Originally published July 20 2005
Cash in on your old cell phone
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Companies like RipMobile.com are offering gift certificates in exchange for old cell phones. You can redeem these gift cards at places like Circuit City, MSN Music, KarmaLoop (for clothing) and RingToneJukeBox.com (ring tones, games and screen savers for cell phones).
They may be in your desk drawer, your glove compartment, in pieces on your child's bedroom floor.
Perhaps you donate them to charity or simply throw them in the garbage.
Whatever their fate, if you do not send them to Heine's company's site--RipMobile.com--or to a similar site, you could be missing a chance to get cash or goods for phones that are useless to you, but possibly useful to others.
Related story Apple launches iPod recycling program Customers who bring in used devices get a discount on a new iPod and free disposal of the old one.
"The best rationale would be it's easy, it's free and it helps the environment," said Heine, who is chief executive of CollectiveGood, the cell phone recycling company that also runs RipMobile.
Popular Motorola and Nokia phones will typically are worth $2 to $20; the hottest models, like Motorola's Moto Razr V3, seem to fetch the most.
Instead of dollars, RipMobile gives points that can be converted to gift certificates at Circuit City, MSN Music, KarmaLoop (for clothing) and RingToneJukeBox.com (ring tones, games and screen savers for cell phones).
After registering, they receive a prepaid shipping label and sometimes a box, so they can pack up and send in their old phones with as little trouble as possible.
Phones taken in that still have value are tested, outfitted with any needed accessories and then sold to dealers who resell them as refurbished phones in the United States or abroad.
Some phones are donated to charities for use as emergency phones.
Even if cell phones sent in are not worth reselling, precious metals like gold from their circuit boards can be extracted and reused, said Rob Newton, president of OldCell phone.
All content posted on this site is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. Truth Publishing LLC takes sole responsibility for all content. Truth Publishing sells no hard products and earns no money from the recommendation of products. NaturalNews.com is presented for educational and commentary purposes only and should not be construed as professional advice from any licensed practitioner. Truth Publishing assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material. For the full terms of usage of this material, visit www.NaturalNews.com/terms.shtml