An integral part of moving is always decluttering and doing away with items that you didn’t really use or have any need for in your new residence. In recent years, this pile of decluttered items has also included electronic devices, from cell phones and stereos to desktops and computer parts.

While recycling is always an option, if your electronic device is working just fine, a better option would be to donate it so that someone out there who needs it can use it. If you’ve been looking for donation centers that take used electronics then you’ve come to the right place!

We’ve given you a list of popular places that you can donate your used electronics to, but before that, let’s look at the steps you should follow before you donate them:

Steps To Follow Before You Donate Your Electronics

We suggest that you go through the following steps before you decide to donate your electronics:

1. Wipe The Data Clean

An obvious step, a complete date purge of the old electronic device you want to donate is a complete must. You don’t want anything important to stay on your devices for others to find. At the same time, you don’t want to leave anything important on your devices that you later realize was important and you don’t have a copy of!

For this very reason, it’s important that you go through everything on your old electronic device if it’s still in working order. Transfer all the data on it to an external hard drive so that you can access it in the future.

Usually, when you donate your old but working electronic devices, the volunteers will go through them to check if all the data has been deleted. Even in such a scenario, it’s best that you do the job of cleaning the device yourself before you hand it over.

Fact Bytes: Data by the National Conference of State Legislatures showed that on average, a desktop takes 48 pounds of chemicals, 530 pounds of fossil fuels, and 1.5 tons of water to be produced.

2. Pack The Accessories

Imagine buying or getting a second-hand electronic item from somewhere but not being able to charge it because you can’t find its charging cable in any shop you visit. Since the electronic device you’re donating will most probably be old, the accessories that it came with might not be sold in the market anymore. So it’s best that you try locating the accessories and give that with the device you donate too!

Also Read: Tips For Moving And Packing Electronics

3. Contact The Organization You Intend To Donate To

Before you drive all the way to a donation center to donate your old electronic device, it’s best to call them and confirm the same. Ask for timings of when they are open and how their donation procedures work. You can also cross-check and see if they will accept your donation since various non-profit organizations that collect used electronics limit the collection to only certain devices like mobile phones or old electronic hardware parts.

Did you know? 25 states in the United States have enacted some form of legislation that encourages waste recycling programs.

Places To Donate Electronics To

We’ve now come to the part where we give you a list of five places that you can donate your used electronics.

1. World Computer Exchange

From working computers and scanners to printers and monitors, the World Computer Exchange is an international organization that takes electronic donations from citizens and then distributes them among 70 developing countries. While they usually take a large part of their donations from businesses and universities, as an individual, you can donate too because every donation can be of use to someone somewhere. To date, they have successfully connected 5 million individuals to digital resources!

World Computer Exchange has a service where you can just ship your electronic device to them. You can ship them to the below address:

World Computer Exchange,
936 Nantasket Avenue, Hull,
Massachusetts 02045.

Once that’s done, you will be given a tax-deductible receipt for the same.

For more information on the nearest donation center check the World Computer Exchange website.

2. Goodwill

If you’ve been looking thoroughly for a donation center around you but can’t find one, don’t lose hope! One of the most convenient ways to donate anything you have is to drop it off at Goodwill and that’s the case with used electronics too. Call your local Goodwill and ask if they will take your old electronic divide as a donation.

If your device is not in working condition, there’s another option for you that will benefit the environment. Dell Reconnect, in a partnership with Goodwill, accepts any old electronic device and then recycles it safely.

For more information on the nearest donation center check Goodwill’s website.

3. Human-I-T

An international organization that has created a great impact, Human-I-T will collect your used electronics for free! These will then be distributed among charitable trusts, people with disabilities, non-profit schools, and veterans. What’s best about Human-I-T is that you can donate any electronic item that you have and they will collect it. These can include computer accessories, desktops, handheld devices and others.

