Hello Tim,

I have researched your order, unfortunately at this time we do not provide free shipping for items that are eligible for recycling only. If you would like to send your items please send them to:

Gazelle

61 North Beacon St.

Suite 3000

Boston Ma, 02134

If you would rather not send in your item here is a link to a page on our site that can help you locate a local recycle center so you can responsibly recycle these items.

Thank you,

Nicole

Customer Care

This is just a bit of a snafu don’t you think? No where is this policy mentioned on the site, or in the order fulfillment process. In fact, I was instructed to print up a packing slip and the FAQ says an envelope will arrive shortly.

At a minimum, this policy should be revealed during the order fulfillment process, prior to the step where one prints up the packing slip.

I venture to say that the envelope should be sent anyway in order to “buy a customer.” Everyone knows that customer acquisition is much more costly than repeat business, so Gazelle would do well to suffer a small loss in order to acquire a customer who will experience a smooth process from the get go, gain confidence from the experience and then continue to do (profitable) business with them.

As it is, I’m grumpy with Gazelle, doubtful that I’ll do business with them in the future and I now have to source a local cell phone recycler – after having old junk clutter my desktop for two weeks.

Gazelle enables recycling through a neat business model that’s akin to Netflix, another favorite of mine. View how Gazelle works here, but suffice it to say you notify Gazelle of the items you want to dispose of, they make you an offer and, if accepted, send you the box. When you send it back, you get paid!

Not a bad way to close the end of life loop for consumer electronics!

What’s more, businesses, non-profits and schools can sell to Gazelle in bulk too!

I hope Gazelle pans out. It’s a novel idea and a needed one. I am going to try it out soon and I’ll post my experience when I do.  Why not try Gazelle yourself and let me know how it goes?