I have mentioned Decluttr so many times, I figured it was now time to write a detailed, non-biased review as I do with any reviews I write here.
If you’re not familiar with the company, they will basically offer you an instant cash offer on many the items you may have already owned, such as CDs, DVDs, video games, books, tech, Legos and so much more. It’s quite a bit! If it has any value and is considered an electronic, at least check out the website to see if you can get a decent offer. And, all you need to do on your part is enter the UPC/ISBN or describe the item and they will offer you an instant quote, all of which you can either accept or reject.
According to the website, they are said to pay the most for tech and have paid over $300 million to more than six million customers. They also have what’s known as the “Tech Price Promise,” which gets you the first price or your items back for free. With all of these claims, is it really worth your time, though?
If you don’t want to deal with selling to someone on Facebook or doing so on eBay, this could be a great alternative to save your time and get cash in hand fast.
If you have any electronics you want to get rid of, let’s dive in and really see if Decluttr is worth your time.
An Honest Decluttr Review: Legit or Waste of Time?
First, Know What You Can Sell
Decluttr won’t accept all of your clutter, so to save your time, here’s what they are willing to buy off of you at the time of this publishing…
- CDs
- DVDs/Blu-Rays
- Video Games (including consoles)
- Legos (they will even buy your bricks by the pound)
- Cell Phones
- Apple Products
- Kindles
As long as your item falls into one of the categories mentioned, there’s a good chance they will want to offer you a deal!
And, if you don’t see your item on the list, they probably won’t accept it, but to be safe, you can always check the tabs on the website’s main page.
How Does it Work?
Upon arriving on the main website, Decluttr lets you search for your items and will instantly give you an instant offer for free. There’s no need to sign up nor do you have to pay anything to see your quotes. Just click on the “Start Selling” button as seen below and you can immediately start entering your items to get your quote.
Clicking on the “Start Selling” button will take you right to the search engine page, where you can start to describe your product or even click on the few of the pre-determined buttons such as “Sell iPhones,” or “Sell Samsung,” for instance. If you’re using your phone, the Decluttr app has a nice built-in barcode scanner that automatically adds the item to your shopping cart. This makes it a lot easier if you have multiple items to sell.
In my example, I’m going to act as if I’m going to sell my Samsung Galaxy S9 as well as one of my favorite video games, Grand Theft Auto V, to see what they were willing to give me.
For the Samsung Galaxy S9, I could click on the “Sell Samsung” tab as noted above in the screenshot and find my exact phone to add it to my cart. Here’s what it looked like when I was able to add it…
As you can see, Decluttr was willing to offer me $236 as long as my phone was unlocked and it was in good condition. It’s so important that you don’t lie during this process as they will reject your shipment if you do so.
As for my GTAV video game, I would have to use the “Sell CDs, DVDs, Games & Books” tab and will then enter my barcode. In doing this, it can assure you that you’re selling the identical product.
Entering that barcode from my game’s case, Decluttr said it could give $6, which I could the basket if I wanted to.
Know the Selling Rules
If you plan on selling anything to the company, they have quite the list of “selling rules,” all of which you can view here in detail. It’s very important that you read them to ensure that the company will accept your items upon arrival. You really don’t want to waste your time if you know they won’t accept it.
In short, if you plan on selling any CDs, DVDs, Blu-Rays & Games, they ask that you simply send it in its original packaging and ensure that it’s the original product, not a suspected counterfeit.
As for any phones and computers, the boxes are not necessary, but they do ask that you judge the condition fairily as this can greatly affect the price. When you sell, they will let you know. Again, I mentioned it above, but it’s important to be honest in yourself as a human will inspect your items when you ship them out before paying.
Completing Your Order
If you’re happy with the prices, completing your order is quite easy. You will just want to click on the basket in the corner, and in doing so, this will take you to a final checkout page to confirm everything.
Using the example above with both my phone and video game, I could get a total value of $242. At this time, I could also add a Decluttr coupon code, which in some cases, can actually add a bonus to your trade-in. Usually, this code is only available to first-time buyers, but you can at least search for this code to see anything is available. I do encourage you to look for one if it’s your first time using it.
After everything looks great, you will then be asked to “complete your order,” accept the “the terms and conditions” and create a free account if you haven’t done so already. Creating an account only takes a minute, most of which ask for your typical personal information and is required to get started.
Once you create an account, Decluttr will then ask you how you want to receive your payment as they offer four options: direct deposit, PayPal, check or you can donate to a charity. PayPal and direct deposit is the fastest option if you’re looking to get your cash as fast as possible, but you can choose a paper check if you so choose. Just keep in mind that it may take longer to get your money.
I personally recommend PayPal as it’s the easiest option, especially if you don’t feel comfortable adding your banking details.
Shipping Your Items
After you tell Decluttr how you want to get paid, they will then let you choose from thousands of shipping labels. It’s said to be super-convenient, and best of all, 100% free.
