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='y2jasper']30 days[/QUOTE]

I think officially it is 30 business days. I believe I read that somewhere in an email from them.
 
[quote name='josh62488']anybody ever deal with game being lost in the mail with gazelle?

I've lost two games this month which is ridiculous

I dropped off 5 packages with copies of Dante's inferno to Gazelle through USPS

4 have made it to destination and gazelle said i'll be paid
except one hasn't even been scanned in it's been over a week and a 1/2
is parcel post extremely slow or is the USPS gonna just owe me a game[/QUOTE]


Hey josh I got your PM. Sorry my experience was not about lost mail. I'll share below...


I sent in a trade for Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 on 360. The game was opened but new, so i selected 'Perfect' condition for the game disc. The quote came out to $35 but when they received it, they said it was in 'Good' condition instead. The problem here is that the game dropped in value and they offered me $18 instead of $35. I was pissed!!! If i had selected good instead of Perfect during my original quote, i probably would have received $33. But they wanted to drop me down to $18.

They went ahead and only paypal'd me $18....they said they couldn't find my game to send back to me! It took around 5 emails and an escalation to management to get it all sorted out. They ended up sending me a check for the difference which i didn't receive for another few weeks. :bomb:
 
[quote name='Japakneez']Hey josh I got your PM. Sorry my experience was not about lost mail. I'll share below...


I sent in a trade for Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 on 360. The game was opened but new, so i selected 'Perfect' condition for the game disc. The quote came out to $35 but when they received it, they said it was in 'Good' condition instead. The problem here is that the game dropped in value and they offered me $18 instead of $35. I was pissed!!! If i had selected good instead of Perfect during my original quote, i probably would have received $33. But they wanted to drop me down to $18.

They went ahead and only paypal'd me $18....they said they couldn't find my game to send back to me! It took around 5 emails and an escalation to management to get it all sorted out. They ended up sending me a check for the difference which i didn't receive for another few weeks. :bomb:[/QUOTE]

was this all over thier chat line?
the guy I spoke with via chat told me they only conduct business over email/chat....seems shady...
 
[quote name='Japakneez']Hey josh I got your PM. Sorry my experience was not about lost mail. I'll share below...


I sent in a trade for Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 on 360. The game was opened but new, so i selected 'Perfect' condition for the game disc. The quote came out to $35 but when they received it, they said it was in 'Good' condition instead. The problem here is that the game dropped in value and they offered me $18 instead of $35. I was pissed!!! If i had selected good instead of Perfect during my original quote, i probably would have received $33. But they wanted to drop me down to $18.

They went ahead and only paypal'd me $18....they said they couldn't find my game to send back to me! It took around 5 emails and an escalation to management to get it all sorted out. They ended up sending me a check for the difference which i didn't receive for another few weeks. :bomb:[/QUOTE]

When was this? I asked their support via live chat and the person said the quote would hold for 30 days. Not sure if that is true, but it is the person's word.
 
[quote name='josh62488']was this all over thier chat line?
the guy I spoke with via chat told me they only conduct business over email/chat....seems shady...[/QUOTE]

it was over email

[quote name='thunder_gamer']When was this? I asked their support via live chat and the person said the quote would hold for 30 days. Not sure if that is true, but it is the person's word.[/QUOTE]


not necessarily true. They have someone inspect games when they receive it to make sure the game matches the condition you list in the quote. If the inspectors analysis is different than yours, you will receive a new email with a different quote. I had a very bad experience but also had a nice one before. I marked a game as 'good' but the inspector marked it as 'Perfect' so i earned a couple dollars more in that case.
 
[quote name='Japakneez']
not necessarily true. They have someone inspect games when they receive it to make sure the game matches the condition you list in the quote. If the inspectors analysis is different than yours, you will receive a new email with a different quote. I had a very bad experience but also had a nice one before. I marked a game as 'good' but the inspector marked it as 'Perfect' so i earned a couple dollars more in that case.[/QUOTE]

Ah, okay.
 
Yeah, but they don't even ask about condition any more so there no more worries about that. I think that is why I avoided Gazelle vs Amazon for so long. Unless the games were actually new I never felt right saying they were "perfect". But now it is just do they work and do they have original case and cover art. It's easy enough to meet those requirements.
 
