Q. Is it broken or working?

• Working items

  Working condition means the item must switch on. It should have no more than mild cosmetic damage (ie, no missing, damaged, or cracked parts), and its original battery. Make sure there are no PIN numbers or security locks on the phone, and if possible, restore the factory settings.

  As a rule, you don't usually need to provide accessories that come with your items, such as chargers or cases, but most companies will recycle these properly for you (though you could keep them as a spare or flog them on eBay).

• Broken items

  If the item is broken it should still be intact and include its battery if it has one.

  Most providers will all recycle non-working items, offering a reduced price for these (expect to get around 90-50% less). If they can’t offer you any money for the broken item, they will recycle 'em for you (unless you ask for it back).

  Typical damage which might mean you'll get less whack includes badly damaged casing, a phone locked with a PIN number or an item that won’t turn on. Water damaged and broken phones with unresponsive or cracked screens will probably get zero cash. Make sure you click the "damaged" box when searching for the best quote.