Resell Old Cells

or

What Should I Do with my Old Cell Phone?

Wait a minute, perhaps I should rephrase that. I can tell you from experience that too many folks I know will come up with a quick retort that would be acutely uncomfortable! You may be thinking what kind of people do I hang with? Oh, the normal kind – psychos, schizos, split personalities – you know, like your next-door neighbor, or the guy in the Home Depot checkout line – standing behind you – with that new chainsaw in his hands.

Back to the question, how should you dispose of your old cell phone now that you own a new smartphone with wonderful features and apps that one day you intend to use? Well, I have the “skinny” for you – that’s a word I learned from teenagers. Though by the time I start to use that word, it has probably already disappeared like this one – remember “whassup” ?

You may well ask, whassup? What started me on the road to learning about cell phone disposal? The answer – necessity. I have run out of drawer space to keep my necessities like extra printer ink cartridges; pens that still write; pencils that don’t but contain still viable erasers; Scotch tape, once transparent but now yellow with age; matchbooks in case I ever start smoking; a scissors with both ends broken off because I tried to use it as a screwdriver – twice; a small stapler that uses tiny staples but I haven’t been able to find any tiny staples for it to use; dozens of rubber bands brittle with age (like their owner); my leather-covered calendar for the Year 2001 which I can’t bear to throw out – it was such a good year, and the cover is leather; and assorted various and sundry giveaways that I managed to accumulate at various and sundry conventions. Oh, yes, and five or six cell phones with their respective chargers, cords and accessories. I can’t be certain just how many because I have to first remove all the various and sundry items in my drawer.

O.K., I did it. I have six cell phones and I needed to learn how to dispose of them safely and “greenly” without incurring further expense. After copious and diligent research, I learned you can earn a little money or donate to charity by recycling your phones.

Well, mobile devices, cell phones, that is, outsold computers in 2009. 450 million cell phones were purchased worldwide versus 306 million computers (source: Information Week magazine). 54 million of those phones were smart phones. Experts predict that by 2013, the number of folks with MIDs (mobile internet devices) will exceed one billion.

That makes for a lot of soon-to-be obsolete cell phones lacking the new features sitting in people’s drawers. No, Virginia, it’s desk drawers. Problem is many of those outdated cell phones now languish in landfills all over our country leaching lead, cadmium and other hazardous substances and polluting our environment. What should you do with your old cell phone? There are several solutions - I will describe the easiest. But first, here is a BONUS:

This innovative start-up company in New Haven, Connecticut provides a recycling solution for individual and business cell phone users – an opportunity to turn your technological trash into cash. The company resells discarded devices on online sites such as eBay and Amazon. This new company has maintained an enviable track record to date re-selling techno-waste purchased from business owners at a rate of 99%. The remaining 1% is recycled through certified recycling partners.

The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) recently reported that only about 10% of all cell phones and mobile devices get recycled in the U.S. (source: Network Computing magazine). Many business people, like me, simply put their old, discarded phones away in desks. Or discard them so they join computers, television sets and servers in those fast-growing landfills.

If you have a collection of unused, obsolete or no longer the latest fashion cell phones, how can you find out how much your dysfunctional and/or defunct phones are worth and begin the recycling process with Corporate Renew? Very simple. Visit the site, enter your product information – make and model and condition – and you can get an instant quote of the price the company will pay you for it.

Here are precise instructions:

1) Go to CorporateRenew.com

2) Click "Get Started Today" and select "Place Order Now."

3) Fill in your device and business information and you will receive an instant free quote.

4) Schedule a free UPS pickup at your convenience.

5) Get paid by check and receive an End User Report with the details of your transaction.

The prices that the company pays vary but here is an example: an almost new mint-condition Apple iPhone 3GS (which was released in June 2009) will bring you $318. Shipping is free and a check is mailed to you as soon as Corporate Review receives your device and determines its condition. FYI: The company is planning to accept laptop computers soon.

YouRenew.com is a companion site that will accept your consumer electronics such as MP3 players, game consoles, digital cameras, and external disk drives. Be sure to erase all memory and disks before sending your used equipment

You can also contact hardware manufacturers directly for their recycling and repurchasing programs. An exhaustive list of recycling programs is available on the EPA Web site.

Are you feeling charitable? CollectiveGood is a cell phone recycling resource for used cell phones, smart phones, PDAs or iPods. You can recycle these items in an environmentally responsible manner for a small tax deduction. Their cell phone recycling programs support charities nationwide, and there are thousands of local drop-off points like Staples stores to make recycling easy.

Here are exact instructions:

1) Go to CollectiveGood.com

2) Select the charity you want to help.

3) Submit your information so you can get your tax credit.

4) Send them your phone.

The United States alone has more than 200 million cell phone subscribers and about 5 million of them change carriers each month. This usually means getting a new phone. Even when they don't change carriers, people often change phones to take advantage of improved technology, innovative features and changing fashions.

If you have old cell phones in your drawers (love that phrase) now you can earn some money or donate a little to charity and save your phone from execrable extinction.

© Copyright BJ Rakow 2011. All rights reserved. Author, "Much of What You Know about Job Search Just Ain't So"