'We're paying for what people think is trash'
By Michelle EstebanSEATTLE -- Old electronics don't die, we just send them to landfills, toxic chemicals and all. MultimediaIn 2007, the EPA said we trashed 3 million tons of e-waste. But instead of trashing it, did you know you can cash it instead? Seattle's James Louie is a self-described techie -- he's bought every generation of iPod and iPhone, and started selling his old stuff to pay for new toys, earning a nice chunk of change in the process. "About $1,200," Louie said. But many of us don't know there's a market for unwanted electronics. "There is definitely a huge market now for sites that will buy up your old electronics," said Molly Wood with Cnet.com Wood says Web sites like buymytronics.com, gazelle.com and YouRenew.com all buy unwanted cell phones, iPods, game consoles and computers. Brett Mosley of bymytronics.com says he often gives cash for broken electronics. "That's the beauty of what we do," he said. "We're paying for what people think is plain trash." Mosley resells what you don't want, and repairs what's broken. The rest, he recycles, keeping it out of landfills. "Electronics that get thrown in the trash make me mad," Mosley said. "It's one of my passions that we're keeping them out of landfills." Mosley knows he's up against eBay and Craigslist, but insists his site is easier to use, and claims he typically pays more than other sites. We shopped around to see what we could get from an old iPod Shuffle, Nano and regular iPod. For the Shuffle, we were offered $2 from buymytronics.com, zero from the other guys. Gazelle was the high bid for the Nano at $26, but for the same device, YouRenew.com was only offering $4, and BuyMyTronics came in at $25. But for the iPod, BuyMyTronics was the high bidder at $74, while we were offered $68 from Gazelle and the low, low price of $25 from YouRenew. It pays to shop around. At all three sites, just click on the item you want to sell and describe it: Does it work? Is it damaged? Does it come with accessories like earbuds or chargers? Chris Tremholme tried to sell a PlayStation, but wasn't impressed with the offers. "They said like $33 for a pretty well working Playstation," Tremholme said. "I know for a fact I could get double that on CraigsList." But James Louie says he got a fair price every time. And as long as Apple keeps making new gadgets, he says he'll keep buying and selling. "It's a way to recoup some of money back for my next updated purchase," he said. Keep in mind old gadgets that won't get you a dime, do still have value: All the sites will recycle them for you. Meaning even if you don't get any green, you'll be green. It’s currently against the law in our state to throw TVs, CRTs and computers in the trash. The state says it hopes in the near future to add all gadgets to the law, including cell phones, MP3 players and PDAs. For More Information: |
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February 9, 2012
- Roseburg, Oregon
