The story of buying broken phones is a transition from a simple side hustle to a multi-billion dollar industry. It typically begins with a "eureka moment"—often when an individual breaks their own device and realizes that high replacement costs make repairing old tech a massive opportunity. 1. The Humble Beginning: The "Craigslist" Era
The final stage of the story is the transformation into a professional entity. Companies like uBreakiFix began as small eBay services before expanding into hundreds of brick-and-mortar storefronts. buy broken phones
Successful resellers often partner with local carrier stores to buy bulk trade-in devices. The story of buying broken phones is a
A common starting point is buying a broken iPhone for as little as $30, performing a basic screen repair, and reselling it for over $100. The Humble Beginning: The "Craigslist" Era The final
Many successful entrepreneurs began by scouring platforms like Craigslist , eBay , and Facebook Marketplace for devices listed as "broken" or "for parts".