Shopping for gadgets and other cool electronics this holiday weekend? Great, but what are you going to do with your old stuff?
Guzu invites consumers to resell their old working and nonworking electronics for cash. The program, created by former online gaming entrepreneur Hesam Meshkat, offers money for valuable gadgets – including iPods, iPads and video gaming consoles – which consumers have abandoned after upgrading to newer versions.
For the biggest shopping weekend of the year, Guzu says it will pay customers an additional 10 percent of the value of any transaction completed between Friday, Nov. 25 at 12 a.m. and Monday, Nov. 28 at 11:59 p.m.
There are presently over 3 billion consumer electronics in homes all across America and over 500 million consumer electronics sold annually. Many of these goods are thrown away or stashed in junk drawers, with only a very small portion being sold on resale sites like eBay and Craigslist.
“What consumers consider trash, the industry considers treasure—old electronics can be recycled for parts and materials used to feed the production process and secondhand market,” says Meshkat.
Consumers can recycle their gadgets on Guzu.com in three simple steps. First, search for your electronic item on the homepage and receive an immediate price quote from the company. Once the transaction is completed through the site, Guzu will email a free shipping label for you to use in mailing their electronics to the company. Once the shipment is received and processed, payment is sent via PayPal or business check, as designated by you, and a tree is planted on your behalf.
For every transaction completed, Guzu plants a tree through American Forests, a nonprofit organization that seeks to protect the natural capital of trees and forests.
Guzu also hosts electronics recycling drives in cities across the country where residents are encouraged to donate their outdated electronics at participating locations.