When Apple releases a new iPhone, for example, Gazelle and other similar sites tend to see large spikes in customers who are willing to sell or recycle older devices. Gazelle gives them cash for those devices which customers can then put towards an upgrade. For example, during the iPhone 5 press event in September, Gazelle saw two iPhones turned in every second. Gazelle also knows that iPhones and their smartphone brethren are hugely popular among thieves, especially in major cities. In San Francisco, half of robberies involve a cellphone; in New York City, the statistic is about 40 percent.

That’s why Gazelle, which is an easy avenue to get cash for a device, decided to partner with CheckMend. “We are closing off a channel for getting rid of stolen products,” Gazelle CMO Sarah Welch told me. The company has always done a free data wipe on devices it receives from customers so their data isn’t accidentally exposed to whomever ends up buying the used device later. Checking those devices with CheckMend is just “an extension” of that practice, she said.

“The vast majority of trade-ins we get are completely legitimate,” said Welch. “Mostly it’s people looking to upgrade to the latest and greatest iPhone. So we believe it’s a very small issue but at the same time we do not want to be a party to creating incentives for anyone to steal those products.”

If a device does match with at item in CheckMend’s database, it is returned to the seller.

Welch says CheckMend’s comprehensive database gives them the ability to check devices it receives against data about lost or stolen devices from several law enforcement agencies, the FBI, as well as all major carriers and “an exhaustive list” of smaller carriers. The database includes information from the national carrier-backed database that went live this month.

Thumbnail image courtesy of Flickr user samiksha 

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• Analyzing the wearable computing market
• LTE changes everything; LTE changes nothing
• Confused about the wireless markets? Here’s a breakdown

1. Gazelle: The website Gazelle is one of the easiest ways to sell off Apple gadgets that are slightly used but still in decent shape. Gazelle is buying good-condition, used iPad 2′s (64GB, with Wi-Fi, and 3G) for $330 ($350 for flawless, and $125 for broken). For a good-condition 16GB iPad 2 with just Wi-Fi, they’ll pay $240. Gazelle is easy to use because, depending on what you’re selling them, they’ll send you free shipping labels for FedEx or UPS, and even a shipping box. Then, when they confirm the item, they’ll send you a PayPal amount or mail you a check or Amazon gift card (you choose). The down side of Gazelle is that all that ease and convenience costs the company money, so they tend to pay less than you could sell an iPad 2 for on other sites.

2. eBay and Craigslist: Yes, they’re the obvious places, but in contrast to the ease and convenience of Gazelle, eBay and Craigslist require a lot of effort. However, in exchange for that effort, you can sell a good-shape iPad 2 for a higher price. The going rate for an iPad 2 with 64GB and both Wi-Fi and 3G on eBay is $425. The 16GB, with just Wi-Fi, is going for $250.

3. BuyMyTronics: A website called BuyMyTronics, similar to Gazelle, will buy your used and even broken Apple electronics and either resell or recycle them. As with Gazelle, shipping and getting paid is pretty easy. They’ll pay you $288 for a decent-shape iPad 2 64GB with Wi-Fi and 3G, and $192 for a 16GB iPad 2 with just Wi-Fi.

4. NextWorth: Like Gazelle and BuyMyTronics, NextWorth gives you a third option for an easy sale of a used, average-condition iPad 2. (When iPhone 4S launched, some of these reseller sites were inundated with too many old iPhones, and they were forced to cut the prices they’d pay for these. So check out all three of these sites before settling on a price.)

5. Back to Apple: Apple has a reseller and recycling program, and it’ll pay you for a good-condition Apple product, though you’ll generally get less than the sites described above and will be paid in Apple credits. That site is currently down (maybe getting ready for iPad 2 resales?), but we’ll update you with how much Apple will pay you for a used iPad 2, when the site goes back up.

6. Watch out for shady resellers and buyers: Make sure the site you choose to sell to, or the buyer you choose on eBay, is legit. The site called Cash for iPads just looks sketchy. Maybe it’s not, but be sure to read the reviews of the buyer before sending money (and particularly cash!).

