Swappa Review | How Sellers can get the most for their phone

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What: Swappa matches individual buyers and sellers of cell phones, ipads, laptops, games and other lightly-used electronics

Expected pay: NA

Husl$core: $$$$$

Commissions & Fees: graduated scale from $0 to $250 (for items worth more than $6,000)

Where: Nationwide

Requirements: electronics for sale and the legal right to sell them

Want to sell with Swappa?

Click here!

Swappa Review:

Unlike many of the other sites that offer to buy your electronics , Swappa is not buying your items for resale. It is connecting you with people who want to buy direct. By cutting out the middle-man (or middle-site), both buyers and sellers can get a better deal.

The disadvantage is that you have to do a bit more work, including verifying that you own the electronics and that your phone, for example, is not locked by a carrier. You’ll also communicate and negotiate with the final buyer. When someone buys your electronics, you get paid through PayPal.

The relatively few complaints we found about Swappa largely were from sellers who didn’t like the extensive verification process. A few buyers also complained that some phones that were on payment plans escaped Swappa’s screen and were later found to be problematic. If you buy on this site, you should do some due diligence on the phone you’re getting.

For sellers, Swappa is our top choice in the category, requiring a bit more work but usually bringing in considerably more money. You can sign up with Swappa here.

But those who don’t want to go through the hassle of negotiating with individual buyers, you can get a reasonable direct-purchase offer from MaxBack, TheWhizCells or ItsWorthMore. Our spot-checks of phone purchase prices found that you’d get about $100 more with Swappa, if you were selling a late-model iPhone. The differential is less — $25 to $75, when you’re selling an older phone or a less-popular model.

What their users say: From the Better Business Bureau:

“My experience with Swappa was awesome! I have used them a few times now and I will never go anywhere else for electronics.

They provide me with assurance by setting strict guidelines for used phones. This makes sure when a phone is listed at a certain condition level (fair, good, mint) know exactly what that condition level means. The sellers must abide by these standards and often exceed these standards.”