eBay Debuts New Smartphone Trade-In Program 'Instant Selling'

eBay today launched a new option for customers who are looking to trade in their iPhones or other smartphones, which it's calling "Instant Selling." Using this feature, you can list an old iPhone and get paid instantly with an eBay voucher.


Instead of listing an old device on eBay as normal, waiting for bids to come in and for payment to be received, eBay is making this process easier with Instant Selling. To use the program, visit eBay, enter your device's information to see if it's eligible, add images, list the device, and get a quote.

Afterwards, you'll receive an instant eBay voucher representing the resell cost of the smartphone, which you can then put towards the purchase of a new smartphone or anything you come across on eBay. The retailer will also provide a shipping label for you to ship out your old iPhone.

“Millions of Americans have unused phones in their homes and simply don’t realize how much their devices are worth, probably because trade-in values are typically so low,” said Alyssa Steele, Vice President of Hard Goods, eBay. “With Instant Selling, people can find out exactly how much their phone is worth, and sell their phone within a matter of minutes to immediately help fund the holidays, or maybe something off their personal wish list.”

eBay's program will be helpful for anyone who plans on doing a lot of holiday shopping on the site, since the provided voucher is only accepted on eBay. If you think that might be you, eBay says that Instant Selling provides higher trade-in values on average in comparison to sites like Gazelle, EcoATM, Apple's GiveBack program, and more.

A table that eBay provided highlights its high-end values, but it still looks like Instant Selling could be a solid trade-in option for eBay shoppers. eBay offers $579 for an excellent condition used 64GB iPhone X, compared to the Apple GiveBack program's $525.


As of now, Instant Selling eligibility includes unlocked smartphones on Verizon and AT&T, the Samsung Galaxy S7 to S9+, and the iPhone 6s 16GB to iPhone X 256GB. Next month eBay will add Sprint, T-Mobile, Google Pixel, and some LG devices to the program.

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