Can you sell a cracked or broken phone?

Many people think a cracked or "drowned" phone is rubbish. In fact it almost always has a price: technicians need its parts, board and body.

Phones that sell

with a cracked screen or back;
after water damage, including ones that won't turn on;
with a broken Face ID, camera or speaker;
with a worn battery;
older models that nobody buys from listings any more.

Phones that don't

locked to someone else's account (iCloud Lock, Google FRP);
stolen or blocked;
without proof that the phone is yours.

If you've forgotten your own Apple ID password, recover access first; otherwise nobody will buy the phone except for parts at a minimal price.

How a faulty phone is valued

The buyer works it out like this: what the phone is worth working, minus the cost of repair and parts, minus the risk. The more expensive the model and the simpler the fault, the more you get.

For example: a recent iPhone with cracked glass gets a decent buyback price, because the repair is simple. An old Android that won't turn on after water gets a token amount.

Repair or sell?

Inexpensive fault (glass, battery, port) and you like the phone: repair it.
Expensive fault (board after water, several defects) or you wanted a new phone anyway: sell it as is, so you don't put money into a repair that won't pay off.

See Repair or a new phone.

How to sell to us

Send the model, what happened and photos on Telegram, and we'll quote within minutes. If repairing turns out to be better than selling, we'll tell you honestly. More: device buyback and how to prepare a phone.