If you’re an avid gadgethead, chances are you’ve got a few misfires in your gear bin. A point-and-shoot that you quickly upgraded past, a few extra Xbox 360 controllers that your lonely, single self doesn’t really need or maybe a first-gen Kindle, even?
Well, if you want to put those leftovers to good use, the world’s largest web store’s got something just for you. Amazon just launched their Trade-In hub this week and they promise to take all those unwanted electronics, textbooks, games or DVDs off your hands in exchange for credit. All you need to do is box up that stuff, print out a pre-paid shipping label and send it off. They’ve even got three condition grades–”Like New,” “Good” or “Acceptable”–so if you just want to de-clutter the ol’ man cave and get some pocket money for your troubles they’ll take your old, old Flip camera off your hands. As long as the gadget in question works at bare minimum, you’ll be getting some ducats for it. The cash comes in the form of Amazon credit, which gets deposited into your account if you have one. It’s not as convenient as actual Benjamins in your wallet but, seeing as how Amazon sells just about everything, it’s almost as good.
Best Buy launched a tech buyback program earlier this year but it’s an extra cost that only applies to products you buy from them. That program also has a time limit on the age of the products you can recycle, so you’re only really trading in something sort of new towards the purchase of something shiny-new.
The Trade-In offering is a good move for Amazon. It leverages the cross-referencing power of their massive database of products, lets them get “new” inventory on the cheap and keeps users even more tightly within their ecosystem. The buyback pricing seems to be reasonable, too, at first glance. If you’re like me, you’ve got a significant other who’ll be packing up your old tech as soon they hear about Amazon Trade-In. Be sure to supervise, lest you lose something you actually need.