[quote name='josh62488']anybody ever deal with game being lost in the mail with gazelle?

I've lost two games this month which is ridiculous

I dropped off 5 packages with copies of Dante's inferno to Gazelle through USPS

4 have made it to destination and gazelle said i'll be paid
except one hasn't even been scanned in it's been over a week and a 1/2
is parcel post extremely slow or is the USPS gonna just owe me a game[/QUOTE]

Everything I sent in was paid for. I have no complain thus far.

The problem you described would be more of a problem with USPS than Gazelle itself...
 
[quote name='Ocajavati']Everything I sent in was paid for. I have no complain thus far.

The problem you described would be more of a problem with USPS than Gazelle itself...[/QUOTE]

your telling me...which is awful to deal with! I officially hate USPS...just Google cases of people losing package, it's ridiculous!

my only issue with gazelle is that I emailed customer service to file a claim for the lost package and they seem very unhelpful...
 
So I am concerned with my gazelle trade-in. Does the quote hold for 30 days? Since the time I confirmed the trade the price of the games I 'locked in' have gone down. Does this mean they will not pay me the 'locked in' rate? If so this is BS and I will just go somewhere else, never to look back at dealing with a shady company.
 
Any particular reason you guys are choosing USPS rather than Fedex? I just shipped out $250 worth of games earlier to Gazelle using Fedex and I'm guessing I chose the right one after reading all your horror stories with USPS.
 
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I just checked my shipment status at Gazelle and it says they've received my shipment and is preparing to inspect my games. Most are still sealed but I am worried about the copy of Red Faction Guerrilla I sent them with the gash over the UPC. I got it from the Darksiders promo so I'm hoping they accept it seeing that I sent them a shit ton of sealed and mint games.
I live fairly close to their offices but hot damn, Fedex got my items to them in less than 24 hours.

Now I play the waiting game to get my monies...
 
[quote name='knightsdwn']Any particular reason you guys are choosing USPS rather than Fedex? I just shipped out $250 worth of games earlier to Gazelle using Fedex and I'm guessing I chose the right ones after reading all your horror stories with USPS.[/QUOTE]

I didn't even see an option to choose between the two, was only USPS.
 
[quote name='knightsdwn']Any particular reason you guys are choosing USPS rather than Fedex? I just shipped out $250 worth of games earlier to Gazelle using Fedex and I'm guessing I chose the right ones after reading all your horror stories with USPS.[/QUOTE]

Don't think I was ever given the option, only USPS. I'm actually within walking distance to the local inspection center... literally a 5 minute walk or so. I asked if I could just drop the package off, but they said they don't accept them on the livechat.
 
Asked their livechat dude and he said ...

Certain classes of items are shppped via Fedex, A fedex label would be issued automatically if the item qualified for a fedex shipment.

booo, would rather use fedex.


 
ugh apon further investigation is seems like Gazelle messed up
now there customer serivce sucks...they don't bleieve me and it was there fault
therefore im gonna have to take a pic to prove my case to them...freakin ridiculous.
 
Beatles Rock Band for 360's value dropped to $13 today. I'm glad I managed a trip to the post office five minutes before they closed. That WILL guarantee I'll get the $20, right?
 
[quote name='Jackie Chandler']Beatles Rock Band for 360's value dropped to $13 today. I'm glad I managed a trip to the post office five minutes before they closed. That WILL guarantee I'll get the $20, right?[/QUOTE]

Hope so, because I got locked in to the $20 about an hour before they dropped it too.
 
[quote name='nekromantix']Asked their livechat dude and he said ...

Certain classes of items are shppped via Fedex, A fedex label would be issued automatically if the item qualified for a fedex shipment.

booo, would rather use fedex.


[/QUOTE]

Ah okay. I originally intended on shipping out an old 19 inch Westinghouse LCD monitor along with the games but canceled it due to difficulties finding a large enough box.

Hopefully they don't give me shit about it or complain that I "used" the system.
 
