Amazon Electronics Trade-In Store Wants Your Cast Off Gadgets

If you upgrade your electronics every couple years, you've probably got a drawer full of clunky, outdated gizmos that are still in working order.

Amazon wants your retired tech, be it "Like New," "Good" or "Acceptable" condition. They'll let you ship it for free, and they'll even pay you for it.

The online retailer's trade-in store is now accepting consumer electronics in exchange for gift cards, which are applied directly to your Amazon account for future online purchases.

The store accepts digital cameras, MP3 players, GPS units, cellphones, graphing calculators, tablets and more. Though, as noted by PCMag, eReaders are not part of the program--not even Amazon's Kindle reader.

If your old gadgets match Amazon's specifications, you could be eligible for a decent chunk of money--definitely better than what you'd get for letting the items collect dust. For example, turning in a fourth-gen Apple iPod touch (32 GB) will earn you up to $152. Not too shabby.

Visit Amazon's trade-in store and browse the catalog of acceptable devices to see if your cast-off tech items meet the requirements.

Comments

[Gadget Acres]

01:54 PM on 05/22/2011

If your trying to sell the iPhone, or a android smartphone, I would check out http://www.CashitGadget.com. They give more and better service. Or check our Facebook at http://www.Facebook.com/CashitGadget

[BMHVR]

04:20 PM on 05/20/2011

Now if only there is a similar feature for spouses!

[FoxIslander]

03:06 PM on 05/20/2011

I tend to use these things until they stop working...to bad for me.

[Mister Grumpy]

06:22 PM on 05/22/2011

Yeah........ me too........ and then you can't give it away.......... so into the garbage bin it goes........ let the earth recycle it.......... in a million years or so...........

[Scamper Robinson]

02:02 PM on 05/20/2011

This HuffPo “article” reads like an ad, with a call to action at the end. Honestly, should an article say something like “Visit Amazon’s trade-in store and browse the catalog…” at the end? That’s really creepy, IMO.

Anyway, I’m not journalist shill, so I can say that there are already services that do what Amazon purports to do here, including paying for shipping, and sending you a free box. Gazelle.com has been around since 2008, and I’ve used their service to clear out a lot of old tech.

[FaisalNahian]

02:18 PM on 05/20/2011

i agree but i think the writer didn't try to portray this as we think.

[StevenWells]

02:01 PM on 05/20/2011

Oh, they have to still work, huh? Bummer.

Between the monitors, towers, iMacs, printers, external drives, cards, boards, routers and what-all, my basement already looks like an electronics store. Maybe I'll just wait a few more years and turn it into a museum.

[hungrypilot]

03:28 PM on 05/20/2011

Or recycle it responsibly.

[StevenWells]

03:48 PM on 05/20/2011

We did do that with all our useless stuff when we moved from SoCal to Washington in '07. It's amazing how many things break and accumulate in four years. Of course, I was only kidding about a museum, and have been looking into the local resources. It's getting to be time to rent another pickup truck!

Pardon my humor, and thanks for your focus on sensible solutions.

[Robert Gruver]

01:44 PM on 05/20/2011

An interesting, and profitable way to recycle gadgets. A good idea.

[TreeHuggingLiberal]

01:38 PM on 05/20/2011

I am so in! Like others have stated, lot less hassle and safer than EBay or Craigslist. And all the movies and TV shows I will be able to watch off Amazon for free! Woohoo!!!!

[Milwaukeetj1]

01:27 PM on 05/20/2011

OH YEA!!!!Summer MONEY!!!

[Milwaukeetj1]

01:18 PM on 05/20/2011

That's a great idea!

[Mr Crabs]

12:25 PM on 05/20/2011

I just looked, and what's weird is that some newer items trade in for lower values than older items. Like I have a Canon SX130IS digital camera and it says it's worth up to $90 but the camera it directly replaces, the Canon SX120IS is valued at up to $120. The SX130IS has in every way better features, 2 more megapixels, 2x more optical zoom, stereo sound recording for video, the rare for its class ability to zoom and focus in video mode, and yet still valued less than its predecessor.

[wonderYrednow]

01:26 PM on 05/20/2011

Check the number of units manufactured vs. sold.

[juliebird]

12:10 PM on 05/20/2011

minimal return for minimal effort.
Safer than Craigslist (no thank you, home invaders!)
Less hassle than ebay.
Money for you, instead of a charge (like BestBuy).
What is the value of the empty space in your home, currently cluttered up with outdated electronics?

[WhatTheHolyHeck]

11:54 AM on 05/20/2011

Wow, the valuations are awful. $65 for a large set of DVDs that originally cost over $1K? $4.50 for a textbook that cost over $100?

Yowch.

[arcanepsyche]

12:03 PM on 05/20/2011

Do you really think DVDs have value anymore? A DVD is worth about a dollar these days. And as the for the text book, you can't got anywhere and sell an old textbook for anything CLOSE to what you paid for it. Do some research before you complain.

[FPhoebe]

12:41 PM on 05/20/2011

Depends on the textbook. If it's one they have a lot of or one that is several editions behind, you're going to get a few dollras, maybe they won't even take it. But if something is in high demand or there aren't many of them, chances are you're going to get a good bit. I have a textbook that I paid about $25 for on Amazon (it was used from a seller). Amazon keeps sending me emails offering me about $45. But new, this textbook is over $100. Why anyone would buy it new when there are so many used is beyond me.

[WhatTheHolyHeck]

12:46 PM on 05/20/2011

Why so hostile?

[Lemuel Hunt]

11:51 AM on 05/20/2011

Check out the store CeX at webuy.com there expanding but they do the exact same thing. And they've been around for years and better prices

[CashCrop101]

11:21 AM on 05/20/2011

I love Amazon.

You want to tax them they will move right the fuke out your state.

You criticize them they cut all prices.

I love this company.

[CaroleK1970]

12:46 PM on 05/20/2011

95% of all my purchases are made on Amazon, love em too!

[Spiral Architect]

04:12 PM on 05/20/2011

They're the best. They are the Walmart of the web (love them too).

[fortressfountain]

11:19 AM on 05/20/2011

No one is buying the overpriced new toys-so I guess this is an attempt to make some money by juggling currencies in foreign nations.
Hum, buy our gadgets with cheap dollars and sell them overseas for their currency.
Maybe a lot of us should create our own websites as there are no jobs.
I think the people should also be able to purchase things for overseas prices.

[Mr Crabs]

12:16 PM on 05/20/2011

Go overseas and find out the prices for yourself. If you go to many of those "overseas" countries you're probably thinking of electronics cost way more than they do over here. Because of sky high import taxes, for example in Vietnam there's a 100% import tax on electronics so a Japanese digital camera that's $200 here would be over $400 there. Many popular electronics are cheaper to buy over here. That's why amazon can pay so much for certain electronic items, because the used market commands high prices in other countries because of high import taxes.