Questions and answers
Selling your phone: your questions, our straight answers
The questions people ask most on Google and Reddit before selling, trading in or wiping a phone: where to sell, what it is worth, how to get paid in cash and how to protect your data. Our answers give our real prices where they matter, and also say when another option suits you better.
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01 · Topic
Where to sell your phone
- Where to sell a phone to get the most money?
A private sale can bring the highest price, if it goes well. The most money with no risk comes from a buyback shop that pays cash on the spot. At SubSell in Montréal, we pay up to $1,950 cash for a sealed iPhone 17 Pro Max, after a free 5-minute check, and the price is firm before you say yes.
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- Where is the best place to sell my phone?
It depends on what matters most to you. For money now with no risk: a buyback shop. For the highest price, with time to spare: a private sale. If you are buying from Apple or a carrier: compare their credit with cash. In Montréal, SubSell pays cash on the spot, 7 days a week from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
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- Where to sell your phone for a good price?
A good price is close to what the phone is really worth, paid in money, and does not change afterwards. Get two or three quotes for your exact model and storage, compare money with money, and favour a firm price. At SubSell, iPhone cash prices are published model by model, up to $1,950 for a sealed iPhone 17 Pro Max.
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- Which is the best place to sell old phones?
For old phones, the best place is a shop that buys older and broken models and takes the rest back for free: ads for old phones mostly attract lowball offers. SubSell buys every iPhone from the iPhone X on, Samsung Galaxy phones and Google Pixels, pays cash on the spot, and recycles what cannot be resold, free of charge.
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- Where is the best place to sell a phone for cash?
The best place to sell a phone for cash is a shop that pays real money on the spot, after checking the phone in front of you, and gives you a receipt. In Montréal, SubSell pays cash in store, 7 days a week from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., up to $1,950 for a sealed iPhone 17 Pro Max, with no credit or gift card involved.
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- Which site is best to sell old phones?
There is no single best site: Facebook Marketplace and Kijiji reach local buyers for free, eBay reaches the whole country for a fee, and mail-in buyback sites pay after a check. SubSell works online too: get a price on the site or on WhatsApp, then sell in store for cash on the spot, or by mail with free shipping, paid by transfer once the phone is received and checked.
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- Reputable stores where I can sell my used iPhone in Montréal
A reputable store has a real address, years of history, lots of recent reviews, asks for ID, checks that the phone is not stolen and pays you on the spot with a receipt. SubSell ticks every box: same address on Beaubien since 2017, 1,700+ Google reviews at 4.9/5, 50,000+ transactions, cash on the spot, data erased before any resale.
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02 · Topic
Selling fast, getting paid in cash
- Where can I sell my phone and get paid instantly?
At a walk-in buyback shop. Online buyers, mail-in services, Apple and carriers cannot pay instantly: they pay after shipping, or in credit, sometimes spread over a plan. At SubSell in Montréal, the check takes about 5 minutes and you are paid in cash on the spot, any day from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., no appointment.
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- Where can I sell my phone and get cash the same day?
At a buyback shop that pays on the spot. At SubSell in Montréal you don’t wait until the end of the day: the check takes about 5 minutes and you leave with cash right after, any day from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., no appointment. Bring the phone signed out of iCloud or Google, and a photo ID.
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- Where can I sell my phone faster?
A walk-in buyback shop is the fastest: about 5 minutes for the check and cash on the spot. A private sale takes days to weeks; a mail-in sale pays once the phone has arrived and been checked; Apple Trade In takes about two to three weeks online (on the spot in an Apple Store, but as credit), and carriers pay in credit. In Montréal, SubSell takes walk-ins every day from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
- What is the fastest way to sell a phone?
The fastest way: prepare the phone in about ten minutes (back up, sign out of iCloud or Google, take out the SIM), then sell it to a buyback shop that pays on the spot. At SubSell in Montréal, the check takes about 5 minutes and you leave with cash, no appointment.
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- How can I sell my phone for cash?
Three ways: sell it to a buyback shop that pays cash on the spot, sell it privately to someone who pays cash, or mail it to a buyer who pays by transfer. The shop is the quickest and safest; a private sale can pay more but takes time. At SubSell in Montréal, you are paid in cash after a free 5-minute check.
03 · Topic
Value and prices
- Who pays the most for cell phones?
A private buyer often pays the highest sticker price; buyback shops and mail-in services pay a firm price in money; Apple and carriers pay in credit. Between shops, it depends on the model and condition: compare firm prices, in money. SubSell publishes its iPhone cash prices model by model, up to $1,950 for a sealed iPhone 17 Pro Max, and buys Samsung and Pixel phones too.
- Who pays the highest for iPhones?
For a recent iPhone, compare firm prices, in money: a buyback shop that publishes its prices pays on the spot, and a private buyer may pay more if you can wait. Apple and carriers pay in credit. SubSell pays up to $1,950 cash for a sealed iPhone 17 Pro Max, in store after a 5-minute check, and tries to beat any Apple Trade In quote; the highest price in Montréal is its commitment.
