February 17, 2011
Trade in Gadgets for Cash — Gazelle Review
Review by Steven Barrymore
Selling stuff with an online listing, such as eBay, can be a challenge. The work involved in preparing the sale listing, posting the listing, waiting for a willing buyer to purchase at the price you want, waiting for payment, packaging and sending the item to the buyer can be overwhelming. And if the item does not sell the first time — then having to re-list and try again. It could take weeks just to try to sell an item.
When I wanted to sell a used iPod Touch, I considered an online listing but for the reasons mentioned, choose another option. Unable to find a friend to buy the iPod, I looked at online cash for trade programs. And after doing online research of multiple companies offering such programs, comparing price offered and customer feedback I found a service called Gazelle.
I went to the Gazelle.com website — did a search for the iPod Touch I wanted to sell, answered a few questions on the condition of the iPod and what would be sent in with the device (such as, cables, ac adapter, software, etc). Then was taken to a page showing what Gazelle would pay for the iPod based on my answers. The quote was good, but as much as selling to a private party, so I opted to try the service. Finished up the registration process with a few more questions; name, mailing address, email address, preferred payment method (paypal, check, merchant gift cards).
Logged into the email address I had given Gazelle and there waiting for me was a welcome email from Gazelle with a pre-paid address label (I choose US Priority mail as the send in method). Gazelle pays for shipping of the item to their facility in Boston, MA. I carefully packaged the iPod Touch like I was sending fine china to aunt Nellie and dropped the box off at the post office. I could then track the progress of the shipment online at usps.com.
I did not receive a delivery confirmation email from Gazelle after waiting for the package to arrive at their facility, so I logged on to my account and found that the iPod had been received and inspected. Gazelle’s inspection rated the iPod higher than I had listed in my pre-send questionnaire — offering a little extra cash for the device — kudos to Gazelle for their honesty. If Gazelle had rated the iPod lower and offered less I had the option of requesting that Gazelle send the device back at their expense — this is a nice peace of mind benefit.
Overall the process from shipment to Gazelle to me receiving payment took about 9 days. The process was easy. Though there was some lack of communication from Gazelle after receiving of the iPod on their end. The price offer, in my opinion, could have been higher. So on a scale of 1 to 5 stars, I give the Gazelle.com trade in gadgets for cash program 4 stars. Have you used Gazelle or a similar service to sell your unwanted electronics?
