Amazon's Trade-In Service

I don't know about other people, but I got sick of selling things online a long time ago. Selling each and every item online was such a time sink. You have to take photos of the items, list them, pack it up, ship it, etc. Ugh ...

Eventually, I began to sell things on Craigslist, offering collections of goods at a discount. I figured someone out there would want them at the steep discount or the power-eBayer would buy it off me and sell each individual item at a profit. Also, since I'm selling to people who live nearby, I don't have to go through the hassle to packing, shipping, etc.

With video games, I got lazy and eventually just took the cash and/or store credit at Gamestop stores. Gamestop doesn't offer a great deal on trade-ins, but I'm willing to give them the profit margin in exchange for the convenience. I was able to dump the vast majority of my CD collection on Amoeba, Rasputin, and Tower Records before CDs got old.

Today, I decided to give Amazon's Trade In program a whirl. I'm shipping off some DVDs, video games, and one book for (what I believe to be) a pretty good trade in price. Plus, I get credit for all of Amazon, not just video games or music or books. I do have to box up my trade-in items and ship it, but the shipping is free from Amazon. I'll see this works out and if it was a good experience or not.

Update (1/17/11):

Well, my opinion of Amazon's trade in service is mixed. I sent another box of books soon after the above original post. Amazon was quick to give me credit for all of the video games, but they are quite finicky on books.

1) It appears that they want books that are in virtually mint condition. Slightly used textbooks that have highlighting are apparently a no-no. I guess my interpretation of "good" condition was different than theirs.

2) Despite sending in a book that had the exact ISBN listed on their website, they returned an item stating that it was the wrong item. I don't know if different items can have the same ISBN or not, or perhaps their ISBN checker made a mistake, but it is sort of irritating that the mistake was made.

Overall, I'll use them again for trading in items, but I will probably avoid trading in books.