Gazelle Trade-in FAQ and Discussion Thread

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Gazelle.com

As the weeks have gone by, I have noticed discussion of Gazelle.com trade-in's within the Amazon Trade-in thread. I have decided to take it upon myself to create a thread solely for the purpose of discussing Gazelle.com and posting information pertaining to it.

This post will be updated to look.. spiffier with a full-fledged FAQ within a day or two, when I find the time.

For now, I'll list some basic information about Gazelle.com.

Credit Increases:

+5% Amazon Gift Card TIV: When trading in at Gazelle.com, if you choose Amazon Gift Card as your payment method, you will receive 5% more for your trade-in's.

Promotional Codes (entered during Checkout) ALL CODES ARE ONE-USE PER ACCOUNT, DO NOT STACK:
gazellebonuscode.jpg

*Credit to no_exit for above picture.

Flipping to Gazelle


Flipping refers to buying items at one place and trading in or selling them elsewhere at a profit (however, sometimes it is done to transfer credit from one place into credit at another or pure cash.)

FAQ

Q) What is Gazelle.com?

A) Gazelle.com is a site where one can trade in items ranging from Electronics to Video Games to Cell phones.

Q) Are there TIV's any good?

A) Some of their TIV's are -very- good, some are average and, like any other trade-in site or establishment, some trade-in values are poor.

However, from my experience and from the experience of other CAG members, I'd say the TIV's are above-average. Especially when one takes into account promotional codes or the +5% Amazon Gift Card TIV. To note, they seem to match Amazon.com's trade-in values on video games. However, they lag behind by around a day or two. So if a value plummets on Amazon, you can still lock it in at Gazelle.

Q) Is Gazelle.com a reliable place to trade-in games?

A) Many members of CAG have used Gazelle for trading in un-needed items and have had good experiences.


TIMING

Q) How long do I have to send in my items?
A) You have 30 days to get your item postmarked according to Gazelle. Don’t always wait because they won’t want to continue to offer 30 days if everyone takes that long & your post office may not want to send your stuff out.

Q) What happens if I send the item after 30 days?
A) You get the TIV as of that day.

Q) How long does it take to ship to Gazelle?
A) From West Coast up to 3-8+ days, usually about 6. From East Coast about the same, though frequently a day or two faster.

Q) How long does it take them to verify the item’s condition?
A) A few days, but can take longer.

Q) How long does it take to receive Paypal/AMZ credit email after item is approved?
A) Usually 1-4 days, but can take up to 10.

Q) I submitted a game but it did not show up on gazelle or email me...
A) It can take up to 24 hours for it to show up, but it's usually less than a minute.

SHIPPING

Q) Who pays to ship to Gazelle?
A) Gazelle pays.

Q) Do they give you a box?
A) If you want one but only for orders that have ~3-6 games (forget exact amount), they will mail you a priority mail box (but they give you parcel post label…). The box will arrive in ~3 days-1.5 weeks.

Q) Why did I get an email saying I’ll get a box when I did not request one?
A) When you delete games from a large order it will then default to giving you a box. Just un-request it.

Q) Can I cancel a shipment after I get a box?
A) Yes, but don’t abuse this or face possible sanction.

Q) Does Gazelle insure your shipment?
A) They claim they do, but no one has run into this problem yet.

Q) Shipping label does not fit on box, what do I do?
A) Set your printer to print 5x8 postcard and this will work fine & fit bubble mailers.

Q) Should I open my games before sending in if they’re new?
A) Does not matter.

Q) Why was it delivered to Cockeysville instead of Hunt Valley, MD?
A) They get them shipped to both of these addresses, which are streets away from each other.

WHAT TO INCLUDE/CONDITION

Q) Do I need to send the instruction manual?
A) No, but again don’t send everything without manuals if you want this policy to stay the same.

Q) Can I print out my own cover art or use generic?
A) Yes, possibly YMMV, again don’t abuse, and try to send cover art that has UPC label that matches the UPC for the game. To check this punch the UPC into Amazon searchbox.

Q) Will they take games without UPC Label on artwork and still give you full value?
A) Yes, YMMV though, as 2 people had this work but both sent in sealed games.

Q) Can I use a generic case?
A) YMMV, again don’t abuse.

Q) How picky are they over game condition?
A) Less picky than Amazon.

MISCELLANEOUS

Q) If I reject the new TIV they give me who pays to ship it back?
A) You do.

