Recycling that pays: Cash in your old electronics
Christmastime has come and passed, and chances are you've got some new gadgets to show for it. But before you get lost in that new phone, tablet or laptop, you've got to figure out what to do with聽your old devices.
They might be totally junky or still in good shape, but no matter what, you should never just throw an old electronic device in the trash.聽For one thing, there聽are tons of toxins inside these items that can seriously hurt the environment if they end up in a landfill, and for another, throwing away even a broken device is basically throwing away money! If you know what you're doing, you聽can either sell your old devices for cash or donate them to a good cause. Here are six ways to go about it:
Trade 'em in for cold, hard cash.
Many retailers offer trade-in programs that give you cash for your old devices. Target's聽聽program allows you to exchange old phones, laptops, video games and more for a Target gift card,听聽(plus hundreds of other old devices), and if you聽send in your old Apple products to聽聽and they're still worth something, you'll get a gift card with that amount to use towards future Apple purchases.
Another retailer offering cash for trade-ins is聽, which will take everything from old video games and consoles to smartphones and tablets. Just bring them in, and you'll get a quote that you can put towards the purchase of something new at GameStop, put on a gift card, or carry out in cash.
For other options to trade items back to the original manufacturer, check out聽provided by the EPA.
If you want to sell it yourself, head to Craigslist, Amazon or eBay.
If your device is still in good working order and you want to get a nice聽chunk of change out of it, your best bet is to sell it on聽,听听辞谤听.
There are pros and cons to each of these sites: Craigslist is hyper-local and may require you to meet face-to-face with prospective buyers, while eBay and Amazon are global but take a portion of your profits and can be complicated to navigate. If you can't decide between the two, you don't have to. We recommend posting your items on both sites and selling it to your best offer.
Even older, worn out items can fetch you a pretty penny.聽That 6-year-old white Macbook with a cracked case and a dead hard drive probably still has valuable parts inside. The value of a used item varies greatly depending on condition, age, and current market price, but it is usually worth investigating.
If you want to get the maximum value, you will always do best by selling yourself. Searching the聽"completed listings" for similar items will give you a good idea of the current market price.
Need help?聽.
For hassle-free trade-ins, use Gazelle.
For some, easy, risk-free selling outweighs the need to get the absolute best price, and for those, the best option is a direct-buy used electronics site like聽. This site聽you to search the make and model of phones, computers, and more to get a price offer. Items with a value of more than $1 will ship for free (you can print out the label at home) and some items qualify for free packing materials as well. After they receive your item, they evaluate it and send payment. Even if your item has no selling value, you may be able to get a mail-in label to recycle it.
Donate your old devices to聽a cause you care about.
Did you know some聽battered women's shelters use donated phones to keep women safe from domestic violence? Or that many schools, churches and non-profits are in dire need of well-kept up tablets, laptops and desktops? If you've got some electronics to get rid of and want to help make the world a better place, consider聽donating to one of these causes:
If you'd like聽to make a more local donation, call up some schools, shelters and non-profits in your area; many of them likely take old electronics as donations, and you'll be directly helping the community around you.
If it's broken聽or just too old to sell or donate,听dispose of it safely.
Most electronics retailers offer free recycling services for electronics that aren't safe to toss in a landfill.聽's, for example,听features a pickup and haul away service that brings a truck to your house to grab聽bigger electronics like old TVs, refrigerators聽and treadmills. There are also recycling kiosks inside every Best Buy store where you can drop off old batteries, ink and toner cartridges, wires, cords and cables.聽Old聽phones, tablets and laptops can be brought to the Customer Service desk where they will be recycled safely. Best Buy says it accepts most old electronics with few exceptions, but if you're worried yours wont be accepted,听here are a few other options:
- 聽-- A recycling information site that partners with Best Buy, this service will help you find a place to recycle any kind of electronic device, no matter how strange.
- 聽-- Just type in what you need to get rid of and your zip code and you'll get a bunch of recycling options right in your neighborhood.
- 聽-- Run by the Consumer Electronics Association, this site partners with electronics companies like Panasonic, Samsung, Staples and Amazon to ensure old devices don't go in the trash.
Don't forget to cancel unnecessary subscriptions.
Maybe you had a mobile data service connected with your old iPad, or maybe you're switching from an Xbox to a PS4 and don't need聽that Xbox Live Gold membership anymore. You don't want to be paying monthly fees for something you're not using, so make sure you cancel any subscriptions or services you don't need on your new devices.
Bonus Tip:聽Back up your data, then delete everything.
If you're planning on re-selling or donating your old devices, it's important you take some time to retrieve any important stuff, like photos, passwords, contacts and music, that you want to keep.聽Once you've backed up all this info or transferred it to your new devices, wipe the old ones completely clean. You don't want the new owner of your old phone to be able to see all the weird selfies you take at work, and you REALLY don't want someone to have easy聽access to your bank or聽social media accounts. Most people聽save a lot of sensitive information on their聽phones, tablets and computers that could get them聽into trouble if it fell into the wrong hands. Protect your identity (and your dignity) by erasing everything on your old devices before you hand them off.
Now that you've opened all your new holiday toys, don't let those old electronics get dusty in聽your junk drawer--recycle them today!聽Why not make some money while doing your part to make the world a better place?
This article first appeared in
