Do you have a drawer full of old cell phones in your home just collecting dust? Time to bring them out into the light of day and do something useful with them. You can either sell them for cold hard cash or donate them to a great cause. Below are my five favorite options.

Important Tip: Before you sell your old cell phone make sure to take the appropriate steps to keep your personal information out of the hands of the next owner. You need to remove your SIM card, remove your micro SD card (if you have one), erase or reset your internal storage, and erase and format your SD card. Here is an excellent article to reference on Lifehacker.

Cell Phones for Soldiers.com

~ By far my favorite option is Cell Phones for Soldiers.com which takes the money they get from selling your old cell phone and uses it to give free calling cards and free minutes to our soldiers fighting overseas.

The business was started by a couple teenage entrepreneurs and to date they have given over 200 million free minutes to the brave folks keeping us free.

Even if your phone is a total relic, donate it to them rather than throwing it in the landfill. You’ll help the environment and give something back to the troops all at once. A total no-brainer if you ask me.

Gazelle.com

~ If you’re looking to make a quick buck on your old cell phone you should start at Gazelle.com.

They are currently buying iPhones, iPads, Tablets, iPods, and Apple computers.

They are also buying the following Android brands: BlackBerry, HTC, LG, Motorola, Nokia, and Samsung. They also buy broken devices which is kinda cool.

I got a quick quote on what they would give me for my iPhone 4, I entered my information and told them it was in “good” working condition.

They gave me back a quote of $45. Not great, not terrible.

I am quickly realizing that my iPhone 4 is becoming a tech relic and hipsters may start laughing at me, which I am totally fine with by the way.

I mean seriously, why would I go dump money on a new smartphone that is only slightly better than the one I already own?

USell.com

~ USell.com is similar to Gazelle except it collects offers from a laundry list of potential cell phone buyers.

It should also be noted that they will also help you sell your textbooks, video games, game consoles, iPods, and iPads.

Broken or working, they’ll give you a competitive offer. Again, I entered my iPhone 4 information and was given 6 different offers, all of which were lower than what Gazelle offered.

It is also worth noting that if you do decide to use them they’ll mail you a pre-paid envelope to return your old devices.

eBay.com

~ If your smartphone is unlocked and in good working condition, ebay.com, while a little more time consuming than the previous options, is your best option for selling it for a good price.

By looking through the completed listings on eBay it looks like I could easily sell my iPhone 4 for right around $125-$150.

Here is a great article detailing the steps to consider before listing your cell phone on eBay.

My favorite tip is to start the bidding low (with no reserve) as it will spark an early first bid.

Studies have shown that items with at least one early bid will encourage others to jump in on the action as they perceive a good value on the item.

Trade It In for a BestBuy Gift Card

~ Use the Best Buy Trade-In program to trade in your unwanted tech products in return for a Best Buy gift card.

This can be done online or in-store. Using their online program they would give me a $48 Best Buy gift card for my iPhone 4 in good working condition. Not too shabby.

Also, if your trade-in has no value you can recycle it for free in all their brick & mortar locations.

Ask the Reader: Other than throw them at neighbors you don’t like, what do you do with your old tech products and cell phones? Have you ever sold one for a few bucks?

By Kyle James