iGotOffer Review – Why Is This The Darling Of The Buyback World?

About iGotOffer.com

Founded by Lana Ustinova back in 2010, iGotOffer is a New York City (well, Staten Island)-based buyback company dealing in all sorts of used devices. They get pretty good reviews across the board – an A at the Better Business Bureau, 4 out of 5 on yellowpages.com, 9 out of 10 on resellerratings.com, they even have a 2.9 out of 5 on pissedconsumer.com, where you’d think all ratings would be low – and, according to a press release, they were featured in Inc. magazine in 2017 for their rapid growth.

So, if the internet is to be believed, iGotOffer should be an excellent choice for selling a wide variety of your out-of-use electronics. Let’s take a look.

About the iGotOffer Buyback Program

What Devices Do They Buy?

Boy oh boy, do they ever buy back a range of items! Here’s the full list:

This is with the “more” clicked to show the extended list. That said, in terms of phones, they’re only open to Samsung, Apple, and Google products, and in terms of models, they don’t go all the way back. But most sites that do give offers on very early iPhone models (or similar) will only offer $1 and/or a place for you to recycle them anyway.

The iGotOffer Quoting Process

The quoting process is very easy – I’d say even better than the standard for level of detail offered and for the user experience once you’re into the quoting section of the site.

And the quoting process is the same for all devices, which is an added plus.

Shipping Options

iGotOffer will send you a free prepaid shipping label to send your devices. It’s up to you to pack them properly, so make sure you do. They clearly outline that anything deemed improperly packed will not be covered by their otherwise handy shipping insurance. From their site:

But the upside is, after this, they define what that means and how to best pack your items. Many sites leave this more nebulous, so at least you know what’s expected of you.

Payout Options

iGO offers payments by check, PayPal, and Amazon gift card. In their words:

They also outline their payment timeline on the site: up to 2 days to inspect and wipe devices, 1-2 days to process payment. If you choose PayPal, that offers a fairly quick turnaround. They’ll also overnight a check to you, but it’ll cost you $45 out of your payout, so that’s probably not going to be the best option except in very specific cases.

Customer Service

iGotOffer offers a fairly robust set of options for contacting them. They have an email address and phone number posted prominently on the site, a search function and FAQ page, and a Testimonials section that seems to function like a community board – people can post freely and the site responds. They also seem to be responsive on BBB.

Overall, it seems like whether or not you like their answer, they will respond to inquiries and complaints. Lana, the business owner, seems to do a lot of the responding (or they use her face and name) and she’s pretty hardline about not giving in to demands, so make sure you document everything, pack everything properly, and triple check that you’ve entered the correct information about your device and for contacting you, etc.

Additional Benefits & Features

Their third-party shipping insurance is a nice plus and they do seem to make an effort to turn payouts around quickly. They’re a frank and honest company with their policies clearly outlined.

Beyond that, they don’t do much to incentivize choosing them, but there’s nothing wrong with simply doing business.

How Do The Payouts Compare?

Their iPhone payouts are about on the average – not going to blow your socks off but certainly competitive. For other devices, they’re all over the map. A tablet we check was significantly below standard while one model of Apple Watch was almost twice what was being offered elsewhere. It’d be worth checking your device on a few different sites to see how it compares before making any final decisions since there doesn’t seem to be much of a pattern in their pricing. For Apple products, check Buyback Boss, TradeMore and SellShark. For other devices, check Decluttr.

One More Thought

It’s an interesting business. The only other notes I’d make are that shipping really does seem to be a sticking point for them, they’re a licensed New York business, and they’re very active on social media. For better or for worse, this feels like a real business run by a real lady once you dive into it, contrasted with some of the sites which can feel huge and impersonal.

Final Verdict on iGotOffer

iGotOffer certainly has raked in some positive reviews. They seem like a very good site for selling your used iPhone and an OK site for selling other smart devices. Their customer service isn’t going to coddle you, but they’re open and frank about their policies and don’t seem to have much of a reputation for unfair requoting. They offer relatively quick payouts and a prepaid shipping label but will expect you to gather proper packing materials and use them correctly in the shipping process. Overall, while nothing’s perfect, this site is certainly worth a look!