thing can change quickly in the tech business . One minute , you ’ve got a dead state - of - the - artistic creation tablet in the form of Apple ’s iPad . The next , Apple issue forth out with a lighter , thin manikin and suddenly that original iPad does n’t count so state - of - the - artistry anymore .
That was the boat I discover myself in after Apple uncover the iPad 2 . I was looking for a way toreplace my original iPad with its successor , whenGazellecontacted me with an offer to try its electronic resale service . LikeNextWorthandYouRenew , Gazelle is among a smattering of raw on-line electronics resellers — or “ recommerce ” fellowship , as some call themselves . In Gazelle ’s case , the company employ a business organisation model standardized to the used compact disc shops of yore , except Gazelle deals in the 21st one C ’s hot resale commodity : gadgets . The idea is that , instead of taking your chances on potentially fraudulent eBay buyers or Craigslist ’s fierce and occasionally insult bargain hunter , you’re able to hand your gadgets off to Gazelle , get a guaranteed price quote up front , and at last sell some of your resale value in exchange for convenience and a estimable night ’s sleep .
But how convenient is the Robert William Service ? I decide to give it a shot and portion out my experience withMacworldreaders who might be looking to unload their own maturate electronics . as luck would have it , chance with my fairly expensive gadget in the name ofMacworldwent pretty well .
The setup
At Gazelle ’s Website , you could number your machine for resale , respond a few plain English inquiry about the stipulation of good , and get a Mary Leontyne Price citation that ’s guarantee for 30 days . I lean that my 64 GB iPad 3 G + Wi - Fi ( original retail price : $ 830 ) had “ normal wear and tear”—just short of “ no obtrusive flaw ” but above “ operative or physical problems”—because it slipped out of a bag once and aright onto concrete . This at - the - fourth dimension - not - so - nonaged incident earned the aluminum side a few engagement scuffs , but fortunately no crack glass .
Three sub - categories appear under the “ normal wear and tear ” header : “ Serious wear like cracks , numerous heavy scratches , or nick , ” “ Moderate wear and rip , such as deep lolly or nicks , ” and “ Slight wear such as wispy scratches or mule . ” I chose the in-between option . I also specified that I had the original corner and all cables , which helped better the quote I get from Gazelle .
I place my listing on the same twenty-four hour period Apple announce the iPad 2 — a good move as it plough out . Katie Cowie , a selling associate with Gazelle , tells me that set a itemization early is a prime fourth dimension for receive a respectable price on a hot item like the iPad . Gazelle pass me a $ 510 quotation for my original iPad — not bad considering the ding for the physical harm .
The delivery
Of of course , before getting my hands on that $ 510 , Gazelle would need to get its hands on my iPad . Gazelle gave me the choice of printing out a prepaid transport label that I would attach to a boxful of my own or waiting for a prepaid shipping box that the ship’s company would institutionalise to me . Upon incur my iPad , Gazelle would check the tablet against my claim of “ good ” condition ; if the pad passed muster , the companionship would then send along the agreed amount through a PayPal dealing .
Since I want the full experience for this article ( and because I did n’t have a good box handy ) , I selected the prepaid shipping box option . Then I await — for quite a while , as it turns out . Right before the iPad 2 ’s March 11 launching , I began worrying that I had missed some fine print or gotten lost in Gazelle ’s shipping waiting line . Either way , I almost surely had to go to Plan B : carry my married woman to rent me put some of the purchase Mary Leontyne Price for an iPad 2 on a credit notice until I could sieve this all out . After all , Gazelle warrant my cite cost for 30 day , so I had some way for error … right , honey ?
To arrest on the delay , I contactedGazelle ’s Twitter account , which the troupe ( like many others these days ) uses for client fundamental interaction , support , and , of class , self - promotional material . I apace have a reply from Katie that my box had inexplicably stupefy stuck in an Illinois post office en route to my Chicago apartment , but the U.S. Postal Service could n’t tell us anything more . After a couple more days of waiting , I settle I could n’t wait anymore , so I fell back on the box - it - yourself option . I printed the prepaid label , emptied a boxwood from our basement storage , and set off for my local post office staff . The no - show of Gazelle ’s prepaid box was irksome and delayed thing a bit , but it seems like that split was out of the company ’s helping hand .