7. So your iPad 2 is a brick: If your iPad 2 is totally broken and not functioning, there are still some decent options for you. For example, Gazelle will still buy a 64GB version with 3G and Wi-Fi for $125. But perhaps a better option for you is recycling: Apple will take back old broken iPads. Big retailers like Best Buy, RadioShack and Staples often have free recycling drop-off boxes at their stores — call your closest one to find out if they have that option.

8. The do-gooder option: If your iPad 2 is working fine, but you still plan to upgrade, there are many schools and charities looking for iPad donations, given that the iPad can be a solid teaching and communication device. Apple encourages customers to donate their old iPads to Teach for America Corps, while The HollyRod Foundation is asking for donated iPads for special-needs kids and families. iOS developer Steve Glinberg also created the iPad Recycling Program.

9. Don’t landfill it: The worst option you have is to open up the trash bin and dump it. That means, not only are you wasting precious materials that could have been recycled, but the chemicals from the battery and electronics will sit in the landfill and leach into the ground. Also, you’re wasting money.

10. Don’t sit on it: The second-to-worst option you have is to put it in the back of a drawer and let it sit there for years. Then you’re not taking advantage of the money you can get from reselling it, and the odds that you will actually recycle it drop over time.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• Controversy, courtrooms and the cloud in Q1
• A look back at mobile in Q1
• Why tomorrow’s iPad will need a battery breakthrough

When I’ve sold gadgets in the past, I’ve dealt often with Gazelle: I’ve always received what I think are fair offers and have never had an issue getting paid. But our good-condition devices, a 16 GB Wi-Fi iPad and a 32 GB Wi-Fi iPad 2, were only worth $140 and $240, respectively, to Gazelle. That seemed low to me, simply because people that I know who are looking for used iPads seem willing to pay more. The hunt was on for a better price.

It didn’t take long to do a Google search for the phrase “sell iPad” and find numerous third-party sale options. We could have gone the eBay route, but I prefer a fire-and-forget strategy to get the best price and move on quickly. Various sites were all offering different amounts for used iPads, which I presume reflects a limited market supply coupled with strong demand.

Ten minutes into our hunt, we found a gadget-purchase site willing to give us $241 and $349 for our two iPads. That was the best deal we could find, so we jumped on it and committed to selling our iPads. We have two pre-paid boxes on the way and just need to pack up our slates, drop the boxes off at a local UPS store and wait for our money.

Update: Thanks to reader, Amanda, for pointing out that Amazon’s trade-in program can be used as well. I spent a minute checking (taking me up to 11!) and found that Amazon will offer us even more money: $246.50 and $361.25. Shipping is free and have to send the devices in by March 5. Some readers expressed concerns about the site I pointed out in the post, but I have full faith in Amazon to credit my account for the stated values. Note that reader, Ricky, mentions Radio Shack  as another well paying option with no hassle.

We may not have the proceeds before the iPad 3 arrives, but at least we’ll have more money for our upgrades than we thought. If you’re going to sell your iPad in advance of the next model, I wouldn’t wait much longer if you want to get the maximum value for it. And by all means check the various offers out there for iPad buybacks, which can change daily; a little bit of time and effort could put some extra money in your pocket or towards your iPad 3.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• Controversy, courtrooms and the cloud in Q1
• A look back at mobile in Q1
• Analyzing the wearable computing market

Buy, sell or trade

There are several resellers that are offering cash for iPhones, Apple also has its own Reuse and Recycling program, and RadioShack has a Trade & Save deal. You’ll get less than you paid new for an iPhone when you sell it, since we’re talking about new vs. used goods, but Apple products have historically retained a relatively high percentage of their value over time, as you can see in the chart below.

Selling your current iPhone as a means to fund the purchase of a new iPhone is an option to consider. Despite Apple’s efforts to keep the carriers out of the equation, the driving force behind the deals that accompany any new phone is getting carrier subscribers to sign up for another two years of service.  The resulting value gap is great for consumers, as it helps drive up the relative resale value of devices when compared to buying a phone with contract. Basically, people are very willing to pay for freedom from contracts. They may also want to take their iPhone to T-Mobile, as many have already done, despite the lack of 3G support for Apple smartphones on that network.

