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kman42 · Jun 15, 2010, 02:04 PM

I sold my last few phones on craigslist, but read an article in the NYT about gazelle.com. Basically, you enter in info on your phone and they will send you a postage paid box and buy it from you using paypal or a check. Has anyone used the service? I assume it is legit since I saw it in the NYT. There are a few others as well. Anyone tried a similar site?

A 32gb 3gs is going for about $350 on craigslist and gazelle offered me $271. Not bad, considering you don't have to leave your house or meet sketchy people at the book store.

turtle777 · Jun 15, 2010, 02:10 PM

Uhm, yeah, and how do they know that they don't get a brick ?

Will they hold off on paying you until they tested the phone ?
If they do, how do you ever know they'll send the money ?

With Craigslist, you can have least somebody try it on the spot, and then sell it "as is".

-t

Phileas · Jun 15, 2010, 02:11 PM

Craigslist all the way, for just the reasons turtle lists.

kman42 · Jun 15, 2010, 02:12 PM

Originally Posted by turtle777

Uhm, yeah, and how do they know that they don't get a brick ?

Will they hold off on paying you until they tested the phone ?
If they do, how do you ever know they'll send the money ?

With Craigslist, you can have least somebody try it on the spot, and then sell it "as is".

-t

I think they test the phone before paying you. I'm sure some are scams, but I think some are legitimate, which is why I asked if anyone tried it. gazelle.com, in particular, seems like they offer an honest service.

turtle777 · Jun 15, 2010, 02:16 PM

Sure has potential to be a Ponzi scheme.

Pay the first people, and at some point, start delaying payments until you siphoned enough money. Then you go "broke".

-t

zacharace · Jun 15, 2010, 06:06 PM

Originally Posted by turtle777

Sure has potential to be a Ponzi scheme.

Pay the first people, and at some point, start delaying payments until you siphoned enough money. Then you go "broke".

-t

I've seen Gazelle on eBay before and have almost ordered something from them (Apple products all) a few times; they seem pretty established and legitimate. 100% rating on eBay, too, FWIW.

But yeah, I can see why craigslist may actually make some people feel safer here...

mrtew · Jun 17, 2010, 06:45 AM

How much does an old 3G sell for these days! I wanna do that! Gazelle says $130; what would I get on Craig's list or eBay?

turtle777 · Jun 17, 2010, 07:43 AM

Originally Posted by mrtew

How much does an old 3G sell for these days! I wanna do that! Gazelle says $130; what would I get on Craig's list or eBay?

Prices are going to drop considerably.

Just imagine how many units become available when people get their iPhone 4. This is going to drive prices down.

-t

ort888 · Jun 17, 2010, 01:54 PM

I hear Radio Shack has a trade in program with pretty fair rates. You can get $200 in store credit for a 3GS... and since Radio Shack is carrying the iPhone 4, you can just put it toward that.

kman42 · Jun 27, 2010, 04:50 PM

Gazelle.com is legit. Costco has partnered with them for recycling old electronics, so I'm pretty sure they check out.

Drakino · Jun 27, 2010, 05:07 PM

Leo Laporte (of TechTV fame) also has Gazelle as an advertiser on the TWiT network for the MacBreak Weekly podcast (complete with a 5% promo code). He tends to only take advertising from companies he believes in and uses, so if it's good enough for him, I'd trust them. For example, he refuses to advertise for GoDaddy due to their horrible practices.