GazelleReviews 1,076

Friends warned me about the "bait and switch" practices of Gazelle, but I thought I'd give it a try anyway. I have an iPhone S5 in excellent condition that they offered me $100 for till they received it and then changed the offer to $5.00 telling me how damaged it was. Not true. So I requested a return. My Plan B is to donate the phone to a domestic violence shelter and charge off the phone's value on my next years income tax. Much easier than dealing with deceptive business practices like those of Gazelle. Just sayin'.

The few times I've submitted items on the Gazelle website, I found the quotes to be sub-par, so I didn't pursue them. In that respect I can understand the frustration of many here, but perhaps I can offer a suggestion or two to save someone a lot of potential grief. First off, ALWAYS remove the SIM card from your phone before you send it anywhere. Your SIM card is registered to your wireless number and contains sensitive data about your phone and wireless account, so mailing it to someone you don't know could potentially open a Pandora's Box of security risks. Rule of thumb - it's best to guard your SIM card as you would your credit card. And as far as Gazelle and companies like it are concerned, understand that they are basically online pawn brokers, and a pawn broker is NEVER going to give you top dollar for what you trade in. Nonetheless, if you want to go that route, it's best to deal with a local second-hand store where at least you can haggle with someone face-to-face and walk out with what you came in with if you don't like the offer. I know sites like Craigslist and eBay can be a hassle sometimes, but I've found that if I'm willing to put in a little extra effort, I can always get more for used electronics on the open market. The allure of Gazelle is not money, but convenience, and there's the trade-off. If you want to gamble on a quick buck with little effort, then Gazelle is probably your vehicle. Alternately, if you're willing to invest a little more in the selling process, you'll stand to get more in return.

I sent in 3 mini iPads. 1 had a cracked screen and 2 were in perfect condition. I was quoted $10 for the cracked iPad and $50 each for the new ones. All three are engraved on the back. Gazelle only allowed me to decline two of the offers the third offer I was told I did not respond quick enough. The email states I have 5 days yet I wasn't quick enough to open the third email. I have called, computer chatted and emailed requesting all three be returned to me. I have been denied. Very poor customer service in which they are not solution oriented. Very argumentative and child like.

I sent Gazelle my iPad 2 that was in perfect condition. I had hardly touched it for the last year and it was kept in a really good leather case the whole time I owned it. When they got my iPad, they rescinded their initial offer of $89 and dropped it to $5 saying that the iPad showed signs of wear and had significant scratches on it. It was scratch-free when I sent it to them and I have no idea what "signs of wear" means to them. My iPad is on its way back to me -- I'll give it to my 4-year-old niece to play with before I'll sell it to them for $5!

I was shocked to see the other bad reviews when I came to write this one. My experience was the exact opposite. I found the site extraordinarily easy to navigate (took me five minutes) and loved that they provided a box and shipping label to send my phone at no extra cost. Within a week of mailing my phone in I received an email that said it had been received and a check was in the mail. The next day I received the check (which, by the way, was more than other sites purchasing used equipment). I don't write many reviews, but when I experienced such great service I felt compelled to write this.

I was quoted $85 for my iPhone 5 which was FLAWLESS and in perfect operating condition. Within days of mailing it to Gazelle I received an e-mail telling me it was only worth $65 because of "Undisclosed wear and scratches." I took macro photographic pictures of the front, back and all sides of the phone to document the fact it was in perfect, like new condition before I mailed it. Many other posts on other sites reference this same bait and switch scam and rip off by Gazelle. Beware, if you mail a cell phone to Gazelle, don't expect to receive the money they quoted you.

Complaint Details
Dispute for the following: First of all I only received 49 items instead of 71 from three separate orders. Not only that 13 of the cell phones are not functional either they have a bad LCD or no power considering the auction description of the item which is suppose to be grade B means fully functional cell phones. When I emailed the Bstock company which is the company that manages they told me that gazelle respond back to them saying that they are out of stock of the product they had on auction so my question is howcome they had Auction for cellphones and they are not in stock Therefore I'm requesting a full refund of my money in order to solve this matter ASAP hopefully this won't take long because time is money and I did wait almost a week for this item to be shipped to me and now here you go it's not even what I was expecting please get back with me and let me know when I'm suppose to do the shipping in order to return items to gazelle company. This is really a bad experience. I really hope that you can help to solve this problem of fraudulent sellers. This is really give them neg-ative feedback because they should live up to their obligations. This is really a scam.

I originally sent my iPhone 5s to Amazon. They rejected it because it was too scratched for them. I mean there was some wear, but it worked fine. After I received it back, I decided to send to Gazelle. I sent it in, marked the condition as Fair after my Amazon experience, only to be told that the phone was broken. When I sent the phone to Gazelle, it was in fine working condition. I'm sure it got damaged either on the way, because they make you send it in flimsy packaging, or someone working there fried it. I'll never use them again.

I bought an Iphone from Gazelle for my son. The only one in black that was available was in fair condition. When we received the phone, the condition was poor, and had scratches all over the screen. When I called the company to ask if I could exchange it (two days after purchasing it), they said I would have to return it and buy a new one which was $21.00 more. They would not do an even exchange! When I said this might be the last purchase I ever do with Gazelle, the supervisor said that's great, what else can I do for you! Also, if you return a phone you have to pay a restocking fee of $15.00!

I sent my iPhone 6 to them late October. It is November 19 and I have yet to get paid for it. When I called to ask for my money, the "Customer Care" supervisor, Garrett Kirkland, was not accommodating and not the most pleasant. Me and my family have used Gazelle in the past, but this ridiculous experience will keep me and my family from using them again. I strongly advise anyone considering this company to look elsewhere to sell/buy.

Ordered a "Good" quality iPhone 5s through one of their promos but was charged the higher price. Tried to cancel the order within 10 minutes of the order but was told that it already shipped. I was told to purchase another phone (at the lower price) and that I could return the higher priced one once it arrived. Did exactly as I was told and was refunded the lower price. Their customer service processes are not geared for the client. I will never buy from Gazelle again. Stay away!

Wanted to sell my iMac 27". Went to Gazelle and used all of their drop-down menus to pick my machine. Got a great price and sent it in. Received an email after they received it saying that my machine wasn't the one I said it was, so they would give me less than half of what was originally ordered. I didn't say my machine was anything, the Gazelle menus told me what it was. Anyway, asked them to send the machine back.

Received the machine and there were noises coming from the box, they put the machine in form blocks but just threw all the peripherals into the box with no support. The iMac got scrapped on the front and the glass screen, the keyboard was damaged all because they did not care enough to package it correctly. I sent the machine in to them in the original iMac Apple box, I don't know why they couldn't of just used the same box to send it back.

I would be careful of this company, they appear to be very dishonest in their approach to purchasing and selling items. I believe that it is a company policy to give you one price, then when you item arrives, they give you a totally lower price in hope that you will just accept it and not bother to request a return. Unfortunately there is nothing we can do to take them to court, which I will do to try and recoup my losses for the damages caused by the way they shipped my machine back.