Early termination fees

But lets face it, the iPhone itself is only part of the cost equation. You also have your existing cellular contract to consider. If you’re looking get rid of your iPhone entirely, or if you just want to switch carriers for the new iPhone, consider the costs associated with terminating your contract early. Both AT&T  and Verizon  have very similar early termination fees (ETF). Basically $350, less $10 for each month of service that’s already elapsed on your current plan. Below, you can see the breakdown of what the ETF is depending on how much time you have left on your contract.

For some, it actually makes sense to remain behind on iPhone updates, buy used, and stay away from contract renewals, especially if they have grandfathered rate plans. And it is this aftermarket that is helping keep the trade-in market as healthy as it is. So which will it be for you this time around: abstain and strive for a contract-free lifestyle, or give in and commit to another round of cutting edge bliss?

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• Defining the mobile wallet: what it is, why it matters
• Mobile Q2: Smartphone growth surges; iPad’s rule continues
• How to Market Your iPhone App: A Developer’s Guide

On Tuesday Gazelle saw its highest iPhone trade-in volume since last year, when the iPhone 4 was still new and many were upgrading. The company is on pace to buy back 2,500 iPhones this week, said Gazelle’s chief gadget officer Anthony Scarsella in an interview Wednesday. That’s a big jump from the weeks before the iPhone 4 announcement in 2010, when that site was getting 100 iPhones per day pre-announcement, he says.

Gazelle is one of several sites, like Nextworth and eBay Instant Sale, that will pay individuals for old electronics based on the condition they’re in.

Within an hour of last year’s iPhone 4 introduction Gazelle had already bought 3,000 old iPhones from people looking to upgrade, and by the end of the day that number had went up to 10,000. This week’s spate of iPhone owners who are looking to sell before any sort of official announcement has been made indicates a level of anticipation for a single gadget the company has never seen.

“It’s really unprecedented behavior,” Scarsella said. “Usually gadget owners, especially with phones, they wait [to sell back] until the new one is announced.”

Apple hasn’t introduced a new iPhone since June 2010, so it’s not that surprising customers used to upgrading every year or even every two years, appear to be getting a bit antsy. Still, the anticipation hasn’t exactly hurt Apple. Despite being 15 months old, the iPhone 4 is still as of earlier this month  the top-selling smartphone on AT&T and Verizon.

Thumbnail image courtesy of Flickr user dno1967b

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• Analyzing the wearable computing market
• Defining the mobile wallet: what it is, why it matters
• Confused about the wireless markets? Here’s a breakdown

NextWorth asks questions about your phone before giving you an offer.

The moment Steve Jobs announced the iPhone 4 from the stage of Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference in June 2010, gadget buyback service Gazelle’s servers started churning. In just 60 minutes following the introduction of the new iPhone, Gazelle had already agreed to buy back 3,000 iPhones from individuals looking to dump old models. By the end of the day, that number had jumped to 10,000.

“That shocked us,” recalled Anthony Scarsella, Gazelle’s chief gadget officer. All told, Gazelle bought back almost 32,000 iPhones in 2010, according to the company. Apple phones account for one out of every 10 consumer electronics devices the company buys back. And they’ve found that the people who are using the site to sell their out-of-date iPhones aren’t motivated by unhappiness with the device–they’re generally looking to upgrade to the latest version and make some money in the process.

Gazelle is one of several companies that buy back old gadgets and resell them. There’s also NextWorth, and eBay Instant Sale , to name a few. Buy back deals generally work like this: You tell the site what kind of consumer electronics item you want to get rid of, answer a couple of questions about its condition, and they will make an instant offer. You send it in and in return get cash, a PayPal payment, or sometimes a gift card to a chosen retailer. It’s like Craigslist or eBay auctions, but much, much more efficient.

This year, things haven’t been business as usual for iPhone resellers–for comparison’s sake, Gazelle has only taken in about 18,000 iPhones so far. Since 2007, Apple has updated its iPhone model in June or July, and resellers have been able to count on that bringing in a fresh round of old iPhones for them to buy and resell. But July came and went and still there hasn’t been an official peep from Apple. It’s widely believed an updated iPhone will come sometime this fall–bets are either in September or October. In the meantime the reselling ecosystem that’s been built up around the iPhone is on pause.

