5 Ways to Get Rid of Your Old Tech Gear
The presents have been opened, the eggnog has been drunk, and now the real fun begins. It’s time to swap out the stuff you have for the stuff you just got.
In other words, if you got new electronics during this year’s gifting frenzy, it’s likely that you have slightly older electronics you now need to get rid of. What do you do with all this stuff?
Here are five ways to clear out the old so you can bring in the new.
1. Regift it.
The first and most obvious way to get rid of old electronics is to pass them on to a friend or other family member. (If you’ve ever wondered why you see so many 9- and 10-year-olds walking around with last-generation iPhones, this is why.) This is the easiest option, as long as you remember to do a couple of things first.
If you’re handing down a phone or a tablet, be sure to back up your device one last time to make sure you don’t lose any contacts, photos, or other hard-to-replace information. You’ll then want to do a factory reset to wipe all your data and make the device sparkly fresh and new. Apple offers instructions on how to back up and wipe your old iPod, iPhone, or iPad on its support site.
Instructions for backing up and resetting Android phones vary, depending on the phone. Some generic instructions can be found on the Greenbot blog.
Read: Five Things You Must Do Before Ditching Old Gadgets
If you’re gifting a used phone, you’ll want to make sure it’s compatible with the giftee’s wireless carrier — an older Sprint or Verizon iPhone may not work on AT&T’s network, for example, due to differences in the wireless technology used by each carrier. (This is less of an issue with more recent 4G phones like the Apple iPhone 5s.) You’ll also want to make sure to remove your SIM and any memory cards inside.
2. Go for broker.
If you’ve already crossed off everyone on your Christmas list, you can make some money back by selling to an online electronics broker. Companies like Gazelle, NextWorth, and uSell will give you an instant quote for your gear and ship you an envelope for sending it in. They then wipe them clean and resell them overseas (we still recommend doing the data cleaning yourself, though). A few days later you’ll get a check in the mail, a credit to your PayPal account, or a gift card.
You can also trade in your old electronics for a gift card at Amazon or Best Buy.
There are a few caveats, however: You may not get as much as you think the gizmo is worth — anything that doesn’t sport an Apple or Samsung logo won’t bring in much. The older the model, the less you’ll get; iPhones from Verizon and AT&T tend to be worth more than those from Sprint or T-Mobile. And the price the site says you will get may not be what you actually end up getting, especially if you claimed the handset was in Flawless condition and the reseller decides it’s merely Good.
Read: The 3 R’s of Retiring Your Old Gadgets: Reuse, Resell, or Recycle
Need money right now? Drive to one of EcoATM’s 1,100 self-serve kiosks (they’re in malls across the U.S.). Drop your device in. It’ll do an instant evaluation and give you cash on the spot.
(EcoATM)
3. Sell it directly.
You can sell old electronics directly to strangers on Craigslist or eBay. The upside is that you will get more money for them than from the online brokers, sometimes twice as much. The downside is that you will definitely earn that money, because you’ll have to handle everything — from creating the ad and negotiating a sales price through wiping the device, shipping it, and dealing with disgruntled buyers if something goes awry.
(Glyde)
Glyde makes this process a lot easier. Simply list the item you want to sell, and when a buyer shows interest, Glyde will send you a prepaid envelope you can use to ship it to the recipient. Money will appear in your Glyde account three days after the buyer has received the item.
4. Donate it.
Technology goes obsolete fast. If your gear is too old to regift or resell, your best option is to give it to charity and collect a small tax deduction. Organizations like Verizon’s Hopeline and The Wireless Foundation will sell your old phone and donate a portion of the proceeds to American soldiers overseas, victims of domestic violence, or needy kids.
Read: Where to Sell Back Your Unwanted Games
If you’ve got an older laptop or tablet, drop it off at a participating Goodwill or ship it to Seattle’s Interconnection.org. They will wipe the device, install new software, and give it to a nonprofit.
5. Recycle it.
When all else fails, you can recycle your old gadgets. Most major gear manufacturers and many big electronics retailers have recycling programs in place now. You can find nearby recyclers using the directory at Earth911 or peruse the sites of Best Buy, Office Depot, Staples, or RadioShack.
Don’t just throw your old device in the trash. Let a recycling program extract the metals and other ecosystem-unfriendly materials first. Consider it a gift to the planet.
Send holiday greetings and spiked eggnog to Dan Tynan at ModFamily1@yahoo.com.
