Selling old electronics can mean more money for students

With the new iPhone coming out this fall, now is the time for students to sell old electronics to get the biggest bang for their buck.

Students can save money buying used electronics and make quick cash selling old devices.

There are several ways to buy or sell electronics online. One of the most-used websites is Craigslist. Students can buy, sell or trade electronics with people from their area. Garrett Johnson, a sophomore from Erie, sold a PS2 with controllers and some games on Craigslist for $100. He then bought a Sony surround sound system, a $300 value, for $100.

“It makes so much more sense to do it this way. You pay a little bit and get the exact same thing you would if you were buying it brand new,” Johnson said.

An Xbox 360 in working condition sells for around $90 on Craigslist while it ranges between $199-$299 brand new. A 40-inch Samsung LCD TV was posted in the Lawrence area for $450 but costs $649.99 at Best Buy. An 80 gigabyte  iPod video classic is $150 and is listed at $220 new on Amazon.

Shubhankar Mathur, a sophomore from Eden Prairie, Minn., sold a PS3 along with four video games and controllers for $250 on Craigslist.

“I used it for a year, but I sold it because I wanted some spending money. I bought it on Black Friday for $150 so I ended up making $100 in the end,” Mathur said.

Another website students can use to sell old phones and other electronics is buybackworld.com. The process takes three steps: Search for your device, answer four questions about the condition of your device and immediately get a quote for how much it is worth. An iPhone 4 16 GB in good condition is worth $176. A 32 GB iPad with Wi-Fi capabilities is worth $174.

Another website that has three different ways for people to recycle electronics is grcrecycling.com. People can fundraise through cellphone recycling, selling used phones for money, or donate cellphones to benefit soldiers.

The value of all old iPhones will decrease as soon as the new model is launched.

Most cellphone carriers have a buy-back program for customers. At Verizon Wireless a working iPhone 4S 16 GB with no cracks is worth $230. Once you ship the device, Verizon will send you a gift card redeemable at any Verizon location.

Sprint also has a buyback program. Users can sell old phones and receive store credit or can use the money to pay bills. A 16 GB iPhone 3GS is worth $80 at the Sprint store and a 16 GB iPhone 4 is worth $150.

—Edited by Luke Ranker

Hannah Barling is a sophomore from Arkansas majoring in journalism. Read more from Hannah Barling.

• Updated Sep. 4, 2012 at 10:36 pm
• Edited by Luke Ranker