The payment
Four byplay days after I ship off my tablet , Gazelle e - mailed to say it had received the package and would inspect it soon . The next 24-hour interval , I had Gazelle ’s final response : my iPad did indeed meet my “ normal wear and bust ” paygrade and , despite the delay and the post - iPad-2 time frame , I would receive the original price I was quoted . Two days later , a PayPal notice substantiate that Gazelle had hold up its end of the bargain ; my full payment had arrive .
All in all , my Gazelle experience took 21 daytime , from the day I signed up to the solar day the money arrived in my PayPal score . My transaction with the company came to a cheering end , and my iPad was on its way to a unexampled home . Of naturally , there was a significant postal delay in there , so if we start the clock from the day I manually embark my iPad myself , the turnaround was only seven days .
But what does Gazelle do with all the ousted electronics it collects ? Kristina Kennedy , communications representative for Gazelle , excuse that 90 pct of the items sold to Gazelle are in working , re - vendible shape , and the company ’s two primary resale points are itseBay storeand Amazon.com . She also said Gazelle sells to a form of third - political party include business partners , international middleman , and breeding equipment providers , though she declined to share any actual governing body name . About 5 percent of the item Gazelle receives are only good for parts , while the concluding 5 percent are “ truly end of life products ” that Gazelle mail toCloud Blue , anE - Stewards - certifiedrecycling company in Indianapolis .
If you ’d rather donate your cash from used widget to a good cause , Gazelle offers a “ send my money to a charity ” option . As an somebody , you’re able to donate your premium to almost 40 organizations that Gazelle partners with , include the Boy Scouts of America , the Environmental Defense Fund , Fund for Teachers , and the American Red Cross . If you ’re strain to raise money for an organization , though , you could put up aGazelle for Gooddrive to which people can donate their old gadgets and raise money for your cause . Any person or establishment can sign up for Gazelle for Good with any purpose in creative thinker , but to discourage fly-by-night behavior , Gazelle publicizes the payee name or receiving establishment — a requirement for enrollment .
Watch your back
However you decide to get rid of your old iPad , you will most probably need to wipe off it to make certain any private data stored on the tablet appease private — advice that goes for any equipment on which you store sensitive datum , include your smartphone and notebook . In the case of iOS equipment , you may easy pass over any data off them by give way to preferences - > General - > Reset . There you will see an “ Erase All Content and preferences ” option . After you ’ve back up all your essentials , tap this button to readjust your iPad to its factory preferences , dispatch all your data , apps , and media .
If you adjudicate to utilize Gazelle or a like service , you should take stairs to make certain you ’re doing business with a legitimate kit . A elementary head trip to the Better Business Bureau ’s Website can help oneself you verify that the byplay really exist . ( For good example , contain outGazelle ’s page ) . Looking for reviews and client experiences at other reputable Websites can also still any business organisation .
The happy customer
Overall , my Gazelle experience was astonishingly liquid . The Website was extremely unsubdivided to figure out with , and the shipping options polish off the logistic complications of sending my my iPad to Gazelle . I should point out that , if you give the troupe a shot now , you probably wo n’t get the same quotation mark I did , since a good dowry of the demand for a tablet has reposition to the hard - to - find iPad 2 .
But a quick studying of eBay shows that the original iPad is still selling well , and at notably higher Mary Leontyne Price than what I am presently seeing from Gazelle . If you want top dollar and are willing to sell your iPad yourself , an outlet like eBay or Craigslist might be a good choice . No matter where you unlade an in - demand widget like the iPad , though , a few good habit will always help bolster your resale value , such as taking care of your electronics ( my aforementioned bag cutting notwithstanding ) and hang on to all of your original equipment , including the box . When get off my first - contemporaries iPad in to Gazelle , I in reality include the firebrand new , still - wrapped power adapter and headphone from my iPad 2 ’s box .
Gazelle ’s strength lie in its polished wash room , admit the plain - English Cartesian product listing process , the conciliatory pre - paid shipping options , and quick processing . The plethora of organizations that you could optionally donate to are also welcome . If you do n’t sense like rile with the the likes of of eBay , Gazelle is certainly a worthwhile alternative .
[ David Chartier is an associate editor program at Macworld . ]
