A used Galaxy S23 Ultra drew a $291 top cash offer but averaged $404 on Swappa, so where you sell your old Samsung phone can change your payout a lot.
An older Samsung Galaxy phone can still bring in hundreds of dollars, but the buyer you pick changes the price. A like-new 256GB Galaxy S23 Ultra drew a top cash offer of $291 from buyback sites. On Swappa, a marketplace where people sell to each other, the average completed sale was $404 by October 23, 2026. That is a $113 gap before fees.
You can sell to a buyback site, sell directly to another person, or trade in with Samsung. Buyback sites and trade-ins are easy. You get an online quote and a prepaid shipping label. You get less money, because the buyer needs to make a profit. Selling to a person pays the most, but you take the photos, write the listing and ship the phone.
On October 23, SellCell listed these top cash offers for like-new 256GB phones. These are best-case quotes, not guaranteed payouts.
Foldables lost value too. The Galaxy Z Fold6, which started at $1,900 in 2024, drew a top offer of $512. The Z Fold5 was quoted at $327 and the Z Flip6 at $278. The old Galaxy S20 Ultra (128GB) got a $136 offer, but BankMyCell showed just one offer among the 17 stores it compares.
Swappa's October data shows higher prices. The S24 Ultra averaged $600 and the S22 Ultra $383. The Z Fold6 averaged $657, though Swappa does not say what time period that covers. Its October figure for the S23 Ultra was $481, which differs from the $404 completed-sale average above.
SellCell lets you compare cash offers. Back Market's buyback program gets quotes from refurbishers and pays into your bank account after inspection. Swappa takes a three percent seller fee plus payment processing fees. It also requires a fully paid-off phone with a clean IMEI (the phone's unique ID number), no activation lock and no cracked glass or water damage.
Samsung's trade-in gives credit toward a new device, not cash. A separate option through Likewize does not require a purchase, but pays with a prepaid digital gift card.
Trade-in credits can shrink fast. During Galaxy S26 Ultra preorders in February 2026, Samsung offered $500 for a Galaxy Note 20 Ultra. By March 11, when the phone went on sale, that credit was $130.
New phones are not getting cheaper. Samsung raised the Galaxy S26 Ultra's US starting price from $1,299.99 to $1,399.99 on October 1 amid rising memory costs, though it has not confirmed the reason. That may make a used Galaxy more appealing, so check software support. The S24 series should be supported into early 2031. The S23 series should get security patches until early 2028, and the S22 series until early 2027.
Compare buyback quotes with private sale prices before you sell, and do not wait on a trade-in deal, because credits can drop quickly.
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