Which method actually pays you the most for your iPhone 12?
The iPhone 12 is now a few years old, but it still holds decent resale value - especially if yours is in good nick. The difference between the worst and best method of selling it, though, can be £50 or more. That's not small change, and it's entirely down to how you sell, not the phone itself.
We've seen every variation of this play out through OnRecycle since 2010. Some sellers get a genuinely great return. Others leave money on the table because they defaulted to the most familiar option rather than the best one. So let's go through each route honestly - prices, timelines, effort and risks included.
Phone Recycling Comparison Sites: Fast, Easy and Often the Best Price
This is how it works: you enter your iPhone 12's storage size and condition on a comparison site like OnRecycle, and within seconds you get a ranked list of offers from dozens of recyclers - companies like Mazuma, musicMagpie, Decluttr and others. You pick the best offer, post your phone (usually with a freepost label they provide), and get paid once they've checked it over.
For an iPhone 12 in good condition with 64GB storage, you're typically looking at £80 to £130 from recyclers right now, depending on which company you use and when you check. The spread between the highest and lowest offer on any given day can easily be £30 to £40 - which is exactly why comparing matters. Going straight to one recycler without checking the others is like booking the first hotel you see without looking at prices.
Payment usually lands within 1 to 3 working days of the recycler receiving your phone. Some offer same-day bank transfer. The whole process from accepting an offer to money in your account typically takes about a week, mostly waiting for the post.
The main risk? Condition disputes. If you say your phone is "good" but the recycler grades it as "poor", they'll revise the offer down. You can accept the lower amount or ask for your phone back (most reputable companies will return it free of charge). To avoid this, be brutally honest about scratches, screen condition and any faults when you get a quote for your iPhone.
Best for: People who want a reliable, hassle-free sale with a competitive price and no dealing with strangers.
Carrier Trade-Ins (EE, Vodafone, O2, Three): Convenient but Read the Small Print
Every major UK carrier runs a trade-in programme, and they're genuinely appealing on the surface. Hand over your old iPhone 12 when you upgrade and the value gets knocked off your new contract or device cost. No posting, no waiting, no fuss.
Here's the catch: you're almost never getting cash. It's credit - applied to your bill or deducted from an upfront device cost. That's fine if you're upgrading anyway, but if you just want money in your bank account, this route doesn't deliver that.
The values themselves are also typically lower than the open market. EE, Vodafone and O2 trade-in values for an iPhone 12 in 2026 tend to sit in the £50 to £90 range depending on condition and current promotions. That's noticeably less than what a dedicated recycler will pay. The carriers are essentially middlemen who use recyclers themselves - so the margin has to come from somewhere, and it comes from you.
There's also the timing issue. You can only use the trade-in value at that specific carrier, towards that specific upgrade. If you change your mind about the deal, or find a better contract elsewhere, the credit doesn't follow you.
That said, if you're upgrading with a carrier anyway and the trade-in value is being used as part of a deal you've already decided to take, it's perfectly reasonable. Just don't assume it's the best financial outcome in isolation.
Best for: People upgrading with their current carrier who value simplicity over squeezing out every last pound.
eBay, Facebook Marketplace and Gumtree: Higher Ceiling, Higher Effort
Selling privately is where the real money can be. An iPhone 12 in good condition listed on eBay can fetch £120 to £160, sometimes more if it's the Pro or Pro Max variant, or an unusual colour. Facebook Marketplace and Gumtree tend to run slightly lower - £100 to £140 is more realistic for a standard iPhone 12 - but you avoid eBay's fees.
eBay charges a final value fee of around 12.8% on smartphones (as of 2025 rates), which takes a real bite out of a £150 sale. That's roughly £19 gone before you've done anything else. PayPal fees used to stack on top of that too. Factor all of this in before you assume eBay will beat a recycler's offer.
The risks on private marketplaces are real and worth taking seriously. Scams targeting phone sellers are common - fake payment confirmations, "I've sent the money but it's pending" messages, buyers who claim the phone arrived broken when it didn't. According to Action Fraud, online shopping and auction fraud costs UK victims hundreds of millions of pounds annually. Phones are a prime target.
