How to Sell Your iPhone for Cash Today in Los Angeles

If you live in Los Angeles and want cash for an iPhone, you have plenty of choices. Marketplace apps, mail-in buyers, kiosks, trade-in programs and local buyers all compete for the same phone.

Each one trades money against time, risk and convenience differently. Here is each option with honest pros and cons, followed by how selling to iPhones.LA works.

Need to sell your iPhone for cash today?

With iPhones.LA, start with an online cash estimate, then contact us with your model and location to check today's availability. We are based in Long Beach and arrange meetups across Los Angeles and Orange County. If we confirm a same-day appointment and your phone passes inspection, you can receive cash at that meeting. An estimate alone does not reserve a pickup.

Calls and meetups are available every day from 9am to 5pm Pacific. Confirm the location and time before travelling. Have your model, storage, carrier status and any damage ready, and back up and prepare the phone. There is no replacement purchase required and no obligation to accept the offer. A mail-in sale takes longer because the device has to arrive and be inspected first.

Know three things about your phone first

Every buyer, including us, prices a used iPhone on the same few facts. Have them ready and you will get real numbers instead of guesses.

• Model and storage. Open Settings, tap General, then About. The model name and capacity are near the top.
• Carrier lock. An unlocked iPhone is worth more than one locked to a carrier. The free IMEI check on our homepage tells you which you have (it asks for a phone number to verify). Our guide on carrier locked vs unlocked iPhone value explains why the gap exists.
• Honest condition. Look at the screen and back under a bright light. Check battery health in Settings, then Battery, then Battery Health. Our iPhone condition grades explained shows how scratches and cracks map to a grade.

One more thing applies to every option below: the phone has to be signed out of iCloud with Find My turned off. No honest buyer can use a phone that is still locked to someone's Apple Account.

Option 1: Sell it yourself on Facebook Marketplace or OfferUp

A private sale can bring the most money, on paper. You set the price, you pick the buyer, and nobody takes a margin.

The catch is everything around the sale. You will field a stream of "is this available?" messages, get lowball offers, and wait for buyers who never show. Some messages are scams built around fake payment screenshots, overpayments and verification codes. Then you meet a stranger with a phone worth hundreds of dollars in your pocket.

• Good for: people with time, patience and a safe place to meet.
• Watch out for: fake payment proof, no-shows, and haggling at the meetup.

We wrote a full guide to selling on OfferUp or Facebook Marketplace covering the common scams and how to stay safe.

Option 2: Mail-in buyback sites

You answer questions online, get a quote, print a shipping label and send the phone off. The buyer inspects it when it arrives and pays you if it matches what you described.

It works from your couch. The trade-off is that your phone is out of your hands for days and the inspection happens without you. If the inspector grades it lower than you did, you get a revised offer after the phone is already in their building.

• Good for: people outside a local buyer's area, or who don't want to meet anyone.
• Watch out for: revised offers, return shipping terms, and the wait for payment.

Read why mail-in buyers lower your offer after you ship before you box anything up, and see ItsWorthMore vs a local cash buyer for one well-known mail-in option side by side with a local sale.

Option 3: ecoATM kiosks

ecoATM kiosks sit inside grocery and big-box stores. You connect your phone, the kiosk examines it, and it makes an offer. You need a valid driver's license or state ID, the kiosk takes your photo, and if you accept you are paid on the spot in cash or by a digital payment.

Kiosks are fast and you can use one whenever the store is open, which often means evenings and weekends. The trade-off is that a machine sets the grade, and you cannot talk it through. Here is how our cash offer compared with ecoATM's kiosk offer on the date shown. The table lists only the models where ours was higher, so read it as a dated snapshot, not a promise about every phone.

Our full ecoATM vs selling locally guide covers what the kiosk asks of you and when it makes more sense than a local buyer.

Option 4: Apple, Best Buy and carrier trade-in credit

Trade-in programs are easy when you are buying a new phone anyway: the old one's value comes off the new purchase or lands on a gift card.

