Meet Kenneth Liao of Trade In Happy

Our interview below is with Kenneth Liao, founder of Trade In Happy, a company which allows you to sell your iPhone or other smartphone for cash. The company prides itself on its reputation as a reputable buyer for used phones, offering top dollar for trade ins.

Kenneth provided the following description of the company: "We, at Trade In Happy Inc., are devoted to providing innovative solutions for electronics recycling and to make our world greener and cleaner. We believe that by making recycling easier and more rewarding for everyone we can involve more people and get more used electronics recycled. We look forward to your participation in making our dreams come true."

1. Why did you decide to start a business to allow people to sell their used phones?

Recycling used phones and other electronics is going to help our environment by saving those old electronics from going to the landfill, and also reduce the demands to manufacture more new devices that will cause pollution for our environment. Recycling some of the high end smart phones can also be financially rewarding. Under the currently depressed job market, an extra $100-$300 cash is a nice supplementary income for everybody.

2. You are based in Ohio and have walk-in service there, but is most of your service via mail-in?

Yes, it is more convenient to just mail it in. The customer can save time and gasoline, and we will give them a free INSURED shipping label. All they need to do is go to our website: www.tradeinhappy.com, follow the on-screen instructions to choose their device and preferred payment method (check or PayPal), we will generate a free INSURED shipping label with their order. After they mail it in through FedEx, we will inspect the device and send out the payment. Instead of coming to our office and spending an hour or so on the road, a lot of our local customers would even like to mail their devices to us.

3. What happens to the phones that are recycled through Trade In Happy?

We believe reselling them to somebody that can use them is the best way to recycle old electronics because it will not only extend the life of the existing devices but also reduce the demands for manufacturing new devices that will consume more resources and energy and cause more environmental pollution.

4. What happens to phones that aren't recycled, and what are the environmental costs of not recycling phones?

A lot of them are dumped into landfills and even shipped overseas to other countries where they are scrapped into components and metals. Most of these devices contain contaminants such as lead, cadmium, beryllium, or brominated flame retardants. Even in developed countries, recycling and disposal of e-waste may involve significant risk to workers and communities, and great care must be taken to avoid unsafe exposure in recycling operations and leaching of material such as heavy metals from landfills and incinerator ashes.

5. Could you share an example or two of the feedback you've been receiving from your customers?

Sure. Here are two recent examples of feedback we received.

Tom from Miami, FL said: "TradeInHappy had the highest payout for my iPhone 5. Shipping and customer service was excellent. I would rate them A+."

Ellen from Philadelphia, PA also wrote us this: "You (TradeInHappy) are hands down the best trade experience I could have ever imagined. You have a customer for life."

Thanks, Kenneth!