We, along with just about everybody, think there will be another iPhone soon. PriceGrabber recently found that 35 percent of the people it polled plan on buying whatever phone Apple comes up with next. If you’re one of them, and want to make some money off an older model iPhone, here are some tips for getting the best offer from buyback sites.

• Make sure your phone is in decent condition. Cases are your friend! This is fairly obvious, but the fewer scratches and dents on your phone, the better your offer is going to be. And be sure to keep track of your charger and cables it came with. All of these factors can play into the price you get.
• The earlier you pull the trigger, the better. Gazelle’s Scarsella, for example, says that the first three hours after a new iPhone is announced is the best time to trade an old model in on their site.
• Shop around. Offers will vary. Right now, for example, NextWorth is offering a 32GB black iPhone 4 with normal wear and tear for $242. eBay Instant Sale will garner $238 in trade-in value for a 16 GB iPhone 4 , and Gazelle is offering $154 for a 32 GB iPhone 3GS. But this can all change once an iPhone 5, or whatever it’s going to be called, eventually is revealed.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• Hyperlocal: opportunities for publishers and developers
• CES 2012: a recap and analysis
• Flash analysis: Steve Jobs

Here are a few announcements that caught our eye:

Facebook: Beyond opening up its energy-efficient data centers to the world, the social media giant is using its strength — its 500 million-plus users around the world — to promote a shopping list of personal green actions in partnership with the Earth Day Network. Facebook’s “Billion Acts of Green” app allows users to choose actions such as writing a letter to Congress to support green legislation, planting a garden, taking public transit at least once per week, or getting a home energy audit. Whether that’s enough to get Greenpeace off Facebook’s back for building its new data center in a region powered by coal-fired electricity remains to be seen.

Microsoft: The world’s biggest software company marks Earth Day by publicizing how it’s trying to reduce the energy devoted to all the computing it’s enabled. That includes the company’s new modular data center design, as well as driving down the share of power going to non-computing uses in its datacenters from about 50 percent to less than 10 percent. That ratio is usually expressed in terms of power usage effectiveness, or PUE — a term that Christian Belady, Microsoft’s general manager of data center advanced development, created in 2001, by the way. But now Belady is working on new metrics, including carbon usage effectiveness (CUE) and water usage effectiveness (WUE) to keep the industry on its toes.

IBM: The granddaddy of business machines wants its customers to know that it’s been putting IT equipment otherwise headed to landfills to good productive use for decades, via its Global Assets Recovery Service. As part of its leases with customers, IBM pledges to collect IT gear that’s at the end of its lease and refurbish and resell it, use it for repair and maintenance work or, as a last resort, disassemble it and sell or recycle the parts. That’s about 1.35 million pounds per week of IT gear, and 90 percent of it is reused or resold.

Dell: The PC and server maker that likes to tout its electronics recycling record is at it again for Earth Day, with news that it diverted 150 million pounds of electronics from landfills in its 2011 fiscal year, which actually ended on January 29^th. That puts Dell about two-thirds of the way toward its 2014 goal of e-cycling 1 billion pounds of e-waste. It’s not just Dell stuff that’s getting recycled — Dell and Goodwill have teamed up to recycle computers of any make or model.

Best Buy: Speaking of e-cycling, Best Buy says it recycles more electronics than any other retailer in the U.S., with a volume it measures at 387 pounds every minute — a sense of how big the electronics recycling market has become. Best Buy also has partnered with 10 other retailers and consumer electronics makers in an EPA Energy Star-branded program to make recycling easier for customers.

Gazelle: This electronics recycling and reuse startup marks Earth Day with news that it’s helped about 285,000 orphaned iPads, cell phones and other personal electronics devices find a new home over the past year. That is, about 95 percent of the 300,000 items the company diverted from landfills went to new users, rather than traditional recycling — an important market, when one considers how quickly early adopters are willing to chuck their latest gadget for the even more recent one.

