I had definitely gotten up on the wrong side of the bed. 8 A.M., with wrecked hair and badly-burnt coffee, I began my work-day with the intention of collating some old emails. Unfortunately, my laptop would not power up. After numerous attempts to woo, coddle, and accolade the machine, I finally got the old laptop to power up. A few minutes later, detecting its sudden bit of verbal inattention, the laptop involuntarily shut down and became once more a black screen. Bad words were said. A quick consultation with my husband, who is much more technical-minded than I, provided me with the realization that I had an old, broken laptop which I must trade in for a new one. After a brief Googling, I come across a site that would pay me to trade in my used laptop. This seemed too good to be true, especially because I could trade in a laptop that was both old and broken to get cash to supplement a new laptop. At that moment, I thought that the sun had just come out on my cloudy day.
I visited the website immediately to do some preliminary research. First, I noticed the professional graphics on the site and the E-trust and Veri-sign verification logos at the bottom. This was very promising thus far, for I had become somewhat attached to the old laptop in the past few years and I wanted to get the best possible value for it when I trade the laptop in. The first step was to get a quote. This took less than thirty seconds and I was ecstatic to get an offer of $150 to trade in my used, broken laptop. This was great news. However, my next question was how a business that could recycle an old or broken laptop could work, so I consulted the FAQ to find out. There I discovered more great news. The website pays for shipping, by sending a pre-paid, insured box to ship my laptop in. Once, the used laptop is received, its memory is erased, and within one day, a check is mailed to the customer. Already, I was thinking that this was probably the easiest possible process to trade in my broken laptop, however I wanted to do some alternative research to see what other deals I could get.
First, I went to some competitor sites, which also offered to pay cash to trade in a used or broken laptop. I found that these sites either didn't offer as much money as the first site I went to did, or the websites just appeared to be scams with inexplicit privacy policies, or vague information on the location/age of the business. Then, I went to E-bay and ran a search for used laptop parts. Almost a thousand hits. Considering that I didn't have the time, energy, or technical know-how to take apart my used laptop and requisition its parts, I decided to try local. I called a local computer store who offered to buy my used laptop for $100. I politely declined the offer and decided that my first option to trade in the broken laptop was the most viable and economic option. Plus, I felt good about doing my part to recycle electronic waste and help save the planet. (It was the least I could do for the planet, considering the hundreds of aerosol hair-spray cans I have used throughout the years.)
Needless to say, in a few days I got the prepaid box, slipped the broken laptop in it, and slapped the shipping label on it (which came in the box). In a few more days, the mailman delivered a deliciously sweet $150 check in my name. With this, and a little help from a healthy tax return, I am enjoying the sound of the happy clicking of shiny keys on a new laptop. Thus, I have already collated those emails, and have a bit of extra time to give some advice on how to easily trade in an old, broken laptop. However, I am at a bit of a loss with the burnt coffee...
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