Bowen said:For those of you surprised that you don't have to be a member of costco to use this program, it's really nothing surprising. You don't even have to be a member to shop there. In fact it is cheaper if you aren't a member to shop there (B&M, not sure about online). If you have a costco gift card (bought for 90-95% of face value on eBay of course), you can show that as proof of membership when you walk in. Then when checking out all you have to do is show them the gift card, and they will accept it no questions asked, they won't (shouldn't) even ask you for a membership card.

Thus, it's cheaper to shop there without being a member, why pay a $40 dollar membership fee?
If you're executive member and/or AMEX cash rewards card holder, the $100 membership fee is going to be paid by itself. The least I have gotten back was more than $300.

Btw, Thanks OP. I'm planning to recycle my PS1 and some games for $21

ps2 for $20. why not sell it on craigslist for $50?

So what ideas do you have, for say, 50 CRT monitors collected over the years in our office? I could not bring myself to throw it in the garbage. However, I don't have a spare $2-3k for recycling fees either...

All I want to do is dispose of them responsibly.

etanFW said:So what ideas do you have, for say, 50 CRT monitors collected over the years in our office? I could not bring myself to throw it in the garbage. However, I don't have a spare $2-3k for recycling fees either...

All I want to do is dispose of them responsibly.Use the recycling program mentioned in this thread.

Good that you mentioned this. If you need to recyle something, just bring it to your nearest recycling center (CRT monitors, computers, TVs etc. will be demolished).

cnIsfg said:This program has been on Costco's site since April. However, no one paid any attention until they moved it to their home page. The part about Costco insuring you item will be recycled is total BS. They have no control over what happens to the item you turn in. All of these programs offered by retailers and manufacturers (ie Costco, Staples, HP, Sony, etc ) are all run by the same Canadian company Mediagrif. People here might know them better by one of their US subsidiaries Market Velocity. Virtually NONE of the items collected through those programs are recycled in the sense that they are melted down and reused to make new products. Market Velocity takes all this junk that is turned iin and resells it to salvage dealers like us. We get 3-4 calls a month from them just in our Phoenix home office. About 75% of the junk Market Velocity collects and sells to salvage dealers ends up on eBay and then eventually ends up right back in your communities where the cycle often repeats itself. The other 25% of trade-ins Market Velocity collects are simply too damaged for resell or contain hazardous materials such as CRT monitors.Those item are shipped to Galveston TX and loaded on barges. Those bardges are then sent to Indonesia where environmental laws don’t exist. The point here being if you are recycling through these programs and actually believe you are helping to clean the Earth you are sadly mistaken.

jwilliams said:Good that you mentioned this. If you need to recyle something, just bring it to your nearest recycling center (CRT monitors, computers, TVs etc. will be demolished).


cnIsfg said:This program has been on Costco's site since April. However, no one paid any attention until they moved it to their home page. The part about Costco insuring you item will be recycled is total BS. They have no control over what happens to the item you turn in. All of these programs offered by ...........

Except that little of what he says is true. Much better to sell it to Market Velocity and have it reused if possible. Reuse is FAR better than recycle.

Bowen said:For those of you surprised that you don't have to be a member of costco to use this program, it's really nothing surprising. You don't even have to be a member to shop there. In fact it is cheaper if you aren't a member to shop there (B&M, not sure about online). If you have a costco gift card (bought for 90-95% of face value on eBay of course), you can show that as proof of membership when you walk in. Then when checking out all you have to do is show them the gift card, and they will accept it no questions asked, they won't (shouldn't) even ask you for a membership card.

Thus, it's cheaper to shop there without being a member, why pay a $40 dollar membership fee?

You dont get any coupons this way and I probably save well over $100 with costco coupons every year. Also no CC rewards and iffy returns just better to get a member ship. Also I would would not like trying to buy 2k in gift cards trying to buy and LCD tv.

Mulligan said:Geesh I miss the days when I could just put my girlfriend in the closet, when I wanted some time to myself.
Wads said:nice post op, need to clear out the closet for gf

Thanks mulligan, i used to work for a toy company, the one with the backwards letter. They called the day after thanks giving green friday, not black friday. They had 2 thoughts with this, green is the color of money, and black friday has negative conotations in some circles.

so my closet is now empty with great deals like costco recycling, (for the stay on topic police) ready for Black Friday.

cnIsfg...you are either entirely mis-informed or you just have not done your homework. The trade/recycle offer was not active on Costco's website until early October. I've used the program for both and quite frankly, I’m pleased with the results. Trade ins (for Costco cash cards) can be traced back to GreenSight Technologies, a company that advocates the re-use of older electronic equipment. Isn't that one the cornerstones of recycling? And things like CRT monitors, printers and fax machines that have no value, trace back to a company called Intercon Recycling. This company was actually featured on NBC Nightly News about three weeks ago. Their operation is contained within the US and they have a no landfill policy. Costco should be applauded for addressing an important issue and I would bet the program will continue to evolve.

I checked the website about one week ago and they would give my 4-year old laptop $200.
I bought a new lappy from bestbuy and was going to trade it in yesterday and found they only offered $80.
big drop!!!
now I have to return the new lappy.