Facebook Marketplace and Gumtree add a different risk: local meetups. Most go fine, but no-shows are frustrating, and meeting a stranger to hand over a £100+ item carries obvious personal safety considerations. Always meet in a public place, ideally during daylight.
The time investment is also real. Writing a listing, taking photos, answering questions, waiting for bids to end, packaging the phone, queuing at the post office - it adds up. If your time has any value at all, factor that into the comparison.
Best for: Patient sellers who are comfortable with the process, want to maximise their return and don't mind putting in the legwork.
CeX and Apple Store Trade-In: Walk In, Walk Out - But at a Cost
CeX is the high street's answer to phone recycling. You walk in, they test your iPhone 12 on the spot, and you leave with either cash or CeX vouchers (vouchers pay slightly more). It's instant, which is genuinely useful if you need money today.
The trade-off is price. CeX typically offers £80 to £110 in cash for an iPhone 12, depending on condition and storage. Their voucher rate runs a bit higher but limits you to spending it in-store. Prices vary by branch and can change frequently based on their current stock levels - a branch that's already got twenty iPhone 12s on the shelf will offer you less than one that's running low.
Apple's own trade-in programme, run through Apple GiveBack, tends to be one of the lower-value options. For an iPhone 12, Apple typically offers £80 to £100 in credit - and again, it's credit towards an Apple purchase, not cash. The convenience of doing it all in the Apple Store during an upgrade is nice, but you're paying for that convenience in value.
One thing CeX does well: transparency. What they quote you in-store is what you get, right then, with no condition disputes after the fact. If you disagree with their grading, you can simply take your phone back. That immediate resolution is worth something to a lot of people.
Best for: Sellers who need cash quickly, prefer face-to-face transactions and aren't willing to wait a week for a slightly better price.
Selling to Friends or Family: Simple Until It Isn't
Selling your iPhone 12 to someone you know is the most straightforward transaction imaginable on paper. Agree a price, hand it over, done. No fees, no posting, no strangers.
The price you'll get depends entirely on the relationship and the negotiation. Most people end up somewhere between the recycler rate and the private market rate - so roughly £90 to £140 is realistic. You might get more if you're selling to someone who'd otherwise pay full market price on eBay. You might get less if you feel obligated to do them a favour.
The awkward part comes later. If the phone develops a fault - even one entirely unrelated to anything you did - it can create tension. Did you know about it? Did you sell it with a problem? Even if the answer is clearly no, the dynamic shifts when money has changed hands between people who share a dinner table at Christmas.
A simple fix: be upfront about any known issues before the sale, agree the price in writing (even a WhatsApp message works), and make it clear you're selling as-is with no warranty. That removes most of the ambiguity.
Best for: Sellers who have a genuinely interested buyer in their network and are comfortable having a clear, businesslike conversation about the terms.
So Which Method Should You Actually Use?
Here's a straight summary, because you deserve one.
If you want the best price with minimal hassle, compare phone recycling offers first. It takes two minutes and shows you the full market. You might find a recycler is only £10 behind eBay once you account for fees and effort - and for many people, that £10 is absolutely worth not dealing with buyers.
If you want the absolute highest possible return and have time to spare, list on eBay. Just go in clear-eyed about fees, scam risks and the time it takes.
If you need money today, CeX is your friend. Not the highest price, but instant and reliable.
Carrier trade-ins make sense only if you're upgrading anyway and the credit genuinely improves a deal you've already committed to. Don't treat it as a standalone sale.
And if someone you trust wants to buy it, sell to them - just be transparent about the condition and get the agreement in writing.
The worst outcome is defaulting to whatever's easiest without checking. Spend five minutes comparing your options on OnRecycle before you do anything else - our data consistently shows that people who compare first walk away with meaningfully more money than those who don't. For more advice on getting the best return from your old devices, browse our blog.