Old Electronics Still Have High Resale Value
BOSTON (CBS) - When Varian Johnson packed up his house to move, he discovered a treasure trove of old electronics he'd forgotten all about.
"It kind of gets stuck at the bottom of the drawer and you forget about it," says Johnson.
And it may be time to clean out your own cabinets and closets. All those outdated electronics could easily be turned into cash.
Michael Fridgen of Decide.com says, "there's never been a better time to get top dollar for your electronics."
Of course, some products have more resale value than others. Experts say smart phones, tablets, and laptops are all great for resale. Apple products hold on to the most value.
"Even an iPhone that's up to 18 months old will get up to 50% of its original value," explains Fridgen.
But check out these other examples: An old Blackberry Curve could be worth $75, a used Nintendo Wii could fetch $150, and a first generation iPad is still worth around $300. Don't expect too much money for old printers or fax machines. But, older model e-readers could be worth selling.
A quick search of Craigslist, EBay or Amazon should help you find the right price for your old item, or you can give the website Priceonomics.com a try.
CEO Michael Flaxman says "we've indexed hundreds of millions of posts. Absolutely anything you might buy on EBay, Craigslist or offline in the real world, we know what it's worth."
In addition to knowing what to sell you'll want to consider when to sell. Fridgen offers this advice, "if you sell your product before the new version's announced you can get considerably more money for it." If the price is too low you could always donate the gadgets instead and be rewarded with a clutter-free closet and a possible tax break.
