Do you have an area in your house where all your clutter seems to gravitate?

You know the one. It’s the place where your Hot Topic band T-shirts, NOW That’s What I Call Music! CDs, and long-forgotten DVD collection live. For me, the place that collects clutter is the spare bedroom. But instead of Blu-rays and old CDs, it’s boxes of old tech (laptops, cell phones, cameras, etc.) and books that haven’t seen the light of day in months — some, years.

Throwing them out seems like such a waste. And I don’t necessarily want to give away a set of Blu-rays that cost $20 each.

Since my most recent move, I’ve been struggling with what to do with them. I could probably sell the tech items, but ever since I got swindled out of a laptop on eBay, I’m wary of selling my tech online. And then there’s the hassle of finding a buyer, negotiating, and driving to the post office every time an item sells. 

But I recently learned there is a more convenient option: selling on Decluttr. 

With supposed instant cash offers, free shipping, and speedy payouts, I decided to put the company to the test. I bought a pristine condition cell phone from their store and immediately sold it back to them. 

Here’s what I learned. 

What Is Decluttr?

Decluttr is a company that buys and resells your old CDs, DVDs, video games, textbooks, and virtually any other technology. They act as the middleman so you don’t have to manage a listing, pay for shipping, or deal with buyers. 

According to the site, Decluttr has paid out more than $300 million to over 6 million customers worldwide. They have an A rating and are accredited with the Better Business Bureau (BBB). A review of Decluttr’s Trustpilot profile shows that the company also boasts an excellent 4.4 of 5-star rating over 23,000 reviews. Users report that the process for selling devices is easy, simple, payment is quick, and the Decluttr app and website are intuitive and easy to use. 

Complaints generally involve receiving a lower payment than initially offered for a device, and on the buyer’s side, occasionally receiving damaged products.

How Decluttr Works

Decluttr makes the process of buying and selling used media and technology simple.

Notably, they’ll buy your used: 

The site gives you a free instant valuation on all your devices before you send them in. For tech devices and cell phones, choose the make, model, and condition to receive a quote.

There are three options to choose from for your device’s condition:

• Good: device works properly, has no major damage, and only light signs of wear and tear
• Poor: device works properly but has scuffs, dents, and major scratching
• Faulty condition: device may not be working properly or at all (major software problems, significant physical damage, water damage, cracked screens, etc.)

Bent or crushed devices or those missing components are not eligible for sale.

For CDs, DVDs, games, and other items, you’ll need to enter the barcode. Decluttr’s free app allows you to scan them rather than enter each item manually. And for Lego products, you need to make sure they are genuine Lego brand and the total weight is at least 1.1 pounds.

If Decluttr is accepting your item, you’ll receive an immediate offer. If you can’t find the tech item on their list, it means they’re not currently taking it. In addition to older model iPhones (iPhone 5 or earlier), a few items they don’t accept include vinyl, cassette and VHS tapes, pirated copies, and promotional items received from a magazine or other publication. 

Ship your electronics for free

When you sell directly to buyers through sites like eBay and Amazon, shipping cost typically falls on your shoulders. With Decluttr, that’s not the case. 

Once you accept Decluttr’s offer, they’ll email you a welcome kit with a prepaid shipping label. Pack your goods into any box, print out your free shipping label, and send it through UPS at one of dozens of local Access Points.

Higher prices than competitors

Compared to similar sites, Decluttr offers some of the highest prices for smartphones and tech devices.

Each site has a different method for evaluating your phone’s condition. For consistency, I noted that each device was in “good” condition and chose the carrier as “factory unlocked.” You might get a slightly higher offer if you have the original packaging, charger, or additional accessories.

For most of the devices below, Decluttr’s offer was comparable to or higher than similar buyback competitors.

Fast payment

With Decluttr, you don’t have to wait weeks for payment. Once they receive your items, they’ll check everything over, remove any personal data from your tech devices, and pay you the day after your shipment arrives.

Payment options include direct deposit, PayPal, check, or a donation to the charity of your choice.