[quote name='Jackie Chandler']Beatles Rock Band for 360's value dropped to $13 today. I'm glad I managed a trip to the post office five minutes before they closed. That WILL guarantee I'll get the $20, right?[/QUOTE]

I've never had any problem with them honoring a quote. Think as long as you were quoted at $20 and you get it postmarked by the 30th day you get that price. Many games I've traded to them have dropped in value by the time I got it to them, and I've always received the quoted value.
 
Anyone who has gotten a PayPal payment from Gazelle, were you charged PayPal fees? Just curious; made a trade the other day with them but decided to just take the Amazon credit since I could not find an answer to my PayPal question.
Also, we have up to 30 days to ship out, correct? Might try quick playthroughs of the EA games I am sending to them.
 
[quote name='JediJames2']Anyone who has gotten a PayPal payment from Gazelle, were you charged PayPal fees? Just curious; made a trade the other day with them but decided to just take the Amazon credit since I could not find an answer to my PayPal question.[/QUOTE]

No fees.
 
[quote name='nekromantix']No fees.[/QUOTE]

Very cool! Will have to consider that for next time. As much as I love me some Amazon credit, bills need to be paid lol.
 
I just used the SPRING10 code to inc. the TIV of a camcorder I wanted to unload. (Code still works, btw).

The big news was they directed me to use Fedex! I was not given the option, it just popped up on the transaction conclusion page.

Skeptical, I checked my email and the attachment was in fact a Fedex shipping label.

My guess is, YMMV on getting the Fedex option and it's probably limited to non-media items.
 
[quote name='nekromantix']Asked their livechat dude and he said ...

Certain classes of items are shppped via Fedex, A fedex label would be issued automatically if the item qualified for a fedex shipment.

booo, would rather use fedex.


[/QUOTE]

Well yeah. So would everyone else.

But fedex costs more so they only allow that method for certain values and items.
 
Does it matter if I trade in a game that has BBV stickers all over the case? I've never used Gazelle before so I figured I'd ask first. I'd peel them off but they'd probably leave a lot of sticky residue.
 
Oh, fuck. I didn't know I was supposed to wait for Gazelle to send me boxes. I already sent them games in boxes of my own. Shit. Anybody know what'll happen next? Will they send them back, or will they take them?
 
[quote name='Jackie Chandler']Oh, fuck. I didn't know I was supposed to wait for Gazelle to send me boxes. I already sent them games in boxes of my own. Shit. Anybody know what'll happen next? Will they send them back, or will they take them?[/QUOTE]

Sometimes you do send them on your own. They'll tell you if you qualify or not. If you were able to send them, I'm assuming you were able to print a label. If you were able to print a label, then you did not request a box and they did not send you one.
 
i've been using this site for a while, it's pretty great
got $25 for my copy of Left 4 dead 2 that i bought from gamestop for $15
and am in the process of trading in my rock band 2 for $19
 
[quote name='GuardianE']Sometimes you do send them on your own. They'll tell you if you qualify or not. If you were able to send them, I'm assuming you were able to print a label. If you were able to print a label, then you did not request a box and they did not send you one.[/QUOTE]
Ah, I see. I was looking back through the other e-mails they sent me, and I was a little confused why they didn't tell me before to wait for a box. :p Thanks for the quick reply!
 
[quote name='Jackie Chandler']Ah, I see. I was looking back through the other e-mails they sent me, and I was a little confused why they didn't tell me before to wait for a box. :p Thanks for the quick reply![/QUOTE]

Also of note, the box they send you is a Priority Mail box (that they get free through the post office) these are "illegal" to use with the Parcel Post label they give you. To avoid problems with your PO, use your own boxes.
 
[quote name='h2dk']Also of note, the box they send you is a Priority Mail box (that they get free through the post office) these are "illegal" to use with the Parcel Post label they give you. To avoid problems with your PO, use your own boxes.[/QUOTE]

yea i've contacted customer service about this twice

they act like they didint do anything wrong...

I wonder if turning the box inside out and wrapping it in paper would minimize your troubles
 
[quote name='josh62488']yea i've contacted customer service about this twice

they act like they didint do anything wrong...

