This holiday season, thousands of new gadgets will hit the shelves, making previous state-of-the-art gear instantly obsolete. It’s almost impossible to tell which must-have gizmo will be nothing but e-waste by Christmas. And with today’s economy, consumers may be more cautious in selecting new gear like iPods, TVs, laptops, GPS, or digital cameras. TechForward wants to protect smart shoppers from buyer’s remorse at the point of purchase. Guaranteed Buyback plans are an environmentally-friendly service from TechForward that guarantees trade-in values for up to 2 years. The plans are currently available at TigerDirect and CompUSA stores around the nation, several privately owned stores in the greater Los Angeles area and Amazon.com.
Guaranteed Buyback plans are sold when a consumer purchases a device, like an extended warranty, but the unprecedented service locks in the resale value of the electronics, protecting the customer from depreciation and making it more affordable for them to upgrade to the latest device. For instance, if a consumer sends their gadget back to TechForward in six months, they can get 50 percent of the purchase price back, and have similar price protection throughout the first two years of ownership. Additionally, all items are reused, recycled or disposed of in an environmentally-friendly way.
Unlike auction, recycling, or traditional trade-in services, consumers are not required to spend any time or energy getting value out of their device. When they want to return the device, they simply let TechForward know through their online account or through the customer service number, and they are sent a free box, packaging materials, and shipping label. “Because the environmental and financial issues are all addressed at the point of sale, all the guesswork, research, and legwork are taken out of the equation,” the company explains.
TechForward adds that selling Guaranteed Buyback plans also benefits retailers in several ways. “First they are an innovative add-on product that attracts customers that upgrade frequently. Second, the service brings customers back to the same store or chain by paying out the amounts in store credit. And third, the customers may come back more often because the service makes it so much easier and more affordable to keep up with the latest and greatest.”
