Pre-Sell Your Gadgets Before You Tire of Them

Put options on your gadgets:

You'll never have to "accidentally" drop your gross 2-year-old MP3 player again, thanks to a new gadget recycling/resale service where you decide up front how long it will be before you consider your new marvel an archaic embarrassment. TechForward works rather like the options market: You pay a small fee up front when you buy a new gadget. In return, you get the right to sell it back to them for a pre-determined price at a set time. With an 80GB iPod, for example, you pay $9 up front to be able to resell it for $50 in a year, $40 in two years and $20 in three years.

They're currently taking contracts on iPods, name-brand laptops and desktop PCs, GPS units, flat-screen TVs and more. All in all, the return on investment seems sub-eBay, but if you're really into long-term planning, the sureness might be worth the penalty.

Companies Launch Gadget Buyback Services [AP]

(HT Tyler Cowen)