Forecast Earth

Get paid to recycle your cell phone

OK, 'fess up: how many defunct cell phones do you have in your junk drawer?

The average American replaces his or her phone almost once a year, and that means every year more than 100 million cell phones go to the drawer or the dump, and that's not good at all.

You've certainly seen cell phone drop-off points at various electronics and office supply retailers, but now there's a way to dump your old phones and get paid-at least a little-for them.

Check out Flipswap, an online service that gives you an instant estimate of the value of your old phones. All you have to do is print out the pre-paid shipping label, send in the phones, and wait for your check to arrive. (You can also choose to have the money sent to one of several charities listed on the site.) Just go here to start the process.

When I looked at the site, I saw trade-in values ranging from $4 for some old clunkers to more than $100 for fairly new smartphones and PDAs. You wouldn't want to leave $100 sitting in your junk drawer, would you?

So far, Flipswap claims to have processed about 734,000 phones. That's a lot in raw numbers but hardly any percentage-wise. Only 99 million to go.

 


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comments from our community

Showing 1 - 15 of 26 comments

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  • Posted by janis1031 Thu Nov 20, 2008 10:16am PST
    How about donating old cells to the organization who gives them to our soldiers serving in war zones?
    Report Abuse
  • Posted by B balla Thu Nov 20, 2008 10:19am PST
    They dont give you cash, its store credit or trade in credit for their online store! no cash or check!
    Report Abuse
  • Posted by willyoumarryme20008 Thu Nov 20, 2008 10:30am PST
    this is cg and i woild like to know where to go to recycle my old phones they shut down the one in sumter is there one in sumter where i can go to if so please reply thank you
    Report Abuse
  • Posted by island k Thu Nov 20, 2008 10:31am PST
    I've given up, every time I try to determine if any of my old cells has any value I'm told they don't, and I often don't believe that.
    Report Abuse
  • Posted by localguy564 Thu Nov 20, 2008 10:32am PST
    Who gets a new phone every year? I have mine for 4-5 years before I upgrade. It's only a phone.
    Report Abuse
  • Posted by cynthia Thu Nov 20, 2008 10:39am PST
    They can also be given to some women's shelters, because even if there is no service they can still call 911 in case of emergency in a case of domestic violence.
    Report Abuse
  • Posted by suzitrego Thu Nov 20, 2008 10:39am PST
    i'd rather have the cash
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  • Posted by Dnazboy Thu Nov 20, 2008 10:41am PST
    yea if this junk gives me store credit I'm going to be highly upset...I just mailed mine
    Report Abuse
  • Posted by Annie Thu Nov 20, 2008 10:51am PST
    I think you posted on the wrong site lindsayloves038...
    Report Abuse
  • Posted by ryanjohnson24 Thu Nov 20, 2008 10:53am PST
    ITS A JOKE
    Report Abuse
  • Posted by NLS Thu Nov 20, 2008 10:55am PST
    good luck even getting into the site!
    Report Abuse
  • Posted by Mike Hambright Thu Nov 20, 2008 10:55am PST
    Better yet, what if your favorite charity or non-profit (school, church, cancer support, environmental support, etc) could benefit from each time you actually purchase your phone initially (from AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint, etc)? Check out this site: www.phonesforgood.com. Up to $50.00 goes to your favorite charity from each sale.
    Report Abuse
  • Posted by richard Thu Nov 20, 2008 1:04pm PST
    Sell it to ebay, you be suprise how much people paying your phone.
    Report Abuse
  • Posted by categ51 Thu Nov 20, 2008 1:12pm PST
    Donate old cell phones and printer cartridges to your local cardiologist office....they recycle them for pacemakers and other things....
    Report Abuse
  • Posted by Rusty Shackleford Thu Nov 20, 2008 2:30pm PST
    You can also donate your cell phone to women's shelters and women's groups to give to battered women/at-risk women so they can call 911 in case of emergency. Check with your local police department.
    Report Abuse

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