[Tech Vamp]

Hello, I had a broken phone recently, simply a cracked screen, and went to sell it but ended up with less than a fraction of the phones original value. This made me curious about what people do with their broken phones. If you've ever had a smashed phone in the past, could you tell me what you did with it (fixed it, sold it, binned it, etc), and if you did sell it how much did you get for it. Was this a good price? I have a feeling that services buying up smashed phones are unreasonable, so I’m also wondering if there are any other services available, or what prices would be considered good.

Thanks.

[AxlMyk]

A smashed phone is only good for the mother board, maybe. That's why you didn't get much for it.

AC App on SGS3

[OneEarth2]

I typically fix my electronics when they break. I've replaced parts in PSPs, desktop PCs, and laptops. Haven't had a phone break yet though. I've only had 2 and the first one simply went hopelessly out of date.

[mickeycoding]

Depending on your phone model and brand, is the price of replacing the broken screen more than 1/5 of the phone cost (or >$50)? If yes, then either get a new phone, or if the cracked screen does not interfere with your user experience, continue to use it.

The 1/5 rule is just my idea of outweighing the cost-benefit analysis.

[gone down south]

It's going to cost a reseller, say, $100 to replace the screen. Plus labor and overhead, postage and taxes, eBay fees, PayPal fees, etc, then maybe he'll be able to sell the device as Used.

Those are pretty thin margins.

[DJantel Ware]

A smashed phone is only good for the mother board, maybe. That's why you didn't get much for it.

AC App on SGS3

I would not say that. Depending on the model and the damage (here a cracked screen), you could replace the screen and use everything else. Sometimes the damage is even only in the front glass, so you just need to change this (it is even possible with devices where the glass is glued, much harder thought).

But for obvious reasons, the price you get for it will always be a fraction of the original value.

[Andrei Serban]

If it's cheap, sell the good parts and buy a new one. If repairing the screen will cost you like 50% of the price of a new phone, then again, buy a new phone.