Hassle-free, Risk-free Cash for Gadgets [ARTICLE]
Have you caught this commercial on TV? It’s a simple commercial for a simple service that really does deliver on its promise. Gazelle.com makes an offer to buy your old gadgets or computer equipment. If you accept the offer and ship the item to them, they send you cash. Pretty simple.
And Your Offer Is…
The Gazelle.com website reinforces its promise of a simple service. In addition to phones, Gazelle makes offers on cameras, computers, gaming systems and more—22 categories in all. You can either browse categories to find the item you want to sell or type some words describing the item in a search box. Answer a few questions about the condition of your item and get your offer.
If you can not see the embedded video above please use the following link: Gazelle It’s Simple TV Ad
Some items, like CRT monitors, printers and fax machines aren’t accepted by Gazelle. For a drop off location near you, see the handy, state-by-state list of recyclers. Currently, Gazelle.com only operates in the U.S.
Guaranteed Offer Value
If you get an offer for an item on Gazelle.com, realize it could change from one day to the next as the data feeding its patent-pending pricing engine changes. To lock in your offer, place it in your Box (like a shopping cart for things you are selling), then complete your shipment within 30 days. If the value goes up within that 30 days, Gazelle will give you the higher value, but they won’t reduce your offer—even if thousands of other people suddenly decide to sell an iPhone 3GS.
Keep in mind that you’ll be asked questions about the condition of the item you’re selling. If your assessment differs from that of the trained member of the Gazelle gadget lab, your offer could increase or decrease. If you disagree with a revised offer, Gazelle will return the item to you for free.
Free Shipping and Simple Recycling
As long as your offer is $1 or more, Gazelle will provide a pre-paid shipping label. If your offer is $1 or less, you can still pay the shipping and send the item to them for responsible recycling. Group no-value items with items worth more than $1 and everything will ship for free.
Payday Options
If you just bought the iPhone 4S, you might be interested in knowing that recent offers for 3GS iPhones have ranged from $100 to $200, depending on amount of memory, the phone’s condition and inclusion of phone accessories. Gazelle.com lets you choose from several options for getting paid.
- By check
- PayPal
- WalMart Prepaid Visa card
- Amazon.com gift card (arrives within 24 hours and comes with 5% added to your offer)
If a tax deduction sounds more valuable, ask Gazelle to send money, equivalent to your offer, to one of its 100 approved charities.
Trustworthy Service-and a Word of Caution
Gazelle.com realizes it has to earn people’s trust and deliver on promises if it wants to succeed. The website states that 9 or out 10 people would recommend Gazelle, it has an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau, and the service has received accolades from lots of mainstream media. Investors support the company too. According to the Wall Street Journal, Gazelle s raised $22 million in July 2011 to keep up with growing demand.
If you are selling a mobile phone, Gazelle recommends that you remove the SIM card, which holds data related to your unique phone number, as well as the SD card if you have one. Gazelle offers some directions for doing this on its site, but you may want to visit a mobile phone retailer for help. If you forget, Gazelle will destroy these items during inspection.
If you send a gadget with a hard drive or other data storage, Gazelle will use government-grade software to clear out the data. However, take the time to back up and erase data yourself for the most secure and worry-free transaction.