That is the key word: credit. Apple pays in credit toward a purchase or an Apple Gift Card. Best Buy pays in a Best Buy eGift Card. Carrier trade-in offers are promotions attached to buying something from that carrier, so read the fine print on the carrier's own site before you count on the number. If you want money you can spend anywhere, credit is not the same thing.

• Good for: people upgrading at that store who would spend the credit there regardless.
• Watch out for: "up to" prices that assume top condition, and value you can only spend in one place.

We break both down in Apple Trade In vs cash and Best Buy trade-in vs cash.

Option 5: A local cash buyer

A local buyer checks the phone in front of you and pays you on the spot. No shipping, no inspection queue, no stranger from an app.

The honest trade-off: a shop pays less than a perfect private sale, because we take on the testing, the risk and the time it takes to resell. What you get back is speed, safety and a number you know before you leave the house.

The options side by side

How selling to iPhones.LA works

We buy iPhones in Los Angeles County and Orange County, working or damaged, unlocked or carrier locked. Here is the whole process.

1. Get your number. Go to /sell, pick your device and answer four questions: model, storage, carrier lock and condition. The cash estimate appears on screen as you answer, in seconds.
2. Sign out of iCloud. Open Settings, tap your name, then Sign Out, and make sure Find My is off. Our guide on how to prepare your iPhone before selling covers the backup, the Apple Watch and the eSIM.
3. Verify your IMEI or serial number. We ask for it before the meetup, so nobody drives across town for a phone that can't be bought. Find it in Settings, then General, then About.
4. Choose the handoff. Meet us at our secured facility, meet at a public spot near you, or ship it in with a prepaid label we send.
5. Get paid. You are paid the moment the phone checks out: cash in person, Zelle or Cash App (usually same day), or PayPal.

There is no obligation at any point. Nothing is committed until you say so.

We also buy cracked and broken iPhones, and iPads, MacBooks and Apple Watches. If you have several phones, the wholesale lot builder prices a whole lot at once, and our guide to selling iPhones in bulk explains how.

Which option fits you

• You need money today and live in LA or Orange County: a local buyer or a kiosk.
• You have time and want every last dollar: a private sale, with the safety steps in our marketplace guide.
• You are buying from Apple or Best Buy anyway: compare their credit with a cash offer, then decide.
• You live outside the area: a mail-in buyer, after reading its revision and return terms.

Want a feel for current values first? See our pages for the iPhone 16 Pro Max, iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 13. If the timing of your sale is flexible, read when to sell your iPhone.

Frequently asked questions

Can I get same-day cash for my iPhone near me?

At iPhones.LA, same-day cash depends on appointment availability in Los Angeles or Orange County and the phone passing inspection. Get an estimate at /sell, then text (562) 999-4994 with your location before setting out. Cash is paid at the confirmed local handoff; shipping a device is not a same-day cash option.

Where can I sell my iPhone for cash in Los Angeles?

You can sell privately on Facebook Marketplace or OfferUp, use an ecoATM kiosk, mail it to a buyback site, or sell to a local buyer like iPhones.LA. We meet in LA County and Orange County and pay in cash, Zelle, Cash App or PayPal.

Do I need to sign out of iCloud before selling my iPhone?

Yes. Sign out of your Apple Account and turn off Find My so Activation Lock is off. We cannot buy a phone that is still locked to someone's Apple Account, and neither can any other honest buyer.

Can I sell a cracked or carrier-locked iPhone?

Yes. We buy damaged and carrier-locked iPhones. Damage lowers the grade and the offer, and unlocked phones pay more than locked ones, but we buy both.

How fast do I get paid when I sell my iPhone to iPhones.LA?

You are paid the moment the phone checks out. Cash is handed over in person, Zelle and Cash App usually arrive the same day, and PayPal is also available.

Is it safe to sell an iPhone on Facebook Marketplace?

It can be, if you meet in a busy public place, only count money you can see in your own account, and never share a verification code. Our marketplace guide lists the common scams and how to avoid each one.