Tesco is spreading its wings again. The supermarket’s latest venture is an in-store electrical recycling service. But would you want to exchange your unwanted gadgets for Tesco Clubcard points or gift cards?
What ancient gadgets have you got lying around your house? A toasted toaster? A dusty digital camera? A geriatric games console?
Together these items could be worth quite a bit of cash. Well, I say cash, Tesco would like to offer you Clubcard points and gift cards instead.
You’ll be able to swap all manner of electrical appliances in 238 of Tesco’s stores, which it will then recycle. In fact, you can take 3,000 types of products to the supermarket, but only those that you can carry – think TVs, microwaves and laptops, not dishwashers or cookers (even if you have superhuman strength).
How much will Tesco give you?
Tesco will value your items on-the-spot using its online database and give you either Clubcard points or gift cards at the “current market value” of your items. You can then exchange this for goods in-store.
I was intrigued to see how much you’d get for particular gadgets, so I asked Tesco to provide me with prices it would offer for the following items:
- For the Fuji Finepix Z3 Zoom Digital Camera you’ll get £32.24
- The Sony 22S5500 22″ LCD TV with Freeview will bag you £68.20
- And a Nintendo Wii be worth £46.09 (don’t forget that all important 9p)
So are those prices any good? They’re not too bad – a new Wii will set you back £65 on eBay, so Tesco’s pretty on the mark there. However, when it comes to the Sony TV, after a quick look on eBay I could see a used model being bought for £160. That’s some way off Tesco’s offer.
Every little helps
That’s not to say Tesco’s new service isn’t a good idea. The supermarket says it will recycle all the electricals in some way, whether it’s refurbishing them or breaking them down for parts. That’s definitely a laudable goal.
And maybe you just can’t be bothered to put your telly up for auction on eBay? Handing in my old toaster at my nearest Tesco is a darn sight easier, even if I might only get a tenner for it.
Of course, Tesco won’t reward you with cash, so if you’re not going to do your shopping there, I’d steer clear. Also, the prices above suggest you might be better off selling it elsewhere. My advice would be to check other websites first before lugging your electrical appliance to Tesco – you could make more than you thought.
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