Philips: The Dutch lighting giant has chosen Earth Day to highlight its new EcoVantage halogen light bulbs, now on sale at Home Depot, which use about 28 percent less electricity than old-fashioned incandescent bulbs. That’s not exactly the most eco-advantageous or technologically advanced bulb that Philips has to offer — its Ambient LED bulbs, which use 12 watts to give the equivalent light of a 60-watt incandescent, sell for a cool $40 apiece. The EcoVantage 60-watt equivalent, which uses about 43 watts, sells for $6.96 on Amazon, by comparison.

Sprint: More eco-friendly phone news from Sprint, which last week launched its first Android phone, the Replenish, built with recycled materials and energy efficient operation in mind. Sprint’s other green phones include the Samsung’s Reclaim and Restore, and LG’s Remarq, and while they’ve not exactly caught fire with consumers, Sprint insists they’re selling well and at a price that allows profit. Earlier this week, it launched its Green ID set of applications for Android users, which bundles a bunch of green-themed news feeds, recycling tips, personal carbon footprint trackers and the like.

Verizon: For Verizon Wireless, Earth Day means boasting about how many of its stores have won Environmental Protection Agency Energy Star certification to date. That’s 85, according to a Wednesday release, up from the 61 stores noted at the company’s Green Initiative Web site, and more than any other U.S. wireless carrier, the company claims. Of course, Verizon also has its HopeLine recycling service up and running, and is backing up about 20 cell sites with solar power.

Greenpeace: Let’s not let another Earth Day pass without noting the yeoman’s work that Greenpeace has done to focus the attention of the rest of the world to how the high tech industry can help reduce its own global warming and toxic pollution footprint — and where it feels those companies are falling down on the job. From its ongoing green consumer electronics gadget reviews, to its recent “Clean Cloud Power Report Card” that reviews tech giants’ various strategies on reducing the dirty power use of their data centers, the environmental organization has done a lot to bring attention to topics that some in the high tech industry would rather avoid — and that others see as an opportunity to differentiate themselves on the green scale.

Image courtesy of dullhunk via Creative Commons license.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• Connected world: the consumer technology revolution
• Infrastructure Q2: Big data and PaaS gain more momentum
• Green IT’s Q4 Winners: Wind Power, Solar Power, Smart Energy

There’s been a growth in entrepreneurs and startups trying to build a business off of so-called e-cycling in 2010, but consumers still don’t seem all that more interested in making the effort. Maybe it’s just about knowing the options. So, here they are: where (and how) to recycle and resell your old gadgets.

1. Gazelle. Founded in 2006, web-based gadget reseller and recycler Gazelle specializes in helping resell or recycle your gadgets. The user enters the gadget make/model into the web site and Gazelle spits back a quote for how much it’s willing to give you in exchange for your product. For example, a broken early model iPhone goes for $10, while a newish iPhone that works perfectly can go for around $400.

You have to ship your own gadget to Gazelle, but the company provides printable labels to help with shipping fees and then the company sends you a check or PayPal reimbursement. Gazelle sells off most gadgets it can make money on over eBay or Amazon, while certain items it receives in bulk it can sell off to wholesalers. Anything that can’t be resold, Gazelle recycles it.

The barrier to this business model is the time it takes to bring the gadget to the post office. But if you remember that you should be recycling all your old gadgets anyways, it helps ease that time commitment. The company is backed by venture firms Venrock, Rockport Capital, and Physic Ventures and was formerly called Second Rotation. Gazelle says they’ve processed over 100,000 gadgets.

2. Fixing Gadgets via Fixya. Before you resell/recycle it, perhaps you can fix it. Fixya is an online community that can help you troubleshoot software and hardware problems. Users can post a question for free, but can also pay rewards or small fees to boost the chances of getting a quality response from the community. This seems hit or miss to me. I posted a free query earlier today and still haven’t heard back.

3. BuyMyTronics. With an almost identical business model to Gazelle, BuyMyTronics looks to buy your gadgets and resell them. With its VC funds, Gazelle should try to acquire ByMyTronics.