I wonder if turning the box inside out and wrapping it in paper would minimize your troubles[/QUOTE]

it's still technically illegal to use their boxes other than what it is intended for (priority mail) so technically i guess you could just cover the box with white paper and they wont really know but it still is illegal
 
One game I'm going to send in doesn't have a book but I thought it did, do I need to edit that on the site or will they just deduct a bit when they receive this shipment?
 
Mailed a package yesterday at 4 pm and they have already received it and inspected all items which of course all were passed. I sent in 10 sealed games and 5 used (i actually just opened them myself to swap my crappy cases with the new ones). I only live 2 hrs away from the package destination but still fast. So far so good and will prob use them for most of my transactions in the future.
 
[quote name='Vortextk']One game I'm going to send in doesn't have a book but I thought it did, do I need to edit that on the site or will they just deduct a bit when they receive this shipment?[/QUOTE] If your talking about a manual then I think you should be ok. I sent a few games in and one didn't have a manual but it "passed inspection."
 
[quote name='koreysimmons']Mailed a package yesterday at 4 pm and they have already received it and inspected all items which of course all were passed. I sent in 10 sealed games and 5 used (i actually just opened them myself to swap my crappy cases with the new ones). I only live 2 hrs away from the package destination but still fast. So far so good and will prob use them for most of my transactions in the future.[/QUOTE]

Wow, that's nice. My first package to them in a while I sent in on the 7th and it was received and checked in on Monday (the 12th). I got the credit today (the 15th). That's better than the stuff I've sent via UPS to Amazon though. They are taking a couple days longer to ship, but they give the credit faster (usually same day as receipt). So I actually got the credit from an Amazon trade I sent the same day as the Gazelle one first, even though the package got there 2 days later.

I thought people said earlier that Gazelle was cool with no manuals. I made a point of reserving anything without a manual to sent to them and not Amazon (but none of the ones they got so far was like that so I can't confirm yet).
 
I just traded in my first item to Gazelle and was wondering do the codes in the first post stack with the +5% Amazon Giftcard offer?
 
Should I send in some new games I got sealed, or open them? Also, will they return them like Amazon if they reject them?
 
[quote name='Estebon']Should I send in some new games I got sealed, or open them? Also, will they return them like Amazon if they reject them?[/QUOTE]

You might as well send them in sealed - that gives Gazelle a chance to get a bit more for them which will then allow them to continue to offer this trade-in program which is good for all of us! It isn't like GS where they are oging to open them anyway (so with GS you might as well swap out cases and such). I believe a CAG asked them if they could send games sealed and was told that would be great.

As for the rejection, I really don't know. I haven't traded enough to them to have anything rejected. Anyone else know the answer to that one?
 
[quote name='io']You might as well send them in sealed - that gives Gazelle a chance to get a bit more for them which will then allow them to continue to offer this trade-in program which is good for all of us! It isn't like GS where they are oging to open them anyway (so with GS you might as well swap out cases and such). I believe a CAG asked them if they could send games sealed and was told that would be great.

As for the rejection, I really don't know. I haven't traded enough to them to have anything rejected. Anyone else know the answer to that one?[/QUOTE]

I sent over 13 games to them and ALL of them were sent sealed and I got my check in the mail so I guess all is good :D

-Oh and btw MODERATOR , did you put on the Mod forum about my username change ?
 
[quote name='AndrewsAwesome4']I sent over 13 games to them and ALL of them were sent sealed and I got my check in the mail so I guess all is good :D

-Oh and btw MODERATOR , did you put on the Mod forum about my username change ?[/QUOTE]

No, too busy with work, kids, and the BBV sale ;).
 
Well, amazon sent back the Endless ocean 2 because above the bar code it had a "not for resale" sign. It was sealed. Will Gazelle do the same thing? Do they take "not for resale" items?
 
I am extremely pleased with Gazelle. Shipped my games out on the 13th and got my Amazon gift card today, the 17th.

They really put the Amazon / Nor-Am guys to shame with their quick payouts.
 
When they want cover art, its usually the barcode they are after. If you don't have a barcode, then submit your trade without coverart.
 
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