by Christina DesMarais for Techlicious
Get the Most Money When Selling Your Old Computer
It’s easy to forget that a smartphone’s actual value is hundreds of dollars greater than the subsidized price you pay when you sign a two-year contract. In fact, even an older model iPhone 4 that’s “free” on contract costs $450 today without one. So if you bought one back in 2010 and are ready to upgrade to a new phone, you could get up to $164 by trading in your old iPhone 4, if you’ve kept it good shape.
The same holds true for your other electronic gadgets. If you’ve been dreaming about a new phone, camera or computer, consider the value you can get out of your current model as a starting point.
Trading-in your old products is really simple. Just bring your device to a brick-and-mortar store, such as Best Buy or Radio Shack, or use an online trade-in site to find out how much your old item is worth. If you like the price, you’ll get cash or credit towards a new device.
When using a trade-in website, you start by finding the exact product you want to sell in the site’s listings. After you’ve answered questions about the condition of your item, you will receive an estimate of its trade-in value. If you agree to accept this payment, the program will provide a pre-paid shipping label—and in some cases packaging material—for you to send the item to an evaluation center.
Once it’s received at the center, your item will be inspected. If its condition matches your assessment, the agreed-to payment will be processed and should be mailed to you within a week or two.
If it turns out your vintage gadget has no value, many of the brick-and-mortar stores and online programs will recycle your product in an environmentally safe manner for free.
This excerpt appears with the permission of Techlicious.