Q) How does Amazon credit get sent?
A) You will get a redeemable code much like an Xbox Live or PSN network DLC code. You just redeem that as a gift card on Amazon.

Q) Can I cancel games that I submitted on their site?
A) Yes, you can cancel games individually without the values of the others affected.
*credit to J7.


TC Notes: Please post about your experiences with Gazelle or anything else you think should be added to this post, I'm always up for more information. I apologize for not keeping it as up to date as I should.

~Thanks, RedGamer.
 
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[quote name='Interfeci']According to Gazelle, they got my package last week, but the estimated payment day is the 20th. Wow.[/QUOTE]


You'll get paid before then. I'm always paid before the estimated date.
 
[quote name='Interfeci']According to Gazelle, they got my package last week, but the estimated payment day is the 20th. Wow.[/QUOTE]

I doubt they will make us wait that long. They just approved my 11 games today and the expected payment via amazon.com gift card is 10/28/2010
 
So I'm guessing dropping my gazelle package with usps was a horrible idea? I dropped off my package at the local usps on the 28th last month. It isn't due to arrive to gazelle until the 16th (mailing from CA) which is 4 days before the offer expires. :bomb:
 
[quote name='rawrker']So I'm guessing dropping my gazelle package with usps was a horrible idea? I dropped off my package at the local usps on the 28th last month. It isn't due to arrive to gazelle until the 16th (mailing from CA) which is 4 days before the offer expires. :bomb:[/QUOTE]

Ouch! Guess this is a bad time to say mine get there in 2 days. :cold:

Another tip, if you have a UPS driver that delivers to your house a lot, give it to them directly.
 
[quote name='rawrker']So I'm guessing dropping my gazelle package with usps was a horrible idea? I dropped off my package at the local usps on the 28th last month. It isn't due to arrive to gazelle until the 16th (mailing from CA) which is 4 days before the offer expires. :bomb:[/QUOTE]

Well, yeah, when you add the PO holding on to it until UPS picks it up to the HORRENDOUSLY slow UPS Ground delivery (for anyone not within a state or three from MD) it can get bad. Still, though, yours is pretty extreme. I do direct UPS dropoff here on the West Coast and it usually takes them 8 or 9 days. I really miss the old USPS-only option as that was generally faster even if you went with Parcel Post (and didn't get the free upgrades to priority that I always got).
 
I'm starting to think one of my packages has gotten lost in the mail. I sent over $100 of items last Saturday, and I've got until the 18th for them to get there. By that point, even if Gazelle does get them, two of them will be considered recycles and I'll get considerably less than what I should have. :/ Is there anything I can do regarding it?

EDIT: Actually, I just found out they've got the UPS number on the box. It says it's at my local post office. WHAT THE fuck? Why would they do keep my package there? :/ Needless to say, I'm going to pay the post office a visit tomorrow, and I'm not going to be very happy.

Do you guys think if I dropped my package off at the UPS drop-off tomorrow, that it'd get to Gazelle before the 18th from Tennessee?
 
[quote name='Interfeci']Yeah, just as I thought, I got paid yesterday. It was fascinating. Love UPS shipping for this stuff, since they actually do it nice and quick.[/QUOTE]

#-o... As stated before, it all depends on where you live. For me and anyone else on the West Coast, UPS is horrible for Gazelle/Amazon trade-ins. It only makes it worse with this combined USPS/UPS stuff when it needs to go from one to the other before starting out. But don't blame the PO for that. If they were shipping it end-to-end themselves it would beat UPS. There's something weird going on with the interchange there and I wouldn't leave my package up to the whims of that process ;).
 
I dropped my package off at a local UPS store, and it took exactly one week to get there from CA (no UPS/USPS confusion). Of course, this was my first and only shipment to them, so it might not be statistically significant...
 
[quote name='ragingst0rm6']I dropped my package off at a local UPS store, and it took exactly one week to get there from CA (no UPS/USPS confusion). Of course, this was my first and only shipment to them, so it might not be statistically significant...[/QUOTE]

Yeah, 7 is as fast as they get it there. Sometimes it takes 8 or 9. With the old USPS labels it only took 2-3 days. Not a huge deal, really, but it just annoys me to see everyone praising UPS so much when it really just depends on where you live.
 
[quote name='Jackie Chandler']I'm starting to think one of my packages has gotten lost in the mail. I sent over $100 of items last Saturday, and I've got until the 18th for them to get there. By that point, even if Gazelle does get them, two of them will be considered recycles and I'll get considerably less than what I should have. :/ Is there anything I can do regarding it?

