Gateway's Trade- In Policy
May 24 '02
The Bottom Line Trading in an old computer can be worthwhile, but be prepared for a disappointing resale value. In many cases, it's better to try and sell an old computer yourself.
Having worked as a Sales Advisor/Account Executive at Gateway for the past couple of years, I would like people to know what they are getting when they want to 'trade their computer in' or 'upgrade' their computer.
For the past 4 or 5 years, Gateway has had a "Trade In" policy. I used to get about 15-20 calls a day asking "How much can I get for my old PC??" This is a legitimate question considering when many consumers bought their PC years ago, they believe they 'bought into' the trade-in policy.
Here is the absolute truth about Gateway's buy back system.
#1 No one ever 'bought' an upgrade. Gateway's strategy was to sell a product or 'addon' with the computer that would make someone eligible for the buy-back program. Now, everyone has the option. NO EXTRA PURCHASE NECESSARY. Many people think that they purchased an option to allow them to trade in their computer every 2, 3, to 4 years. The truth is, this was a marketing ploy from Gateway to get you to buy extra software so you'd qualify for the program. This was very tricky to the consumer and as a result, there was and still is tremendous confusion.
#2. You can trade in old PC's that are NOT Gateway branded. you need to know the MHz or processor speed of your old computer before you can get any kind of answer about it's worth or value.
#3. Trade in value is determined by a 'Blue Book' which shows current trade in values for marketable PCs. The value of a PC drops tremendously and the trade in amount is not nearly as lucrative as it used to be. If you've had your computer for over two years, it's pretty much got a 0 trade-in value. Anything under 700mhz is pretty much valueless now. The reason is because computer prices have bottomed out and have improved in technology tremendously. For instance, maybe you paid $2000.00 for your 700mhz computer a year or two ago, but now you can get an entire 1200mhz with a cd/rw for $599.00 It's all very relative. The class of the chip whether it be Pentium, Celeron, Athlon or whatever does not matter when trading in a computer. It makes no difference what video card or cd rom you have in the tower. Take any extra usable RAM or drives out. The only thing that matters is the speed or MHz.
#4. When trading in the PC it is best to keep your old monitor because monitors have no resale value. You can save the cost of the monitor and the $45 shipping and handling of the monitor, as well as the speakers and the shipping/handling of the speakers and just buy a new tower. This is the most lucrative way to 'trade-in' and the most popular.
#5. Gateway does not take the 'trade-in' amount of your current PC off the price of a new PC at the point of purchase. Gateway will ship you your new PC and ask you for the serial number of your old PC. They'll send you pre-paid labels (don't kid yourself, you paid for them, they're in the cost) and you can you the new box or the old box to ship your old computer back. Once Gateway deems the old computer is in working condition, they cut you a check for the resale value and send it to you. This is the ABSOLUTE ONLY way it can be done. It CANNOT be added to your outstanding bill or balance. You check will take 6-8 weeks to get back to you.
#6. Gateway does not resell used computers The trade in computers are used for charity. The 'remanufactured' side of Gateway are computers that have been delivery refused by consumers. Gateway builds everything from scratch to suit your needs and they cannot sell computers that are used.
For more on Gateway trade-in policy visit their web-site at www.gateway.com or call 1-800-GATEWAY and speak to a sales advisor. This may or may not be a good solution for you.
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