Review: Half.com "Instant Sale"

A few weeks ago, Natasha asked me to see if I could sell some of her textbooks on half.com. They had been listed for a while, but sometimes it will give you the option to sell instantly to someone who is looking for the book for a certain price. So I went in to check it out and see if there was anyone looking for those books. There wasn't, but I discovered that Half.com has started a new program called "Instant Sale" where you look up what you have and a 3rd party company will evaluate the books (or other items) and make you a tentative offer. You are then able to accept that offer, print off a pre-paid mailing label and mail the books at no cost to you. I was offered $28 for the two books and so I accepted it and mailed the books in. That was on April 3rd. The website said you could expect payment within 5 days of the item being received and approved. On April 10th, I got an e-mail saying the items had been received and when I logged in, it said that not only were they approved, but they offered me a little more than originally offered-$32 instead of the $28. (After they get the books and make the offer, you have the right to refuse it if it's lower than originally quoted and they will mail the books back to you at no cost.) So...expecting the money in a few days, I went ahead and transferred the money to Tasha on that Friday, the 13th.

On Monday the 23rd, I still hadn't got the payment, so I sent in a contact form asking about it. I was told it could take up to 22 days from the original date (which was April 3rd). My payment was finally there this morning (April 26th). I went and looked again after getting the reply and it says nothing about 22 days, it says:

Once items are received by Elovations, Elovations will evaluate the items within 48 hours. Payments for accepted items are made within 5 days from the receipt of the item.

So, anyway, my review of this service is this. Would I recommend it? Sure, it was a great program and I was glad for Tasha to be able to sell her books. Just don't expect to sell and get "paid quickly" as they are advertising on their main page. As long as you're aware of that, then I say, try it out and see if you can get some extra $'s!