Darlington web design firm launches new phone site
Nov 25 2010 by Chris Knox, The Journal
A WEB design company has launched a phone recycling price-comparison site which it believes will allow it to hit its £1m turnover target as people look to trade in old mobiles in the new year.
Darlington-based Edward Robertson has launched sellmyoldmobilephone.co.uk, which aims to capitalise on the growing market for old mobile phones by offering consumer deals on old phones from 23 leading mobile phone recycling companies including Cash4Phones, Fonebank, Mypay.co.uk and Envirofone.
With research showing that almost a million mobile phones are upgraded in the UK every month, the firm believes the new site will provide an important service for consumers and help it to increase its £700,000 turnover beyond £1m.
The firm has launched the site to coincide with the Christmas rush and said that it expected a surge in business during January as people look to trade their old models in for cash.
The new site differs from similar sites as it provides a price tracking service, which allows consumers to monitor how much they would have received if they had traded in their phone in the last few weeks.
Once sold on, the recycled phones are either stripped for metals and plastics and donated to charities or sent to countries such as India, Africa, and China, where they provide people in rural areas with a vital communication link.
Edward Robertson, which employs 12 staff, also set up a second office in Newcastle to increase its list of web-design clients, which includes Frank’s the Flooring Store and hairdressing chain Saks, which are also based in Darlington.
Graham Miller, director of Edward Robertson, said: “Instead of letting old mobile phones overcrowd landfill sites, damaging the environment, we are encouraging people to get the best deals on their phone while helping the environment.
“Our company’s aim is to become the most comprehensive mobile phone selling site online in the UK”.
It is the second website the company has launched since setting up in 1996, with shopsafe.co.uk in 2009, providing customers with a database of over 4,000 secure online retailers.
The firm is expecting the site to get a jump in traffic over the coming weeks.
