How to Trade in Your Samsung Galaxy – The Ultimate Guide

So you’re looking to trade in your old Samsung Galaxy? Look no further — you’ve found 9to5Google’s ultimate guide. Whether it’s a Galaxy S21 or an old S6, you’ve come to the right place. In this guide we’ll show you just about every option you have for recycling your old Galaxy, whether you want to go through the trouble of selling it yourself on a site like Swappa or eBay, send it off to one of many recycling sites, or trade it in with our partners in just a few clicks.

Best Samsung Trade in Sites

Trade in your Galaxy at Samsung Trade In

Perhaps one of the most popular destinations for trading in your old Galaxy is Samsung’s own Trade In program. With Samsung Trade In, you can trade in up to 4 phones for credit towards a brand new Samsung mobile device.

Samsung’s Trade In rates are pretty good compared to other sites, though meeting the requirements to get the most value for the trade is quite difficult. Compare your phone to Samsung’s Trade In requirements here. You can expect a thorough process — unless you send in something other than what you claim, of course. 

Trade in your Galaxy at MyPhones Unlimited

As mentioned, our favorite partner is MyPhones Unlimited — the company behind our trade-in portal. In many if not all cases, MyPhones has the best balance of generous trade in values, seamless experience, and customer service you’ll find on the web.

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The experience using our trade-in site is probably familiar to you. Simply head to the site, choose the device, and get your quote. From there, MyPhones will ship you a box with a pre-paid shipping label and some instructions, and you can just pop your device in the mail. From there, assuming everything checks out, you should receive a check in the mail within 10 business days.

Trade in your Galaxy at Decluttr

Decluttr is a great destination for trading in your Galaxy, and they tend to offer some of the best trade in values on the market. Decluttr has great reviews on Trustpilot, and we’ve work with them as a partner in the past — so they’re definitely one of the sites we would use ourselves.

Trade in your Galaxy at Gazelle

Gazelle is undoubtedly a popular trade-in destination, and they have the volume and reputation to back it up. They’re rated A- by the Better Business Bureau, and they accept just about every possible device you can think of in just about any condition. Their rates aren’t the best you’ll find on the web, but you can know for sure that if you trade in with Gazelle that you’ll get the amount you were quoted and you’ll be treated well — they’ve been doing this a long time. Check out Gazelle.

Trade in your Galaxy at Best Buy

You can also trade in your Galaxy at select electronics retailers around the world. In the US, the most popular destination is Best Buy, which takes smartphones, tablets, gaming hardware, smart watches, streaming media, and more.

Trade in your Galaxy w/ carriers: Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and more

Another option for trading in your old Galaxy is to just call up (or click over to) your carrier. Whether you have Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, or a variety of other carriers around the world, you’ll probably get a half-decent offer on your old Galaxy. Unlike Samsung’s Trade In program, carriers aren’t necessarily known for super great trade-in rates unless there’s some kind of promotion going on. That said, you can sometimes find a killer deal for a phone trade-in for your Galaxy if you look closely.

Even more sites: Trademore, Igotoffer, Itsworthmore, BuyBackWorld

All it takes is a quick Google search to find that there are more Galaxy trade in sites out there on the web than you can count. We found a handful that seem to be at least somewhat trustworthy, but we wouldn’t go with something you’re not entirely confident in only to possibly get a few extra dollars. For one, you might not actually get those extra dollars — some sites have rough Trustpilot ratings with reported issues with receiving payments for their devices, for example.

That said, these sites aren’t all bad — many of them have enough positive reviews and reputation that it’s pretty unlikely you’ll get straight up scammed for your Galaxy trade in. Check out TrademoreIgotofferItsworthmore, and BuyBackWorld if you want to go into the Wild Wild West of Galaxy and smart device trade in sites.

EcoATM

Were you hoping you could easily trade in your Galaxy without even having to ship it anywhere? Well then you might want to check out EcoATM. The amount you’ll actually get paid is likely to be the lowest of any options on this list, but if you just really don’t care, then you can head to a physical EcoATM location and drop your phone in. Just for context: EcoATM is currently offering $165 for the newest Samsung Galaxy S21 with 5G, while other options on this list are offering hundreds more. Not all options are selling the Galaxy S21 yet, so it might be wise to hold on to the newest phones for the time being and check back in a while to see updated lists.

Best Online Marketplaces to trade in/sell your Galaxy

Swappa

As it related to selling your Galaxy yourself, Swappa has become one of the most popular destinations on the web — it’s risen just as other boutique product-specific marketplaces have. Swappa, unlike general stores like eBay and Amazon, is a destination made specifically for buying and selling consumer electronics. It got its start around the iPhone and Android phone biz, and those categories remain its most popular to this day.

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You should head over and check out Swappa if you’re serious about selling a good-condition device for the absolute max value you can get. But just like eBay and Amazon, it’s going to take a bit more work than just trading it in.

eBay

eBay is perhaps the most widely-known of online marketplaces, and you’ve probably been-there-done-that. If you’re looking to sell/trade in your Galaxy on eBay, there are a few things you should know: First, eBay’s fees are pretty high. You can assume that a decent chunk of your sale price is going to get pulled from your PayPal account in the days following the closing of your sale. Second, eBay isn’t exactly user-friendly these days. And third, it’s not always the safest place to sell things if you aren’t already an established buyer or seller. For those reasons, eBay isn’t our first choice for selling your Galaxy.

That said, eBay is one of the world’s largest online marketplaces, and if you do it right, you can sell your Galaxy safely and for a fair price. It’s going to take a little work making sure your eBay listing is accurate and thorough, and you’ll need to keep an eye out for scammers, but if you’re careful, it might be worth considering. Especially if you have a newer device that you can run an auction for or an older antique that the trade-in sites won’t give you anything for, eBay is definitely an option.

Check out eBay’s Galaxy trade in/sale landing page for a quick rundown on listing your Galaxy there.

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  • Decluttr: $531 cash (256GB, unlocked + 5G, good)

Special deals and trade-in coupon codes for 9to5Mac readers

For a limited time, get 10% extra through Decluttr (max $30) w/ code 9TO5Mac (valid til 12/31/21)