[Networking] TheLoonyRebel:
Today I am going to do an review of the Verizon Trade In service. Their trade in service allows you to mail off your smartphones you are no longer using in exchange for an Verizon gift card. The Verizon gift card can be used either for getting a new phone, accessories, or even towards your monthly bill. The trade in value really varies depending on the phone which usually depends on the age of the device along with demand. Obviously newer phones are going to be of higher value so keep that in mind.

The process is pretty simple to do. Go to Trade-In.VZW.com. From there you can start the appraisal of your device, check on the status of your trade in, or go to the trade in support center. Once you start the appraisal you'll then select your device and answer if the device turns on, if the screen works, and if the screen is damaged. You will then get an estimated value of the device. For instance right now an fully functioning HTC Thunderbolt is worth $200 while the same device but not working with a cracked screen is worth all of $2. In comparison an older device such as the Motorola Droid fully working is $24 so obviously in that case I would recommend looking into other methods to sell of said device.

Once you agree to the estimated appraised amount you will then enter in your information to get the pre-paid mailer sent out to you. You will get an e-mail once you complete all that and agree to trade in the device with your submission ID. From my experience it took about four days to get the mailer which came from Tennessee. Verizon does recommend leaving the battery in the device before mailing it back. You however do not need to include stuff such as the data/charging cable, manual, and stuff like that. Once Verizon gets your device they are usually quick in determining the actual value. In my case I got the full $200 for my Thunderbolt. As of right now I am waiting for my gift card to arrive as it was sent out a few days ago.

I will say in summary there is plenty of good about this service but some negatives along the way. The speed of the services with one exception is pretty fast for something mail based. The site itself is clean and easy to use as to be expected from Verizon. Also from the one phone call I made to the support the rep was very friendly about answering my questions so kudos to Verizon on that as well even if the phone support is only available Monday through Friday from 8 AM to 8 PM central time.

There are some improvements I do feel the service could use such as perhaps letting you drop the phone off at a local Verizon store so they can at least mail it off or even if at all possible do the appraisal right there. Of course I would imagine perhaps Verizon is doing this whole mail in thing on purpose so they can test the device to see if its rooted or anything else that your typical store rep might not know how to detect. So I highly recommend for you to unroot your device if you do decide to trade it.

Also I do feel that at least the time it take between when you are told your device is approved and when the gift card is actually mailed out is a bit too long. In my case it was nearly a week before the status on the trade in site finally showed the gift card had been mailed out. That's something in all honesty I can't understand why it takes that long to do given how relatively quick the rest of the process is.

Overall its a good service for what it does but not without its flaws. I do say its worth looking into but keep in mind especially with older devices I do recommend checking other places to see how much more you can get compared to this.

Website: Trade-In.VZW.com