“Deceptive bait-and-switch tactics – Avoid this "headline price" trap
Review:
I was originally quoted £250 for my phone, which I sent to them in immaculate condition. Once they had the device in their possession, they issued a ridiculous counter-offer of just £115—a drop of more than 50% for no legitimate reason.
This is a predatory business model. They use high headline prices to lure customers in, then slash the offer once they have your phone, betting on the fact that you won’t want the hassle or the cost of requesting a return. It is a classic bait-and-switch tactic designed to lowball honest sellers.
I have rejected the offer and will be demanding my device back in its original condition. I am also reporting this experience to Trading Standards to highlight these deceptive trade practices. If you value your time and your property, do not use this company. Go to a reputable recycler instead.”
“Trade in amount offered £260 25/04/26
Sent in phone 29/04/26
Offer received 6/05/26 £85!
Reviews from other consumers suggest this practice is common at webuyanyphone, the company appears to offer high trade in values but upon “inspection” revised this to a derisory offer.”
“Sent in an iPhone 14 Pro in pristine condition. Has always been in a case with a screen protector. They amended what I had called ‘good condition’ to ‘pretty good condition’. If there’s were more options, I would have described the phone as excellent / perfect. They knocked the price down by £120. When I rang up (which took me 40 minutes - not the 5 - 10 minute wait the email suggests) they increased the offer by £15 if I accepted it there and then and would be able to process that payment by 5pm today! I was then told to be able to get the phone back I’d need to log on and update manually myself. I asked for it to be done for me while I have the customer service team member on the phone (Mohit / Mohid -name changed during the conversation). He could then no longer understand me, despite using the phonetic alphabet, he couldn’t hear me, the signal was poor, I was pausing too long between the letter and digits in my postcode. I had to start, again, by saying “my postcode is…” As this still wasn’t happening, he sent me an email so I could confirm it over email.
It is apparently free for them to return the phone back to me. Let’s see. Needless to say, I won’t use and again and would not recommend.”
“Pathetic scam artists! Samsung S22+ 256GB in good condition sent off for a quote of £190. Then revised down to £50 because the condition was "average". Spoke with a muppet on the phone and told them to just post it back to me. These people are dodgy as hell and completely untrustworthy.”
“Similar to others, initial quote was reasonable (£110), revised offer was £15. The battery health was 79% rather than 80%, but other phone recyclers do not ding you that much for battery issues. The other cosmetic 'faults' they found were fabricated. Go somewhere else to get money for your phone, or give it away.”
“I had a very poor experience and would strongly advise against using Webuyanyphone. I sent in an iPhone 11 Pro Max (256GB) in excellent condition. Their own report confirmed it was “working – fully functional”, yet they reduced the offer from £155 to £15, later increasing it only to £25.75. When I declined, I was asked to pay £10.75 just to have my own phone returned, which was both misleading and well above standard postage costs. The process is designed to mislead: a high initial quote is followed by a sharp reduction after inspection, creating pressure to accept a low offer rather than pay to get your device back. In my view, this is disingenuous. I would recommend selling privately or using alternative services”
“I’m a mature professional lady who looks after my phones. I sent my iPhone 15 pro max to this place. My phone was like new. It was always in a case from day one and I used a screen protector. They said they would pay £460. I received updates on the progress but then the offer came back with £100 reduced telling me my phone was not in the condition I told them it was. It’s only now that I’ve looked at reviews to see this is their norm. This company should be ashamed of themselves.”
“Utter scam and utter sham.
I sent my iPhone 13 Pro 256gb, quoted at £300 on the website when putting in the details and tagging as 'good condition' which is true.
I didn't hear anything for a month. When nudging I got sent a video of a totally different phone (an iPhone 11) and an offer of £70.
When confirming this wasn't my phone and confirming all the information I had from them, they were unable to find my phone. Lost in their system.
They confirmed I needed to send them the IMEI number from my original box in order for them to find the phone.
Luckily I managed to find this on an old iCloud screenshot.
Another month later they sent me a video of my phone (quoted at £300) with the offer of £70.
Not only is this a terrible sign of their operations. The low ball offers are an absolute joke. I've asked them to return the know which will naturally be worth less now months have passed.
Avoid.”
“I sent my phone in immaculate condition. It had always been in an official Samsung case with screen protector. Sent my phone to them for inspection and then they responed, they said that the phone was faulty due to the rear glass being loose. I saw the video they did and I was shocked. There was no way I sent it like this and it was package according. They MUST have damaged it. Obviously, they changed there offer price to a fraction of the original. I asked for it to be returned. NEVER USE THIS COMPANY TO SELL YOUR PHONE.”
“I should have read the review first before sending my phone in, from the initial offer of £110 they inspected and then reduced it to £20!!!!! Do not use this service, they are scamming all of us, so please use another site”
“No phone can meet the 'good' criteria – you will never get anything close to the preliminary price they project.
My phone was in near-mint condition. WeBuy revised my price to around half of what they projected online because they lied about its condition – you can clearly see in THEIR video that it's visually perfect. No notifications to say that they'd changed the price, and I very nearly missed their 7-day deadline for default-payment-no-returns.
