Sell, swap, DIY, or drop off

There are plenty of other ways to turn old tech into new cash; all you need is a Web browser. Pay a nominal listing fee, and you might earn extra money by auctioning off old equipment. Just remember that eBay is a global marketplace, so include your geographic location in any listings and specify whether you're willing to ship the items overseas. Even better, posting items on Craigslist is a free and easy way to find people willing to pay for old components. If your trash doesn't fetch any cash, you can almost always find someone on Craigslist who will trade. Because the service is local, you typically don't have to deal with shipping. Electronics Recycling hosts an active marketplace for all manner of digital castoffs.

If you don't have luck unloading your components for dollars, check out DIYparts.org, which helps geeks from all over the world trade computer parts, from audio parts to peripherals. And Freecycle directs you to thousands of regional mailing lists for people looking to score or get rid of all kinds of trash and treasures. Subscribe to the list for your area, then post a message offering up, say, your defunct handheld. Within hours, you're likely to receive messages from people willing to take that PalmPilot 1000 off your hands for free, no matter that it's more than a decade old. You'll need to make arrangements to get the items to their new home, but recipient pickup is customary, which saves the trouble of shipping or delivery.

If you're a creative thinker with sentimental attachments to your vintage tech, you might find ways to incorporate those old gizmos into art projects or furniture. Check out DIY magazines such as Make and ReadyMade for tips.