EDIT: Actually, I just found out they've got the UPS number on the box. It says it's at my local post office. WHAT THE fuck? Why would they do keep my package there? :/ Needless to say, I'm going to pay the post office a visit tomorrow, and I'm not going to be very happy.

Do you guys think if I dropped my package off at the UPS drop-off tomorrow, that it'd get to Gazelle before the 18th from Tennessee?[/QUOTE]
I dropped a package off at the ups store in north ga on monday morning and they received and processed it on wednesday.
 
[quote name='locater918']I dropped a package off at the ups store in north ga on monday morning and they received and processed it on wednesday.[/QUOTE]
Thanks so much. I was really conflicted about it, but now I'll just drop it off with UPS for sure. :D
 
package went to USPS and has been sitting there since 7/28. UPS and USPS have not been of any help. USPS says it is waiting to be Returned. UPS says they don't have it. Gazelle says they investigating and have sent out a Tracer.
 
Not sure about the UPS tracking information. I sent something out Monday afternoon, and the UPS tracking information still says "Billing Information Received." I took the advice of someone earlier in the thread and cut off the USPS portion of the shipping label (had to, it wouldn't have fit on the package anyways).

Hopefully they're just not updating it and it's on its way
 
Wait- my package is in MEMPHIS? That is NOT MY LOCAL POST OFFICE. Who do I need to call about this? I'm about to be very pissed off.

EDIT: I submitted a claim to UPS that is was lost, and I swear- they make it as hard as fucking possible. If you claim to be the shipper, they REQUIRE you to provide a UPS number. To get that, you have to sign up for a UPS account, and give them a credit card number. Well, I don't have a credit card, so I was forced to work around it and say I WASN'T the shipper, but give them all my personal information. Then they required a company name and phone number from both me and Gazelle. I don't own, nor am I shipping that package for company purposes, and Gazelle doesn't have a Customer Service line. "N/A" didn't work for the company line, but luckily "None" did, and I had to put my home phone number down for Gazelle, since it wouldn't accept a fake number (like 000-000-0000). So now I'm just waiting for a response from UPS. If they can "find" it, I REALLY hope they send it to Gazelle. Because there's no way if they send it back to me I'm going to have enough time to get that to Gazelle before the values expire. /rage
 
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If I'm not mistaken, as long as it's postmarked before the 30 day duration is up, you're fine.

Or at least that's what my personal experience indicates.
 
[quote name='io']Yeah, 7 is as fast as they get it there. Sometimes it takes 8 or 9. With the old USPS labels it only took 2-3 days. Not a huge deal, really, but it just annoys me to see everyone praising UPS so much when it really just depends on where you live.[/QUOTE]

off topic but, I am greatly sorry for your loss .
 
[quote name='Darth Dorn']Not sure about the UPS tracking information. I sent something out Monday afternoon, and the UPS tracking information still says "Billing Information Received." I took the advice of someone earlier in the thread and cut off the USPS portion of the shipping label (had to, it wouldn't have fit on the package anyways).

Hopefully they're just not updating it and it's on its way[/QUOTE]

This happened to me and others, it ended up showing the tracking after it had been delivered. You can set your printer to print 5x8 postcard instead of having to cut the label, to fit it on your package. I believe USPS is used if the item needs to be returned to you so I would recommend leaving that intact.

[quote name='Jackie Chandler']Wait- my package is in MEMPHIS? That is NOT MY LOCAL POST OFFICE. Who do I need to call about this? I'm about to be very pissed off.

EDIT: I submitted a claim to UPS that is was lost, and I swear- they make it as hard as fucking possible. If you claim to be the shipper, they REQUIRE you to provide a UPS number. To get that, you have to sign up for a UPS account, and give them a credit card number. Well, I don't have a credit card, so I was forced to work around it and say I WASN'T the shipper, but give them all my personal information. Then they required a company name and phone number from both me and Gazelle. I don't own, nor am I shipping that package for company purposes, and Gazelle doesn't have a Customer Service line. "N/A" didn't work for the company line, but luckily "None" did, and I had to put my home phone number down for Gazelle, since it wouldn't accept a fake number (like 000-000-0000). So now I'm just waiting for a response from UPS. If they can "find" it, I REALLY hope they send it to Gazelle. Because there's no way if they send it back to me I'm going to have enough time to get that to Gazelle before the values expire. /rage[/QUOTE]

This may not be the reason, but sometimes USPS sends stuff in the "wrong" direction based on their routes. Still, I don't know why they would move a package that they're supposed to give to UPS and why it would be sent to another post office and not a postal center. Seems a bit shady.