4. ecoATM. Startup ecoATM does pretty much what its name implies: It places ATM-style kiosks in stores that can collect old cell phones and gadgets and offer users incentives, coupons and in-store credit in exchange. The company won our Green:Net startup competition and more recently received an investment from Coinstar, which hopes to make money off it in the same way it’s making bank off of its coin-counter machines, or the Redbox DVD kiosks. The benefit of this model is that it’s so easy to grab your broken phone and drop it in a kiosk at your local grocery while you’re shopping. Now they just need more locations.

5. Resell It Yourself. After looking over these newcomers above, it’s clear that there’s a market for reselling older gadgets. It just takes a little time and knowhow. If you want to put in the time, place your item on eBay, Amazon or Craigslist yourself and give it a spin. Mind the learning curve.

6. Look Locally. The Electronic Industries Alliance E-Cycling site compiles a list of nationwide e-cyclers by zip code. There’s a lot of non profits and local organizations that can direct you to a spot in your community where you can recycle larger objects like computers and home electronics.

7. ReCellular. There’s a decent business around old cell phones in particular. ABI Research estimates that by 2012 the recycling of cell phones will generate some $3 billion in revenue. ReCellular is one of the oldest and most established in the U.S. and acts as both a place for selling and buying of older and refurbished cell phones.

8. Company Options. One of the reasons there’s been a lack of electronics recycling in the U.S. is because the manufacturers themselves haven’t been aggressively pushing recycling options like they have in countries in Europe. Perhaps this will change one day. A couple of years ago, the EPA created a program that brought together 11 large companies: Best Buy, Office Depot and Staples; service carriers AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint; and manufacturers Motorola, Nokia, Samsung, Sony Ericsson and LG, all of whom are supposed to work together to make recycling easier for consumers.

For more research, check out GigaOM Pro (subscription required):

• Report: Cleantech’s Third Quarter Growing Pains
• The Real Reason Google Is Buying Wind Power
• An Assessment of the Lighting Controls Market

The Gazelle service accepts old phones, laptops, satellite radios, MP3 players, external hard drives, cameras and even old movie and video game discs.

Customers search for their product on the site, answer a few questions about the condition of the gadget — original cables? scratched screen? — and Gazelle spits back an estimate. If you accept, a pre-paid, self-addressed box arrives at your home for you to pop your old e-gear into and then send back to Gazelle. Once Gazelle checks it out, you get your cash. The company claims it pays the average customer more than $100 for old gadgets.

This round of funding pushes the Boston-based startup’s financing to more than $10 million, as the company raised $4.4 million earlier this year. A number of startups have popped up to capitalize on this new “recommerce” business model, including BuyMyTronics, Flipswap, EZTradein, Kashless and GreenSight. Second Rotation leads the pack of consumer-oriented e-cyclers in funding, but the market opportunity for e-waste recyclers is huge and growing. A three-day electronics recycling drive at the Mall of America last year had to be cut short because of the overwhelming response, which generated over 1 million pounds of e-waste by the second day.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• The fourth quarter of 2012 in cleantech
• Cleantech and investment in 2013
• The next generation of battery technology

Gazelle does has a few new features including expanded offerings and now accepts laptops, satellite radios and portable hard drives. The service operates in the same fashion, but a redesigned website speeds you through the process of identifying, rating and selling your old tech toys with fewer kinks. Once you agree to sell, Gazelle will send you a Netflix-style prepaid envelope with which you can send in your gadgets. And as soon as it clears their verification system, you get paid and the item goes up for sale on eBay.

Founded in 2006, Gazelle raised $4.4 million earlier this year from Venrock. While Gazelle does have an edge with VC funds, there’s actually a lot of competitors out there like BuyMyTronics.com, FlipSwap and TechForward that all offer similar buyback programs. There’s also FixYa, which is a crowdsourced tech support site focused on repairing broken gizmos, and recently raised $6 million. The potential market is huge and could support multiple players. According to the EPA, in 2005, the US generated a total of 2.63 million tons of electronic waste, only 12.5% of which was “recovered” for recycling.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• The fourth quarter of 2012 in cleantech
• Cleantech and investment in 2013
• The next generation of battery technology