In clicking the next button above, the company will email you a “Welcome Pack” that will include the labels you need to print out to slap on your boxes. Print out these labels, slap it on the box and mail it out as soon as possible so that you can get paid.
How Long Does It Take to Get Paid?
According to the company, you should expect your order to arrive in seven to 10 days, but it really depends on where you live.
Once the company receives your order, they will then inspect it and if it passes quality control, your payment will be issued the very next day.
So, if you chose PayPal, you could expect a payment eight to 11~ days once you ship out your products, but if you chose the physical check option, it could take an additional 10 days for your check to arrive.
All in all, most people are going to choose the PayPal option, so I would at least expect a 10-day wait once your items ship out.
So, Is It a Good Place to Sell?
Decluttr isn’t the only place in town as there are tons of places that will buy your CDs, DVDs and even old textbooks instantly.
Taking the same two items I used in my example below, I went to the competitors and wanted to see what they offered me. I only included the competitors that would buy your phone instantly. Here’s what they were willing to pay…
- Gazelle: $252 for just the phone
- Amazon Trade-in: Up to $170
- ecoATM: up to $25 for just the phone (read more about ecoATM in my review)
- uSell: $160 for just the phone
From my research, particularly in my selling my used CDs, they were near the bottom in price ranges, but this isn’t always the case for other categories.
What I have found is that you can always get some of the best quotes if you want to sell tech/cellphone-related items. Anything else, such as books, CDs, DVDs, and games, and it appeared you were much better off using another website.
In the end, I would say it’s a great place to sell if you’re looking for an instant quote, but I would at least recommend you compare a few competitors such as the ones mentioned above to see if you’re getting the best offer.
The Pros of Selling to Decluttr
- aggressive prices for the industry
- very easy to sell
- reputable company
- free shipping
- PayPal options
- great customer service
The Cons of Selling to Decluttr
- can make much more in selling yourself
- can be hard to search for some items
- some reports of shipments being rejected (check out SiteJabber reviews)
- 290+ BBB complaints
- all items aren’t accepted
Buying on Decluttr
Lastly, I wanted to mention that not only can you sell to Decluttr, but you can buy many of the items people send in. If you’re looking for a new phone, laptop or any sort of electronic, consider checking out their store as they had a large selection with some great deals.
According to the website, all orders have free shipping as well as a 12-month limited warranty.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I think Decluttr is a great option if you want cash instantly. It’s not a scam and is operated by a very legitimate company, I promise!
I only recommend if you don’t want to sell personally on eBay, Amazon or a Facebook group, to name a few. Using my example items, I could easily make 50% more doing so on my own. This can be said with almost any item you sell here. Remember, these guys have to take your items and flip it for a profit somewhere.
If you do decide to use Decluttr, make sure you look at the competitors as well as there are a few of them. Depending on what you sell, you could find as many as 20+ companies that may want to buy your items instantly. The textbook industry, for instance, easily has 25+ options. Always research!
In the end, I like Decluttr for what it is. You won’t maximize your money, but if you want money in less than 10 days, then it’s one to highly consider!
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So glad your experience went well! Mine has been a total wreck from the date UPS confirmed delivery. It took 3-4 days for them to say they received it after that.
Then, things got worse. The items were promptly looked at and I got a revised offer the next day. I approved within minutes of getting the notification. Then began the waiting.
Now, I’m in some limbo that leaves my entire order in “you approved your offer” status in the app, which is slow and displays different info than their website.
The website indicates my items are “processing” with no other information. Of course, I gave them a chance and contacted support. Big mistake.
The first three times I attempted to use the chat feature on their website, I learned it was a useless bot until it determined you were worth”escalating”to a human. To even get to that point, I had to do an order inquiry with the bot which only offered foreign shipping options as help topics. At this point it’s just sketchy.
Then, I waited (1st in line from the moment it opened). The first three attempts ended in frustration after waiting around an hour for anyone to respond on their end. In a chat feature.
Having started this screaming into the void experience 13 days ago, I attempted to get one single living being on chat (no phone number to contact anywhere and slow to no email response). She first implies I’d never actually shipped the items and demanded my proof of shipping receipt, something I was never offered by my shipper nor told to get. Before I could draft a response I received another message demanding the serial number of the old MacBook in the order. You know, the one engraved on the device which they’ve had for at least a week now?
That experience ended when I asked how I should provide this serial number and the person interrogating me on behalf of Decluttr opted to disconnect. I’m beginning to think trusting this company was a $1,000 mistake.
tldr; company has been sketchy at best. Beginning to feel like a scam. Support not even knowing my country was one major hint. Half a month without any answers from customer service was another.
Sorry to hear about it. Mainly, they don’t offer the best rates, but if they do, I have heard mixed reviews. Thanks for sharing your experience!