- How can I check the value of my phone?
Find your exact model, storage and battery health in Settings, then look that phone up in a buyback price list and in sold listings. The buyback list gives the “up to” price, for the best condition; sold listings show a private-sale ceiling. For an iPhone, each model’s SubSell page gives its cash price capacity by capacity, confirmed after a free 5-minute check in store.
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- How can I determine the value of my phone?
A phone’s value comes down to five things, in this order: the model and its age, the storage, the condition, the battery health, and being free of accounts and locks. Recent Pro models in high storage are worth the most. SubSell’s published cash prices, up to $1,950 for a sealed iPhone 17 Pro Max, are the best case; the check gives your exact price.
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- What is my old phone worth?
It depends on the model: an iPhone from the last five years in good shape is still worth money, older ones less, and some only recycling. At SubSell, a like-new iPhone 12 still gets up to $235 cash and an iPhone 11 up to $245; anything unsellable is taken back for free. Your exact price comes after a 5-minute check.
- Is it worth selling your old phone?
Usually yes. A phone loses value every year it sits in a drawer, and an old phone still holding your data is a risk. Keep it only if you will really use it, as a backup or a child’s first phone. Otherwise sell it while it is worth something; if it is too old to sell, it is taken back for free.
- What iPhone is worth $2000?
New, at Apple Canada (list prices before tax, October 2026): the iPhone 18 Pro Max from $1,899, the iPhone 18 Pro 512GB at $2,049 and the folding iPhone Duo from $2,999. With Québec taxes, even the iPhone 18 Pro 256GB crosses $2,000. No iPhone is worth $2,000 cash at SubSell today: our highest price is $1,950, for a sealed iPhone 17 Pro Max.
04 · Topic
Trading in your phone
- Who gives the most money for trade-in phones?
Compare what the trade-in takes off the price of the phone you get, and in what form. Apple gives credit; carriers generally give bill or device credit tied to a plan. At SubSell, a trade-in value is above our cash price and comes off your next phone; if your old phone’s cash price is higher than that phone’s price, you get the difference in cash. The trade-in bonus is never paid out in cash.
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- Where can I trade in my phone to get money?
If money is what you want, you are really selling, not trading in: Apple and carriers give credit, not cash. At SubSell in Montréal, you can sell your phone for cash on the spot, or trade it toward one of our phones and, if its cash price is higher than that phone’s price, get the difference in cash. The trade-in bonus is never paid out in cash.
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05 · Topic
Data and security
- What should I do before selling my phone?
Back up your data, unpair your Apple Watch, move your eSIM and two-factor codes, sign out of iCloud (Find My off) or your Google and Samsung accounts, then erase the phone and take out the SIM. Bring photo ID. At SubSell, every phone also goes through professional data-erasure software before it is ever resold.
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- How do I remove everything from an old phone?
Sign out of every account first, then erase the phone with its built-in reset (Erase All Content and Settings on an iPhone, factory data reset on Android), take out the SIM and memory card, and remove the phone from your Apple or Google account online. Your cloud copies stay safe. At SubSell, every phone is also wiped with professional erasure software before resale.
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- How to wipe a phone before selling?
Back up, sign out of your accounts, then reset: on an iPhone, Settings → General → Transfer or Reset iPhone → Erase All Content and Settings; on a Samsung, remove your Google and Samsung accounts, then Settings → General management → Reset → Factory data reset. Take out the SIM. SubSell then wipes every phone a second time with professional software.
- Does removing SIM card from phone delete everything?
No. Removing the SIM card deletes nothing on the phone: your photos, messages, apps and accounts live in the phone’s storage and in your online accounts, not on the SIM. The SIM mostly identifies your phone line. To remove your data, sign out of your accounts and erase the phone, then keep the SIM.
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- Which is the most hacked phone?
There is no official “most hacked phone” ranking. By volume, Android phones face far more malware, largely because of their numbers and apps installed from outside official stores; iPhones are targeted less often, and when they are, it is mostly by rare spyware aimed at specific people. The biggest risks are a phone that no longer gets updates, phishing, and an old phone sold without being erased.
06 · Topic
Choosing a phone
- What are the top 10 best selling phones?
According to Counterpoint Research, the ten best-selling phones worldwide in 2025 were the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Pro Max, iPhone 16 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, Galaxy A16 5G, Galaxy A06, iPhone 17, iPhone 15, Galaxy S25 Ultra and iPhone 16e. Seven of the ten are iPhones. In Q2 2026, the iPhone 17 led.
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- Which phone is best for value for money?
For most people, the best value is a refurbished iPhone one to three generations old: it costs far less than new, still gets the latest iOS updates and resells well later. At SubSell, refurbished iPhones start at $80, checked, not tied to any carrier, with a 1-year warranty and a lifetime warranty on network problems.
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A question?
Call or write: the shop answers within the hour, 9 AM to 9 PM, in French or English.
Your price in 5 minutes, paid in cash on the spot.
757 Rue Beaubien East, Montréal • Mon-Sun 9 AM-9 PM • Walk-ins welcome