FINAL DAY - Best Buy B&M: Get a $5 GC for every "small device" you trade-in/recycle, regardless of condition

Quote from Smartkid : I can't believe I haven't noticed this thread earlier. I've browsed through the thread a bit and from what I understand, you can only bring in 3 products per day and they need to be deemed as $0 value and also appear in their online list to be accepted? I have some old cellphones. What other creative ideas have people come up with for these trade ins? And how has the experience in the NYC stores been?

It seems to depend on the Best Buy and the employee handling the transaction. Some people get items turned down and are limited to 3. I brought in 10 items first time, 7 cell phones, 2 .3mp vivitar digicams, and 1 old OLD handheld game system, it was no name brand and didnt work. They employee didnt check to see if anything worked. He scanned the ESN #s from under battery cover of all the cell phones and just said he entered other items in a close category. This was in SW FL, like I said YMMV per store/employee. I was expecting to get 9 items done, 3 me, 3 wife, 3 daughter but guy said just put em all up here no use splitting it up. I have around 14 more items mostly cell phones I want to bring in possibly tonight or next couple days. Hope it goes as easy as first time. People getting banned from this promotion seem to have REALLY took advantage I think one person turned in like 200 items! Hey If I had that many I would keep doing it until I got stopped too. Best of luck to you!

BTW most my items werent on the online list. They still took them as $0 value and gave $5 credit. Take the instructions from the OP and printout of screen saying it ends feb 2nd. to be safe. Even at 3 a day if you get a difficult store/employee you and some friends/gf/wife etc. can still pull in decent gift cards. =)
-Mike

I'm a little reluctant to trade in my old cellphones to BB for $5 GCs, because I'd rather hold on to them when the Microsoft stores hand out $25 GCs for old cells.

Quote from freefun4every1 : Interesting. Feb 2, 2013. I haven't traded in my old phones yet, and wonder if I should make the trip today or not.

I talked to a GM at another store. He told me that the promotion ended January 19th. So, I told him that it was extended until February 2nd. He told me that corporate called him today and showed me the flyer that it was finished on the 19th. So, I showed him the printed web ad showing that it says February 2nd. He just shrugged and told me, well I follow orders from Corporate.

There you go----Heil Hitler!

Successfully traded in a HD2 with cracked screen, non working blackberry curve and non working Dell Axim x51

I traded in 3 old digital camera today, an old Olympus from 1999, (my first digital camera, with 1.6 megapixels!), and two Canon powershots, both of which gave me the famous E-18 error message, (now with it's own site! )

The Canons were only a few years old, and cost around $200 apiece. That really chapped my hide when they went bad. Of course it could be operator error. (dropping! )

I even had the boxes & manuels for the Canons, and the geek squader tried but I couldn't get my any more than the stated $5.

Quote from jimmy5 : I traded in 3 old digital camera today, an old Olympus from 1999, (my first digital camera, with 1.6 megapixels!), and two Canon powershots, both of which gave me the famous E-18 error message, (now with it's own site! ) The Canons were only a few years old, and cost around $200 apiece. That really chapped my hide when they went bad. Of course it could be operator error. (dropping! ) I even had the boxes & manuels for the Canons, and the geek squader tried but I couldn't get my any more than the stated $5.

I would have gave you a few bucks more for those canons

And if anyone wants to do this and they give you "it's ended", you can have them check Bestbuy.com -> services -> Trade-In Program, and on the bottom of the page, click on the small electronics program. Has Feb 2 date on it. Did 3. Took maybe 8 minutes.

Looks like its finally dead for real. I had 9 more items I wanted to get in too, but didn't make it to the store today. Was hoping on another extension. Last time I went wasn't as easy as the first time. The customer service girl wouldn't take a dead gameboy advance, knock off ipod, and dead digicam. She did let me trade in 6 old phones tho so I didn't push it.

Quote from pubenemy : Looks like its finally dead for real. I had 9 more items I wanted to get in too, but didn't make it to the store today. Was hoping on another extension. Last time I went wasn't as easy as the first time. The customer service girl wouldn't take a dead gameboy advance, knock off ipod, and dead digicam. She did let me trade in 6 old phones tho so I didn't push it.

Bummer. I thought I had more stuff for a 2nd round yesterday, and finally I found an old digital camera that was left outside near our house, (and we posted online that we found it, no takers), an old MP3 player, and my 2nd-to-last cell phone. (I left it in my rainsuit pocket where it rained at an event for hours! My rainsuit pocket had an inch of water in it surrounding my phone! )

Best Buy accepted the camera and cell phone, but gave me the Heisman on the MP3 player. I showed them the printed page and pointed to the words MP3s, but they said they don't take everything. The geek squader said "Under MP3 players, it lists Ipods and that's all." So he couldn't take it.

Did anybody else turn in an MP3 player and get your $5 worth? Thanks. I might send a strongly-worded email to Best Buy if so.

Quote from jimmy5 : Bummer. I thought I had more stuff for a 2nd round yesterday, and finally I found an old digital camera that was left outside near our house, (and we posted online that we found it, no takers), an old MP3 player, and my 2nd-to-last cell phone. (I left it in my rainsuit pocket where it rained at an event for hours! My rainsuit pocket had an inch of water in it surrounding my phone! ) Best Buy accepted the camera and cell phone, but gave me the Heisman on the MP3 player. I showed them the printed page and pointed to the words MP3s, but they said they don't take everything. The geek squader said "Under MP3 players, it lists Ipods and that's all." So he couldn't take it. Did anybody else turn in an MP3 player and get your $5 worth? Thanks. I might send a strongly-worded email to Best Buy if so.

Yes people have definately yurned in other mp3 players. It was just a BB employee on a power trip or clueless. Hard to find them gems at BB... lol First guy that took some of my tradeins took an old gaming system probably 15 years old with a 2 line monochrome screen for words that I have no idea even worked anymore. So basically any small electronics they could take. especially if they knew how to put them in the system. He said he'd just put it under any category if he didn't know what it was... Good Luck.
-Mike