Glyde

What: Sell your smart phone, tablet, video games or other electronics

Commissions & fees: 15% of the sales price, plus $1 to $6 for a shipping kit

Husl$core: $$$$$

Review: Glyde is a marketplace where consumers who have phones/electronics/games can talk to consumers who want phones/electronics/games and sell directly. The site charges 15% of the sales price, plus a fee for shipping. That means that if you’re selling a small, inexpensive item — say, $50 or less — the fees are likely to be modest. However, if you are selling an expensive item, you are likely to pay considerably more by selling through Glyde’s commission-based system than via competitor Swappa’s $10 flat fee. Moreover, misunderstandings about the condition of products sold on Glyde are a frequent complaint. Why? When you sign up to sell a product, Glyde has you answer a series of questions — some of which are yes/no. When asked if a consumer can “describe my item’s condition in more detail” the site’s FAQs say: “No need. Our condition descriptions and questions simplify the listing process and accurately determine the price of your item.”

Not so, according to Glyde customers, who frequently end up unhappy. Several complaints involve buyers, who didn’t fully understand the condition of the product, and sellers, who felt they were not given the ability to adequately explain the condition of the product they were selling, and thus, had to deal with a return. Glyde gives buyers 72 hours to return your product, and sometimes allows returns after that window closes.

While selling direct to consumers is likely to generate a better price for your valuable electronics than selling to a reseller, such as Gazelle, the fees charged at this site as well as shortcomings in the site’s verification and description of the condition and particulars of your electronics, make Glyde a distant second choice. We’d recommend selling at Swappa if you want to sell directly, or at TheWhizCells, Gazelle or ItsWorthMore, if you just want to unload your electronics without going through the hassle of a direct sale.

What their users say: From Reseller Ratings:

“This is a simple coin toss. I posit this opinion based upon my personal experience together with the reviews of others posted online. Here’s the deal: Glyde places buyers in contact with, and completely at the mercy of the seller–a nameless, faceless someone with whom you will never interact. If you, the buyer, are connected to an honest seller, you’ll find a smooth honest transaction. But, if you draw a short straw, you can really find yourself in a pickle. In my case, I ordered a Samsung Galaxy S4, Verizon compliant phone 10 days ago. I paid an additional $10 for two-day shipping. As it was late Thursday, Aug 3rd, I found the alert of a Monday delivery acceptable, aloting two working days. However, Monday came and went, as did Tuesday–no phone. I verified my order on Glyde’s website and found the delivery had changed “Monday delivery” to “Early in the week.” I then contacted Glyde via email alerting of concern. They responded that, if I don’t recieve the phone by the weekend, the transaction will be cancelled. Late Wednesday I recieved an email from Glyde alerting the phone had shipped. I finally received the phone on Friday, August 11, a full eight days after my order was placed. Upon inserting the battery, I connected the phone and it’s accompanying charger to a wall outlet. After two hours, the charge had reduced from an initial 19% charge to 17%. I then took the phone to Verizon who could give no advice concerning the battery but, subsequent 40 minutes’ wait, several phone calls, and two escalations they were able to side-step hitherto unheard-of errors and configure for Verizon usage. I returned home and with a little trial and error determined the battery charger was bad. By this time I was feeling like I’d indeed dodged at least two or possibly three bullets. So we overly utilized the phone for the next 60 hours (decision must be made within 72 hours) in order to determine whether or not to keep it. We have kept the phone and it appears to be working adequately. Albeit, Glyde is making no effort to refund the $10 charge I had paid for two-day shipping and, frankly, after the thought of what might potentially have tranaspired, I am eating the expedite charge. Just know this: the folk at Glyde are simply posting products for sellers. The seller’s integrity is primary and appears to be hit or miss at best. And Glyde as a business is not terribly helpful but seem to opporate with perhaps a modicum of integrity–possibly only as much as mandated by legalities or perhaps they try to be kind of nice. Bottom line: buy at your own risk as it is indeed a gamble. If any doubt of this warning, simply read the reviews. “

“i have not received my money and i had already posted two other things to sale so when i saw that my money was not coming in from my first item I canceled my others and now my account is on hold and I still don’t have my money”

“Buyer got my phone and in one day send it back to me, described it as my phone is not in excellent condition coz it has little burn-in on the bottom which u can see only in black screen, glyde didn’t offer extra space to describe such thing. And I were selling my phone for 100$, it’s unlocked and everything is working. So I waste my time on that website, waiting my phone back since 11th May”

“I used to give my old phones away, but I sold my old Samsung that has been sitting on my shelf for over a year through Glyde. Listed it, determined the price was about right, sold in a few days. Buyer checked it out, approved it, money deposited and now withdrawn. THIS is the beauty of the internet. Glyde gets a commission, buyer gets a phone and I get a nice dinner out. Everyone wins.”

“I Sold 2 phones through them. One the customer did not want, so they returned it which was fine but they did not send my charger back and they have yet to resolve the issue and it has been weeks. Many unanswered emails, and the ones they did respond to were vague such as “Let us check with our partner and we will get back to you”. It is UNBELIEVABLE they would treat a client like this. The second phone I sold went smoothly and money was deposited in my account. Later (past they’re so called 72 hour period) the money was retracted from my account. They’re response was the buyer later said they had issues with the sound quality of the phone. Keep in mind this was after the sale was finalized. They simply replied “sometimes a buyer later decides they have issues with the phone”. Blatant disregard of they’re own policy. I finally received this phone back and the sound quality is fine, but there is a NEW crack in the screen! So I could only be lead to believe the buyer broke the screen and wanted to return it after the sale was finalized and they let this happen. They have yet to respond to emails, or resolve any of these issues. I have never dealt with a company that behaves this way. I will update this review with future happenings. BUYER/SELLER BEWARE!”