A cleaning frenzy is sweeping Britain, but as we all follow the celebrity TV tidy-upper Marie Kondo’s advice to de-clutter, the online delivery specialist ParcelHero is advising everyone not to simply throw out their old mobile phones.
David Jinks MILT, ParcelHero’s Head of Consumer Research and the former Editor of Model Collector, Coins Market Values and Area 51: Sci Fi Collecting says: ‘It’s great we are all de-cluttering. But be careful what you throw out. That old mobile phone may have been in a draw for years, but before you recycle it, check: it may be worth thousands of pounds. With old phones becoming really collectable this could be a great time to sell your cell.’
Reveals David: ‘Old mobile values really are becoming something to call home about. For example, the world’s first popular commercial mobile phone, the 1983 Motorola DynaTAC 8000X is selling for around £2,000 for an original UK market version, mint and boxed with original charger and packaging. That’s a lot of money to pay for a brick; but it is a lump of real history. It may have taken 10 hours to charge, with a talk time of just 30 minutes; but that doesn’t stop it being ultra-collectible now.’
And David adds: ‘Everyone’s favourite old phones, Nokias, are rising in value. The tiny 1999 Nokia ‘candy bar’ 8850, for example, is considered by phone fans the best-looking Nokia ever; but all that teeny-tech means they are notoriously hard to repair. That’s why a mint-boxed working one could cost fetch of £150.’
Adds David: ‘And many of us are likely to still have lying around a 2004 Nokia 7280, popularly known as the ‘lipstick’ phone. One is on sale on eBay at over £200 currently and they are achieving around £100 or more for a mint-boxed version. It’s our tip for a future classic; and exactly the kind of ultra-trendy phone we all dumped in a draw back in 2007 when the first iPhones came out.
‘And, talking of iPhones, unopened rare versions of the first generation have sold for up to £2,500. Look out for ultra-scarce very early 4GB versions, for example. But before you get too excited, an average good boxed one is only worth around £50.’
Says David: ‘One more favourite to look out for is the 1996 Nokia 8110 – the ‘banana’ phone as made famous in The Matrix. There’s a limited-edition version on sale on eBay right now for £200, and more humble mint and boxed ones are achieving £60 or more. Not bad for something that was worthless just a few years ago. It’s even inspired a modern retro-phone, the new Nokia 8110 4G. With a colour screen instead of the original’s monochrome LCD display, it is easily spotted.’
Concludes David: ‘That old mobile phone is calling you. eBay is the obvious online marketplace, but don’t forget alternatives such as Shpock, Facebook Marketplace and Gumtree if you prefer to sell locally. For newer phones you could receive a decent sum through sites such as Fonebank or envirofone – or alternatively visit your nearest Carphone Warehouse to recycle a phone that’s still worth nothing, and they will donate £10 to charity for every phone donated. And, however you say goodbye to your phone, don’t forget to wipe all personal details before you part company with it.’
ParcelHero compares the cheapest and easiest-to-use services for delivering online marketplace sales from all the leading couriers. For advice on how to ship mobile phones with lithium batteries and full information on parcel collection see: httpss://www.parcelhero.com/