[quote name='Japakneez']package went to USPS and has been sitting there since 7/28. UPS and USPS have not been of any help. USPS says it is waiting to be Returned. UPS says they don't have it. Gazelle says they investigating and have sent out a Tracer.[/QUOTE]
This is what I hate about having 2 companies involved for 1 process. One will tell you you need to contact the other and the other will tell you you need to contact the other. Like what happened to people using Staples for UPS. It can make problems encountered much worse.
 
[quote name='rp71284']Gazelle is bordering on worthless now. They've started to tank a lot of games to GS level.

Oh well, off to eBay...[/QUOTE]

Are they just back to matching Amazon or did they go even lower?
 
[quote name='io']Are they just back to matching Amazon or did they go even lower?[/QUOTE]

from the ones i checked, even lower. So sad, gazelle use to be the best.
 
bfbc2 trades for 22 @ amazon and like 16 @ gazelle it was 31 @ gazelle last week. And i just noticed you closed the kmart clearence thread IO shows how useless that had become it took almost a month for me to miss it
 
[quote name='bredbu']bfbc2 trades for 22 @ amazon and like 16 @ gazelle it was 31 @ gazelle last week. And i just noticed you closed the kmart clearence thread IO shows how useless that had become it took almost a month for me to miss it[/QUOTE]

Well, I thought kaydigi would start a new one but that didn't happen...
 
[quote name='backseatdog']from the ones i checked, even lower. So sad, gazelle use to be the best.[/QUOTE]

Some notable ones:

BFBC2 down to $15
MLB 2k10 down to $13
NSMB Wii down to $20

If anybody even cares, there is only 1 game that I can think of that is over $30 - COD MW2 for PS3 is $33.

Sad thing is, at this point, I'll just get more on eBay (even after fees) and get my money immediately compared to Gazelle taking about a week+.

RIP Gazelle for game trading 8/16/2010 :roll:
 
[quote name='rp71284']

RIP Gazelle for game trading 8/16/2010 :roll:[/QUOTE]

Ouch - on my birthday no less ;).
 
[quote name='bredbu']Happy B-day did you get any games !!:)[/QUOTE]

:rofl: No, there's pretty much no way anyone could buy me a game since there is very little I want that I don't already have. Plus I wouldn't want my wife or other family buying games the non-CAG way (eg, full MSRP or such) so I'd always rather just buy them myself.

But yeah, so far I've gotten nothing. My company and my Dad sent me cards (with nothing but writing in them ;)). I think my wife/kids got me an ice cream cake. My Mom said she was sending something late. That's probably about it. But that's OK. I'm at the stage of my life where my birthdays are no big deal - it's all about the kids.
 
[quote name='bredbu']bfbc2 trades for 22 @ amazon and like 16 @ gazelle it was 31 @ gazelle last week. And i just noticed you closed the kmart clearence thread IO shows how useless that had become it took almost a month for me to miss it[/QUOTE]
I know, that pissed me off when I checked this morning because I was going to use a $20 kmart game coupon to get BFBC2 and trade to gazelle, then just this week Gazelle changed it to $16. Would have been a decent flip.
 
[quote name='Clak']I know, that pissed me off when I checked this morning because I was going to use a $20 kmart game coupon to get BFBC2 and trade to gazelle, then just this week Gazelle changed it to $16. Would have been a decent flip.[/QUOTE]

It was a fantastic flip ;)
 
Any potentials coming up with the latest b2g1 sale at gamestop? (FYI you guys might want to look at the latest tru thread here)
 
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[quote name='sotc1988']Any potentials coming up with the latest b2g1 sale at gamestop? (FYI you guys might want to look at the latest tru thread here)[/QUOTE]

Considering that there are only a handful of games that get $20+ on Gazelle, coupled with GS jacking up prices makes any profit not worth the time.

Is it really worth the gas, time to mail the package, the week it takes to get to Gazelle, then the 5 days for them to pay you for $10?
 
so i just put through a trade in for my old cell phones, and it put it through as a fedex order. i'm looking at the shipping label, and does it have a tracking number? the label looks small, but i guess i'm just used to ups and usps labels.
 
Hey guess what! Gazelle did another wave of drops after their first initial wave.

Here's an example:

Dead to Rights Retribution was $30 on 7/31. It was dropped to $25 on 8/12. It dropped again to $13.
FIFA Soccer 10 was $30 as well on 7/31. It was dropped to $25 on 8/12. Then dropped again to $21 or 22 (depending on system).

