates kiosks all over the U.S. that will take your cell phone and pay you cash for it on the spot.

How it works

The site allows you to estimate the price you’ll get for your phone on its website. But what makes this site different from all of the others is that to get paid, you’ll need to bring the phone to a kiosk.

EcoATM has about 5,000 kiosks, mostly located in grocery stores and malls, across the U.S.

You put your phone in the kiosk, it scans it for condition and then gives you an offer. If you accept the offer, you get paid in cash on the spot.

Easy but cheap

The process is incredibly easy. But you’ll also get less for your phone here than pretty much anywhere else. EcoATM offered $80 for an iPhone X that got offers ranging from $200 to $130 elsewhere, for instance.

So why sell here? It is one of the few places that will take a phone that’s broken, though you won’t get much for it.

Stolen phones

Is this a repository for stollen phones? The site attempts to thwart that by requiring that sellers present an ID, thumbprint and the site takes a photo of the seller at a kiosk. All phones are also kept at the site’s San Diego center for a month. And the site cooperates with law enforcement.

If a stollen phone is claimed, EcoATM provides it to the rightful owner free of charge.

Recommendations

If you’re willing to take $100s less for your cell phone just to get the money a few days faster, EcoATM can help. But it may be time to rethink the budgeting strategy that’s left you this desperate for cash.

If you want to sell your cell phone quickly, but are not thoroughly desperate, other sites are better. Consider: TheWhizCells and ItsWorthMore. You can check out ItsWorthMore here.

If you’re in no big hurry and want to get the best price, your best option is Swappa. Swappa doesn’t buy phones for resale. It connects buyers and sellers, who negotiate on their own. This often results in both sides getting a better deal since you take out the middle man. You can check out Swappa here.

What their users say: From Google Play

“Really? I just got a brand new phone. Straight out of the box. Had it for a month. Then my brother upgraded and gave me his phone (the one I really wanted). The phone I just bought was $180, so I figured I’d try and get at least some of it back. Absolutely nothing wrong with it. The thing offered me $2 for in “Like new” condition and nothing below. Really?!? Brand new $180 phone and it’s $2. What a rip off. Guarantee you they would make a WHOLE lot more than a couple bucks off my phone. I’ll sell it on Craigslist.”

“SCAM! What a SCAM my Android LG phone is new and has KitKat 4.4 and it says it has NO retail value! They want you to put a Samsung S7 in so they can give you 5 dollars!”

Sell on eBay

“Eco A Trick More (ATM) to take your money. You’re way better off selling it on eBay or Craigslist. Unless you want to be given only a fraction of the the actual market price.”

“Just google sell your phone for cash. There are so many better places. This is just to recycle broken old phones.”

“Wtf This company is a joke. I understand getting a low price, but they almost want it for free. 16 dollars for a mint S5 or 20 dollars for a mint iPhone 5s? What a gd joke. This company won’t be around long.”

“You have gotta be kidding. Offered me 9 bucks for a Samsung Windows phone.. I sold it on ebay for $284 within 8 hours of their offer.”