The new one has arrived and the old one is sitting in a drawer.
It still works, so throwing it away feels wasteful.
Selling it feels like effort, and giving it away feels like admitting it is worthless.
So it stays in the drawer, losing value quietly, for two years.
Should I sell it or pass it on?
Decide this first, because it changes everything else.
Sell it if it is still in demand and the money is worth the trouble.
Pass it down if someone in the family genuinely needs it and it still receives security updates.
An unsupported device is a poor gift, however kind the thought.
Recycle it if the screen is broken, the battery is swollen, or nobody wants it.
Swollen batteries are a real hazard, so those go straight to recycling, never into a drawer.
Take it to a registered e-waste collection point or a brand take-back programme, not the raddiwala.
What decides what it is worth?
Age, and how many people still want that particular model.
Screen and body condition, which buyers judge first.
Battery health, the first thing any buyer asks about.
Storage size, since bigger variants hold value better.
Whether you still have the invoice, the box and the original charger.
Whether the maker is still sending software updates for it.
And whether it has ever been repaired outside the official network.
Look up what the same model is currently listed for, then expect a little less.
Exchange offer, or sell it myself?
Exchange is the easy answer, and it usually pays you less.
An app decides the value and someone collects it.
It is done in a day.
Selling it yourself normally fetches more, sometimes considerably more.
The cost is your evenings, and meeting strangers who negotiate.
A middle path is a buy-back service that quotes online and collects from home.
Choose by what the gap is actually worth per hour of your life.
If you sell privately, photograph it in daylight and mention every mark.
What must I finish before it leaves the house?
Back up everything, then check the backup opened properly.
Sign out of every account, and remove it from your account's device list.
Unpair the watch, the earbuds and the car.
Take out the SIM and the memory card.
Move any two-factor app or transport pass to the new device first.
Then do a full factory reset, and only then hand it over.
Things to Remember
- Decide sell, hand down or recycle before you do anything else.
- Never pass on a device that no longer gets security updates.
- Take a swollen battery to a registered e-waste point immediately.
- Weigh the exchange offer against a private sale in hours of your time.
- Back up, sign out, remove SIM and card, then factory reset last.