At this point, Gazelle is basically Amazon with a cash option, give or take a few bucks up or down. Big difference though, Amazon has games that came out this week. Gazelle has no games released from April on.

For people who want to just get rid of their games, they work. For the person who wants to get max value, eBay is now their only option.

I miss getting $28 for MLB 2k10 or $42 for COD MW2 Hardened Edition. :(
 
Oh BTW...

Gazelle seems to only know 3 different prices: $13, $18 or $23

There are a very small handful of games that were tanked that have recovered a bit (i.e. MLB 2k10 for the 360 went from $28 to $13 to $18). So if you see a game at $13, there is a slight chance it can recover. Seems like somebody went through any game that was over $20 and dropped it to one of those 3 values. Lazy, but I guess they had no choice.
 
[quote name='pogipinoy27']i'm saddened by this realization too.[/QUOTE]


well i know for sure dealtree broke due to people sending in 10 of the same game over n over--so they shut that shit down quick n it was a nice place to trade for cash-so was gazelle--or hopefully is and hasn't been broken yet--by the mad flips of some cag'rs-

i always try to break it down sell some on ebay/gazelle/
or amazon/best buy/
gamestop--and when deal tree worked -

i just really try not to swamp the shit out of 1 place with crappy games for a nice flip-cuz then we get the whole deal tree fiasco ---when a few cagrs helped chop down that money tree-
 
I wouldn't 100% blame CAGs.

Here's an example. NHL 10 was going for $21-23 guaranteed only 2 weeks ago (when it had a high trade value on Gazelle). It just dropped to under $15 recently, and with that, it can easily be had for under $15 on eBay now.

Madden 10 is another example, but that probably was fueled by the new game coming out as well. But I did sell it for $11 & $13 on eBay 2 weeks ago, and now, you can't sell it for $9. Gazelle's value dropped from $10 to $3.

So while there are some low-life people on here who will trade 50 of one game to make a $1 profit on each, I don't think it was us alone. The scum level of SD people is unrivaled. Used to be a great site too, but they will do anything for a buck over there.

Good thing for me is I filed so many orders before the big drops that I'm getting huge steals from eBay. (This wasn't on purpose either; blame the scumbags who sell on eBay and refuse to ship). And no, these aren't orders of 5 of the same game. They're mostly just mixed bags of stuff I had laying around coupled with eBay buys of leftover games.
 
While it may not have been cag alone that did it I do remember several people on here (everyone knows who I'm talking about if you follow this thread) that were trading in 50+ copies of games for a $5 profit on each one. Yah those people think their awesome for turning a big $250 profit but now there wont be anywhere for those of us to sell our stuff back when were done with it. Then again those people don't care about any of us unless they need someone to post a good flip for them to exploit.
 
Yeah we did.

TBH, I wouldn't even care as much if it was a pre-cursor to them FINALLY updating their fucking site. It'd be nice if they just mentioned it in their fucking blog. No, their blog is about how much they love every new phone coming out.
 
When I started trading with Gazelle early last summer I knew it was not going to be a matter of IF but WHEN. I am shocked it took them this long when we saw Amazon go through a similar change about a year ago, DealTree a couple of months ago, and now Gazelle this late in the game. All this does is create a new opportunity to find the next great trade site that offers too much of a good deal. There is talk of Kmart getting into the game trade business with pilot stores, and there are other sites that never get any talk on here that offer some good values on games.
 
At least some people here had sense to spread their stuff out, otherwise Gazelle values would've tanked a lot faster, probably before they even stopped updating new games.

[quote name='converse']When I started trading with Gazelle early last summer I knew it was not going to be a matter of IF but WHEN. I am shocked it took them this long when we saw Amazon go through a similar change about a year ago, DealTree a couple of months ago, and now Gazelle this late in the game. All this does is create a new opportunity to find the next great trade site that offers too much of a good deal. There is talk of Kmart getting into the game trade business with pilot stores, and there are other sites that never get any talk on here that offer some good values on games.[/QUOTE]

The thing is when Amazon did this a year ago it was soon after people took advantage of them, then people move on to DealTree same thing happened, now it's happened to Gazelle. It creates an opportunity to find the next great trade site? There's not much left to use, they'll probably have some shitty aspects to them (think of Amz's, DTree's, and GS's shitty aspects), and you gotta create an account and deal with learning all their policies and quirks.
 
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