Old Technology Finds a New Home at Gazelle

Recently-ish I wrote two posts about the best tech blogs and tech podcasts to stalk. I have since found another tech blogger and podcaster to stalk: Girlhack, aka Meg Campbell. She is geeky AND girly so I need to mention her to you. Meg wrote a perfect post about how to buy a computer that articulates perfectly what criteria to consider when buying a computer for yourself, and you can even use that guide to discuss with someone else what their needs are then buy them a computer as a gift! Here’s Meg’s link.

So, now that we’re up to speed on how to buy a new computer, what do we do with the old one? Or any gadget, for that matter?

First of all, I’d like you to erase any sensitive data from any of those devices, including your credit card numbers, tax filings, address book, naughty Las Vegas pictures, music, life’s work, and all the video evidence of you dressed as Princess Leia wiping the floor with Darth Vader in a Star Wars convention fantasy cage match. (I made that last one up, but that sounds awesome.) Once you’ve done that, take a look at Gazelle.

Gazelle helps you sell or recycle your used electronics so they’re not cluttering up your home. How do they do that? You do a search on their website for the item you want to get rid of, answer some questions about your device and its condition, then have Gazelle calculate how much they’re willing to pay you based on fair market value. They pay you by check, PayPal, or let you donate your entire amount to a charity of your choice! If the item has no market value Gazelle will gladly recycle the item for you. In both cases, Gazelle will send you a postage paid box for you to mail your gadget to them! All you have to do is package it up and send it to them. Any owed payment is sent within a few days of receipt of the object, assuming that the gadget you return is the gadget you said it was, in the condition you said it was in.

Easy peasy! No more clutter in your home! Friendlier to the environment than if you sneak it into your garbage! And you make some cash when you need some, or get that warm and fuzzy feeling from giving to charity. Win-win situation!

Currently Gazelle accepts the following items: cell phones, digital cameras, desktops, external drives, tablets, video games, PDAs, calculators, streaming media, e-readers, movies, gaming consoles, LCD monitors, home audio, laptops, GPS devices, camera lenses, projectors, MP3/music players, camcorders, satellite radios, and Blu-ray players. They’re adding more gadgets to their list on a frequent basis, so check back often if you have something you really want to send them but it’s not on the list yet.

And for those of you worried about what happens to your gadget on the other end, Gazelle is a green company, so more than 80% of the gadgets received find a new home, while the rest are properly recycled. There is even a new Gazelle Recycle Network program in which Gazelle partners with local recyclers so you can bring items currently not accepted for money to authorized recyclers. Learn more about this program at the Gazelle Recycle Network page.

If you work for a business, school, or organization that needs to send items in bulk, fill out their business gadget form and an official offer will be emailed to you, which you can accept or reject.

To learn more about Gazelle visit their help page, Like them on Facebook, and follow them on Twitter! They rock!

Girlhack logo: Girlhack’s Twitter page
Gazelle feature image and logo: Gazelle

Friday Flops: Laptop Bag doesn’t fit laptop

I hate it when the things I buy for myself don’t work out as planned.

I was so excited to find this Relic Laptop Bag at Kohl’s.  It was on clearance sale for $11.00 and it seemed like the perfect fashionably geeky tech gift for myself.

I have to take my laptop back and forth to work.  It’s a pain in the ass.  When I saw this laptop bag I figured at the very least I could save myself some hassle by being able to use it as a computer bag and a purse, as opposed to lugging a laptop bag and a purse back and forth to work.

And it’s cute.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t actually hold a normal sized laptop computer.

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