If you need to sell a used Android handset, or want to buy one without paying carrier prices, Swappa is worth knowing about. All listings require the seller to certify that the device is fully functional, has a clean ESN, is free of water damage and screen cracks, and is ready for activation. There’s no bidding, and nothing is considered sold until the buyer pays. The $10 seller fee is a significant savings over eBay’s estimated $24 for comparable transactions.
The site is organized by carrier and device type. A free-text search and category browsing by carrier (unlocked, tablet, 4G, keyboard) make it easy to find specific phones. Each listing includes a device description, accessories, OS version, root status, bootloader lock status, and a ROM field with a dedicated CyanogenMod checkbox. Every CyanogenMod sale triggers a $5 donation to the CyanogenMod developers.
After purchase, a private comment thread connects buyer and seller for shipping coordination. Swappa staff have been known to personally check in on transactions. A seller’s perspective on the experience:
Creating a listing took about ten minutes from start to finish. Swappa maintains a database of just about every Android device out there, so there’s no reason to hunt for specs or photos. You simply choose your device and Swappa provides a stock photo and specifications. After choosing shipping, return, and payment options, one click and the listing is live. Sellers agree to a $10 sale fee, payable when the device sells. This is a significant savings over eBay, where my estimated fee for the same item with the same price was approximately $24. One of the site’s operators even dropped in on my sale’s conversation to personally thank us for using Swappa. It feels more like a community of peers instead of the adversarial feel you get from Craigslist or eBay.
— Cameron Richmond
Swappa also offers a free month of Reddit Gold to Reddit users who buy or sell a device on the platform. For anyone buying or selling Android hardware, it’s a cleaner, more focused alternative to general marketplaces.