Used their online chat to request the phone back and had to ask them over 6 times to just send my damn phone back. I'm a bit nervous as I haven't received it yet and they don't take responsibility for it arriving back to me in the condition I sent it...”
“Should have read the reviews first.
They offered £100 for my iPhone 12 mini I put down good condition as it has a phone case and screen protector on from day one,so sent it off on a standard post after 3days I got my email and said it was average condition and offered me a insulting £5.00 I rejected this offer and asked them to send it back but then offered me £15.25 but I still wanted my phone sent back at a cost of £10.75 for tracked 24 5 days later I got my phone. Stay clear.”
“My iPhone 13 was valued at £180, they received the device and offered me £35 stating the screen was damaged and changed the item to faulty. The item was inspected at a CEX shop previously and rated as 'good', We buy any phone rated it as faulty. The device was in full working order and in excellent condition for the age, with little to no marks on the screen. I contacted them and they offered me a further £10, which I refused. I asked them to send the phone back which cost me £10.95, however once I received this back I realised it was not a tracked service either. I have now received £180 for the phone from another provider after they checked it and rated the device as good... DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY if you expect to get the valuation offered for your device.”
“Very efficient process and sending via royal mail. Response via email went into junk which I missed until I contacted help chat.
However they offered much less than original and sent a video showin issues. The phone was 3/4 years old (iphone 12) but was always in a case and screen protector - our view it was in excellent condition with very few marks. Be aware that unless your phone is like new, absolutely new (probably hardly used and kept in a cloth in a box) you will get much less than expected. They give out amazing initial offers, but I bet 90% of them are reduced significantly - so be warned.
In the end I accepted after negotioation, we just don't want to hassle of resending to someone else - but I would not use this company again tbh!”
“We sent an immaculate iPhone which had been kept in a case and had a screen protector since new. We were offered £200 however after sending it in we received a call offering £75 suggesting lots of damage. Apple offered £160 and said the phone was immaculate. We received a video of a a phone with chips and scratches which we thought there must have been a mistake. We received the phone back at our expense and it has been intentionally damaged with chips, scratches and it was very dirty. Avoid at all costs. We have a phone worth much less. This is an untrustworthy company. See less”
“This company is a scam. They offered £200 for an immaculate iPhone 13 then when they received it changed it to £85 - less than half their offer when there was no damage.
I complained, they suddenly upped it to £135, but that is still 33% off when I know my phone is worth £170. I requested they return my phone so I could sell it elsewhere which they did, but the previously immaculate iPhone box has now got a huge scratch down it like it’s been done by a Stanley knife which I’m furious about.
Do not use this company, they will try to cheat you out of money and then return damaged goods. I wish I’d looked for more reviews before using them.”
“DO NOT BOTHER
Horrific - got a £200 offer - phone was perfect bar one dint in the bottom, cosmetic didn’t affect use or screen etc etc - offered £50 🤣 rude arrogant pushy customer service advisors trying to force you to accept the offer despite me saying from the offset - send it back. I’m not a moron the metal is worth more than £55, likely it would be reposted for £350 within the hour. Insanity.
Will update the post pending return as soon as far they’re just refusing to accept my request pushing me to accept”
“I would not recommend this company based on my experience. I was initially quoted £135 for my iPhone, but after the device was received, the offer was reduced to £30. I declined the revised offer and requested the phone back. When it was returned, the Apple paperwork and SIM card tray were missing. I contacted customer service about this and was told these items were not received with the phone, which does not align with what I sent. Overall, the process was disappointing and left me with concerns about how returns are handled.”
“**AVOID AT ALL COSTS** Unfortunately like many before me, I only read the reviews after I had posted my devices and I had to change my expectations once I had read the reviews. I was offered £375 for my pristine iPhone 14 Pro Max and £110 for my Good iPhone 11. As expected after reading the negative reviews, I received emails with a revised quote and my iPhone 14 Pro Max was downgraded from Good to Pretty Good and price changed to £235. My iPhone 11 was downgraded from Good to Average and price changed to £35. I declined both offers and asked for my phones to be sent back to me. As already mentioned by others, the Agent “Arun” tried to give me a counter offer with an increase of £10 - £15 for the devices, which was still way off the initial offers given. I then had to pay postage fees to get the devices returned back to me at a total cost of £19 for both devices. The only positive for me was that my devices were returned promptly. I then sent off my devices to Reboxed and Mazuma respectively who have since paid me £395 for my iPhone 14 Pro Max under their excellent category and £95 for my iPhone 11 also under their excellent category.
If you are not desperate for money, please do not accept the revised offer from these con-artists, and go elsewhere where you will be given the full amount quoted based on the condition of your devices. I am sure that if you send we buy any phone, a brand new unused mobile phone, they will still find a reason not to pay you the full amount. Please read all the reviews before you get sucked in like I did and avoid the disappointment by going elsewhere for the sake of a few quid!”