Related: 42 Creative Ways to Make Money Fast

Convenience

Like any company, Decluttr’s ultimate goal is to make a profit on the items it buys. If it didn’t, then they wouldn’t stay in business. That means you may earn less money than if you listed your items and sold them yourself.

As we previously alluded to, what you miss in earnings you get back in the form of time. That’s time you don’t have to spend making accounts, creating listings, writing descriptions, communicating or haggling buyers, and possibly getting scammed.

Is the Offer You Receive What You Actually Get Paid?

When you enter the information for your tech devices, Decluttr will lock in their offer for 28 days. Once they receive your order, Decluttr reviews your item. If it matches your description, you’ll get the full offer.

If your device is damaged or doesn’t match your original description, Decluttr may revise your offer. In that case, the Decluttr Tech Price Promise allows you to request it back free of charge. After Decluttr sends you a revised offer, you have 14 days to respond.

Media such as DVDs, CDs, games, and books operate differently. They’ll also check these items for quality to make sure they match your description. However, if they fail the quality assessment, you won’t get them back. So if you’re not sure an item will pass the quality control and you aren’t willing to part with it for free, you might want to rethink sending it in.

How Much Can You Make with Decluttr?

The amount you can expect to make with Decluttr depends on the quality, number, and type of items you have to sell. For instance, I also have a 64GB iPhone 8 that’s been sitting in a drawer for months that clocks in at $176.

I also cleaned out my CD and DVD collections years ago. But to give you an idea of how much you can reasonably expect to make selling on Decluttr, I scanned some books that have been sitting in boxes since my most recent move.

In total, that’s $186.98 for stuff that’s just lying around my house in boxes and drawers. If you have old books, CDs, Legos, and tech devices you’re not using, check Decluttr to see how much they’re worth.

If you have newer technology — maybe something you received as a gift or even purchased for yourself but never use — then you could earn even more.

I bought my 4th Generation iPad Pro brand new for $1,649. Decluttr offered me $790 for it after a year of use. Since it’s in excellent condition (I’ve only used it a handful of times), I could probably get more selling it myself. But for someone like me who prefers not to haggle with buyers or spend time messaging back and forth, Decluttr’s offer again seems fair.

Referral program

In addition to giving you top dollar for your tech devices, books, CDs, and other items, Decluttr has a program that allows you to earn an extra $5 by referring your friends. All you need to do is claim your unique code and share it via social media, text, email, or in person. When your friend completes a trade, they’ll also receive a $5 credit. 

There’s no limit to how many friends you can refer.

How to Have the Most Success with Decluttr

There were a few obscure titles in my book collection that Decluttr gave a hard pass. But I was also surprised at the books it accepted, including some yoga-related ones that came in at more than $1 apiece. That leads me to believe that even your most unsellable items have a shot.

However, you’ll want to follow some best practices to get the most out of your goods. A review of Decluttr’s terms and conditions offers some helpful advice:

• All items must have a barcode.
• Covers, disc artwork, and/or sleeve notes should be in good condition.
• Games should contain the original instruction booklet and artwork.
• Electronics and tech devices must match the reported condition.

One final tip: be honest. Decluttr reviews every item before finalizing their offer. Not describing an item accurately might cause them to lower your offer or even send the item back to you. For instance, if you say your old iPhone is in “good” condition but there’s actually a crack in the screen, you’ll likely get a lower offer when Decluttr reviews it, or it may not qualify for an offer at all.

Decluttr Review Summary: A Solid Option to Sell Online

Decluttr is one of the best selling apps on the market and a convenient alternative to selling directly to buyers. They offer a free instant valuation on all your items, so as long as you’re honest about the condition, you’ll know how much you’ll earn before sending anything in.

Selling on Decluttr is as simple as scanning barcodes, printing your shipping label, and dropping a box at UPS. The biggest downside is that they won’t send back any media items (books, CDs, DVDs, games, etc.) that don’t make it through the quality assessment. But as long as you’re willing to risk a few cents for the convenience of not having to sell anything yourself, there are few drawbacks to trading in your electronics with Decluttr.

The post Decluttr Review 2022: We Bought and Sold a $75 Phone. Here’s How It Went appeared first on DollarSprout.