Coffee Break Blog!

Get Paid For Recycling Your Electronics!

As many of you probably do, my wife and I have a ton of old electronics laying around the house.  Old cell phones, Ipods, Digital Cameras, that sit in a drawer in a filing cabinet (The drawer is labeled "Electronics Graveyard!)

Now, we have something to do with them, and will make a little money in the process!

This is the link - http://www.greensight.com/CostcoTrades

If you're a Costco member, you can go to this webpage and depending on what you're recycling, can receive a Costco giftcard in exchange!  The company even pays for shipping, all you have to do is package the item.

For example, my wife just upgraded her cell phone.  Her current phone was listed on the website.  We packaged the phone and the charger into a box, printed out the pre-paid shipping label, and dropped it off at Staples.  Now we just sit back and wait for our $20 Costco Giftcard!

The other great thing - even if what you're recycling doesn't work 100%, you can still receive some credit.  For example, if you don't have the charger for your cell phone, it may drop the credit that you receive by $5 or so.

Take a look at the website, it's a great service!

1988 vs 2008 Gadget Prices

I saw this article on MSN.com and just had to post it. It compares the prices for gadgets in 1988 to todays prices. I have complained several times about the cost of electronics but after seeing this comparison I guess we have come a long way.

For instance:

1988: Tandy 1000 TL

• Price: $1,400 ($2,454 adjusted for inflation)
• CPU: Intel 80286
• RAM: 640KB
• Storage: 3.5-inch floppy
• Monitor: 14-inch, 640-by-200 RGB CRT, 16 colors

2008: HP Pavilion Elite m9100z series

• Price: about $1,000
• CPU: 2.8-GHz AMD Athlon 64 X2 5600+ dual-core
• RAM: 2GB
• Storage: 750GB HD, CD/DVD recorder
• Monitor: 17-inch, 1440-by-900 LCD, 16.7 million colors

It's a long article but has some good points. Check it out here!