What to do with old gadgets and hardware

Over at earth2tech, they point you in the direction of five sites that can help you get rid of that old hardware or gadget. The five sites are dedicated to reuse of electronic products that can help curb the consumption bug when it comes to gadgetry.

When electronics become obsolete or outdated, it is easy for consumers to trash their old gadget when they replace it with something new. Obviously, you have no use for something you just replaced, but tossing these items in the garbage shouldn’t be the first thing you do.

I agree with Jerry and have found SecondRotation to be the most viable of the sites that earth2tech recommends. The site offers you a market value for your used gadgets. They give you a step-by-step process to estimate the value of what you are trying to unload and then you mail it into them for free. They then review your product and send you a payment.

You may also want to reconsider tossing out electronics that aren’t working properly. The site FixYa offers a community of users to help get your electronics back in working condition. Tips range from simple troubleshooting to part replacements.

Rather than simply heading out to purchase a new electronic device at the drop of a hat, you may want to look at these options before you buy. Be sure to check out our first post on this topic for even more ideas.

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Posted by Matt on Apr 7, 2008 | Comments |

6 comments posted

  1. Posted by Beth Z. - 04/07/2008

    I definitely agree that tossing old or non-working electronics is a definite no-no. And I’m sure this goes without saying but I just wanted to bring it up. A lot of my clients, (I’m a professional organizer) beat themselves up over getting rid of electronics that no longer work. They feel they should get them repaired or sell them (even though the items have sat for over a year). I’m in Los Angles and refer my clients to http://www.ciwmb.ca.gov/. It gives numerous resources for recycling e-waste. It’s important for my clients to have that option as well–otherwise, I don’t think the broken television or old cell phones would make it out of the house.

  2. Posted by Josephine - 04/07/2008

    I always take advantage of community-sponsored electronics / technical recycling days. Luckily, there is also a small neighborhood store that not only sells really cool household items made of recycled products, but that accepts small items for recycling: crayons, batteries, diskettes.

  3. Posted by Anna N. - 04/07/2008

    Thank you for posting this - I looked on Fixya and discovered that I could contact Toshiba about my broken dvd player and they’d send me a replacement for free, since it stopped working due to a faulty part. I’ve already called them about it and I should be getting a pre-paid shipping slip in a couple of days to send them the broken one.

    (Also, the first link is a little messed up.)

  4. Posted by Alisa - 04/08/2008

    Greendisk (www.greendisk.com) is a great website. They will take your techno trash and recycle it or salvage usable components. You pay a fee based on how much techno trash you have. The following is from their website. “GreenDisk handles all your technotrash disposal needs from a CD to a PC and just about everything in between. (Want to see a full list of what we take?) You can stop worrying about what to do with all of that old technotrash piling up in your office, store room, attic, or garage. Let GreenDisk safely and securely destroy your old data, recover reusable components, and recycle all of the rest of your accumulated technotrash - all at your convenience, at home or at work.”

  5. Posted by Alisa - 04/08/2008

    Here’s the website again so you can just click on it.
    http://www.greendisk.com/

  6. Posted by Andrea - 04/09/2008

    Thanks for the info. on second rotation.

    If the item is working, Best Buy and Circuit City offer a trade in program and they will send you a gift card.

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