So if you're looking for a way to justify an upgrade, we might be able to help.
You can put your old phone or tablet on eBay or Craig's List and get a lot of money, but you do have to deal with the hassle of posting and dealing with buyers directly.
If you're looking for an easier way to get cash back for your device, a number of companies promise to help. The question is, which one offers the most money?
Scott Kalan of Bala Cynwyd bought the iPad 2 less than six months before the NEW iPad came out. He decided he REALLY wanted to the new one.
So Scott went online to see how much cash back he could get for his old iPad to put toward the new one.
We'll get to his results in a moment. But first, Action News conducted its own test, getting quotes from Totem, Gazelle, and Nextworth for cell phones and iPads.
The company that offered US the best price for iPads is a relative newcomer to the industry and was started by a Delaware Valley native.
"The consumer goes to the website, they fill out their device and the condition and they're given a quote," explained Nicholas Fiorentino, CEO of Totem.
Totem offered us $300 for a 32 gigabyte iPad 2 in good condition. Nextworth offered $252.50, and Gazelle, $220.
For a 64 gigabyte iPad in mint condition Totem offered us $222, Nextworth $173.25, Gazelle $155.
"We tend to pay about 10 percent, 10 to 15 percent more than our competitors," said Fiorentino.
Scott Kalan says his quote from Totem was also higher than the others he received, $20 to $70 more! Totem gave him $280 for his iPad 2!
"It was an extremely easy process," said Scott.
A couple days after Scott accepted the quote he received a pre-paid, padded envelope.
"I put my iPad in there, put it back in the mail," he said. "Send it out, maybe another 7 days later a check showed up. And it's just that simple."
And Totem's founder says while some other websites draw you in with a high quote then offer you a lesser price after you've sent in your device, Totem prides itself on honoring its quotes.
"We won't revise the quoted price unless the condition is pretty drastically different from what you stated in the quote," said Fiorentino.
Gazelle warns it may change its offer depending on its own evaluation of your item. But if you disagree with its revised offer, it will return your item to you on the company's dime.
And speaking of Gazelle, in our unscientific test it did give us the highest quotes for cell phones, including the iPhone, Samsung Epic, and Motorola Droid we checked.
Finally, Totem will erase the data off your device for $7 off your quote. Gazelle wipes devices for free but doesn't always provide a pre-paid envelope for you to ship your gadget.
Here are the links for each business:
www.hellototem.com
www.nextworth.com
www.gazelle.com