When you donate with Human-I-T, they first wipe out data from your devices for you. After that, you are given an itemized tax-deductible receipt, so that’s another thing you can check off your list. You’ll be pleased by their statistics which show that they have successfully redistributed over 62k pieces and re-purposed 161k of tech!

For more information and to make a donation, check the Human-I-T website.

4. PickUp Please

While you can help a number of people around you by donating to organizations that specialize in various causes, if you’ve been looking to support veterans and their families in any way, PickUp Please is the organization for you. As the name cleverly suggests, this organization sends volunteers right to your doorstep to collect any old and used electronic devices you might have. These could include anything from an old TV or record player to computer hardware and consoles.

Upon collection, the devices are sold or recycled, and the proceeds are then put towards veterans and their families. PickUp Please is a part of the Vietnam Veterans of America so you can be certain that your donation is being utilized for a good cause. There’s another good part to calling PickUp Please: if you’re in a hurry and want the donation process to happen quickly, you can ask them to come within 24 hours to collect your old electronic devices!

For more information on the nearest donation center, check the PickUp Please website.

5. National Cristina Foundation

The National Cristina Foundation, which was first started in 1984, is an organization that helps connect you to educational and charitable institutions that might be in need of such devices. They also support their partner organization called Digitunity, which is also responsible for putting you in touch with an organization that might be closest to you.

All you have to do is visit their website and put in your ZIP code, and voila, you’ll have the details in hand! This will also include details on the specific electronic devices certain organizations need, so that way you don’t have to make a trip all the way just to be told that they won’t accept the electronic device you want to donate.

For more information on the nearest donation center, check the Digitunity page.

What About Recycling?

You can also recycle the electronics you have if they’re old and cannot be of any use even if repaired. Plenty of organizations in your locality itself will have their own recycling drives and drop-off centers where you can recycle your electronics so we suggest you try finding out about those first.

You can also put in your ZIP code on the Call2Recycle website to find if there’s a nearby Call2Recycle drop-off center near you. This group has centers all over the United States that collect old cell phones and batteries for recycling purposes.

Earth911 has an extensive database of recycling centers around the country and is another resource you can use to figure out if there are any drop-off centers for used electronics near you. You can also give them a call at 1-800-CLEANUP and talk to a volunteer to find a nearby recycling center.

Did you know? You can refer to this chart provided by the Environmental Protection Agency to find recycling programs offered by tech companies. For example, Apple has its own GiveBack program that offers in-store credit or gift cards worth $1,530 for electronic products that qualify!

Read Also: How to Donate Your Used Items | Where to Donate Furniture Before You Move?

FAQs

Where Can I Take My Electronics For Money?

There are numerous places where you can get money for your devices; the obvious one is reselling it to the tech company you bought it from under any Buyback programs or exchange schemes. You can also visit the following places:

  • BuyBackWorld
  • Buyback Boss
  • Swappa
  • SellCell
  • Gazelle

What Old Electronics Are Worth Money?

As it goes with every other item that turns antique, there are a large number of dated electronics that have increased in value for various reasons. Some of these are:

  • Atari Games
  • Factory-sealed gaming cartridges
  • iPod Classic
  • Playstation 2
  • Commodore 64

Is A 7 Year Computer Worth Fixing?

Many of us have electronic devices lying around that haven’t given up on us for years, but when they do finally start glitching we all have the same dilemma of whether or not to fix it.

If your computer is as old as 7 years old and has started malfunctioning, we suggest you get a new one since repairing it will cost you more than 25% of what you’d pay for a new device. This is because old parts are hard to find and there’s a possibility that the computer might malfunction again even after its repair.

Conclusion

We tend to accumulate a lot of junk through the years and electronic devices have become a huge part of that. With new software updates and changes to devices every waking minute, the best way to get rid of your old device without letting it sit in a corner is to donate it. We hope our list of donation centers has given you some idea of which location you can drop your used electronics at. Happy donating!

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