Get up to $920 cash for your old phone via Boost Mobile’s new trade-in app

Boost Trade-In app for recycling phones

There’s now a new and simple way to recycle your old phone for cash thanks to a trade-in app from local telco Boost Mobile.

Boost Trade-In is a newly launched app on iOS and Android that guides you through the process of recycling unwanted phones in exchange for money. It comes off the back of recent research from the mobile company, finding that 78% of Australians have at least one unused smartphone in the home. 74% are open to trading in or recycling old phones, but factors including lack of perceived value, convenience, and privacy concerns are common deterrents.

To make matters worse, MobileMuster – an Australian telco collective that provides phone recycling services – found that only 8% of mobile phones get sold or traded in when someone buys a new device. This is reportedly far below the recycling rate throughout the US, UK, and Europe. Additionally, data reported in the United Nations’ Global E-waste Monitor 2020 shows Australia lags well behind on a per capita basis. Here, we only recycle 9% of our 21.3kg of e-waste per capita. Compared to Europe’s 42.5% of 16.2kg, and North America’s 15% of 20.9kg.

Boost Trade-in app on phones

While those are depressing numbers, Boost Mobile’s new app is a positive step forward in streamlining the phone recycling process. It takes you through multiple diagnostic tests, assessing your old phone’s touchscreen, buttons, battery and more before assigning a dollar value to a trade-in. Should you choose to proceed with the trade-in, the app provides an Australia Post label for you to send the service at no cost. Once approved following a final warehouse check, you receive the money directly into your nominated bank or PayPal account.

Other companies like Apple and Samsung offer their own trade-in programs, but the more options we have, the better. Also, many of the current initiatives usually apply when trading towards a new phone, or only result in store credit. Cash in the bank with minimal hoops to jump through is always welcome. Plus, it’s environmentally friendly, with 98% of traded-in devices then sold through The Refurb Shop.

Potential phone value with Boost Trade-In

Here are some of the popular phones you can trade in, along with how much you can potentially earn for a device in good working condition.

Phone modelPotential value
Apple iPhone 8 128GB$125.00
Apple iPhone 8 Plus 128GB$165.00
Apple iPhone 8 Plus 256GB$190.00
Apple iPhone SE 2020 64GB$140.00
Apple iPhone 11 256GB$405.00
Apple iPhone 11 Pro 256GB$430.00
Apple iPhone 12 128GB$540.00
Apple iPhone 12 Pro 128GB$615.00
Apple iPhone 13 512GB$725.00
Apple iPhone 13 Pro 512GB$920.00
Apple iPhone X 256GB$220.00
Apple iPhone XR 128GB$220.00
Google Pixel 4 128GB$150.00
Google Pixel 5 128GB$260.00
Samsung Galaxy S8 64GB$50.00
Samsung Galaxy S9 256GB$80.00
Samsung Galaxy Note 8 256GB$75.00
Samsung Galaxy Note 9 N960F 512GB$155.00
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G N986B 512GB$510.00
Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 Plus (T975) 128GB 4G$390.00
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G G998B 128GB$510.00
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 5G 256GB$510.00

You can download the iOS version or the Android version of the Boost Trade-In app now to see what your old devices are worth. Ultimately, if we want to catch up with our overseas neighbours, and improve our recycling rates, we need more initiatives like this.

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