Among the many extraordinary ways Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) has to draw consumers to its sites, and to get those consumers to spend money, is its trade-in program. The e-commerce company actually allows customers to send in a huge number of items that are eligible for this program in exchange for Amazon gift cards. Of course, those cards make the same consumers spend more money at Amazon. It is a virtuous e-commerce cycle.
The Amazon Trade-In Program allows customers to receive an Amazon.com Gift Card in exchange for over a million eligible items including DVDs, CDs, video games, electronics, and books. The process is easy and convenient with free shipping, an immediate offer, and no required registration or listing.
How it works:
Depending on your location, Trade-in submissions may take up to 10 business days to arrive before your submission is processed. The packages you sent can be tracked anytime in Your Trade-in Account.
Once your item is received and verified, you’ll receive an e-mail notification within 2 business days informing you whether your items were accepted or rejected. You can find the status of your trade-in anytime in Your Trade-in Account. Once your trade-in has been paid, you’ll see the amount when viewing your gift card balance.
What qualifies:
In general, all items must be in at least acceptable condition and the item you wish to trade in must match the exact version displayed in the Trade-In search results or on the product page on Amazon.com.
What it costs:
When using the pre-paid shipping label, shipping trade-in items is completely free, and there are no other fees. When submitting a trade-in, customers will print a pre-paid U.S. Postal Service shipping label for sending in all items. If a trade-in item is not accepted, and is returned, there is no cost for return shipping.
In another stroke of genius, Amazon has turned used items that might be discarded by customers into a new source of revenue.
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