“Apple’s iPad is in a class of its own even when it comes to gadget recycling. In the wake of the March introduction of the iPad 2, electronics recycler/reseller Gazelle says it has received so many first-generation iPads in good condition that it plans to start selling them directly to consumers, likely next week,” Elizabeth Woyke blogs for Forbes.
“The launch will mark Gazelle’s first time to offer a gadget without the help of big-name retailer,” Woyke reports. “The five-year-old, Massachusetts-based company, which says it is the largest of its kind in the U.S., has been accepting used electronics either through its website or in conjunction with companies like Wal-Mart. But the firm is also interested in selling directly to consumers and views the iPad as the best product to kick off efforts, says Kristina Kennedy, the company’s senior manager of branding. ‘We see this as the opportunity to become an e-commerce player,’ she explains.”
Woyke reports, “Gazelle credits the tech-savvy early adopters who gravitate towards iPads for making its direct sales experiment possible. These people were excited enough about the second-generation iPad that they sent thousands of first-generation iPads to Gazelle to fund their new purchases. The group also took exceptionally good care of its iPads. The upshot is that Gazelle has somewhere between 15,000 and 17,000 original iPads that it can resell… While all these iPads have been previously used, the great majority (more than 90%) of them are in mint condition, says Kennedy.”
Read more in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Ellis D.” for the heads up.]