Pre-Acquisition Auction For Recycled Electronic Devices

1 . A kiosk-implemented method for recycling a mobile electronic device, the method comprising:

soliciting bids to purchase used units of a model of mobile electronic device;

receiving the solicited bids from a plurality of bidders;

setting a purchase price to pay for used units of the model based on the received bids;

receiving, at a kiosk, a used mobile electronic device from a user of the kiosk;

identifying, at the kiosk, that the used mobile electronic device matches the model;

automatically verifying, at the kiosk, the integrity of the used mobile electronic device;

in response to identifying that the used mobile electronic device matches the model and verifying the integrity of the used mobile electronic device, offering the user, at the kiosk, the purchase price in exchange for the used mobile electronic device;

dispensing, at the kiosk, the purchase price to the user; and

retaining the used mobile electronic device at the kiosk.

2 . The method according to claim 1 , further comprising automatically binning the used mobile electronic device at the kiosk.

3 . The method according to claim 1 , further comprising instructing the user to erase data stored on the used mobile electronic device before retaining the used mobile electronic device.

4 . (canceled)

5 . A method for purchasing an electronic device at a kiosk, the method comprising:

establishing a plurality of pre-acquisition purchase prices, each of the plurality of pre-acquisition purchase prices corresponding to a used unit of a particular model of electronic device of a particular condition grade, each of the pre-acquisition purchase prices established by a winning bid from a bidder among a plurality of bidders for a used unit of the particular model at the particular condition grade;

receiving, from a consumer, an electronic device in an inspection area of a kiosk, the kiosk having a camera operably associated with the inspection area;

generating, using a camera, an image of the received electronic device while the received electronic device is within the inspection area;

identifying a model of the received electronic device based on the image;

automatically determining a condition grade of the received electronic device based on the image;

selecting a matching one of the pre-acquisition purchase prices from the plurality of pre-acquisition purchase prices based on the identified model and the determined condition grade;

offering the consumer the selected pre-acquisition purchase price in exchange for the received electronic device in response to identifying the model of the received electronic device and determining the condition grade of the received electronic device, wherein the offered pre-acquisition purchase price is set before the electronic device is received at the kiosk;

dispensing, at the kiosk, the pre-acquisition purchase price to the consumer; and

retaining the received electronic device at the kiosk.

6 . The method according to claim 5 , further comprising automatically binning the received electronic device at the kiosk.

7 . The method according to claim 5 , further comprising comparing information derived from a barcode sticker of the received electronic device to information derived from an about page displayed on the received electronic device.

8 . The method according to claim 5 , further comprising analyzing a text content of an about page displayed on the received electronic device and comparing the text content to that of another about page.

9 - 20 . (canceled)

21 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein dispensing the purchase price includes dispensing the purchase price as cash.

22 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein receiving the solicited bids from a plurality of bidders includes receiving online bids from a plurality of pre-qualified online bidders.

23 . The method according to claim 1 , further comprising shipping the used mobile electronic device to a winning bidder among the plurality of bidders.

24 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein identifying that the used mobile electronic device matches the model includes:

identifying that the used mobile electronic device matches one of a subset of models of mobile electronic devices based on a dimension of the used mobile electronic device; and

identifying that the used mobile electronic device matches a particular model within the subset based on a secondary feature of the used mobile electronic device.

25 . The method according to claim 1 , further comprising determining, at the kiosk, an ownership status of the used mobile electronic device.

26 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein:

the kiosk includes an electrical connector; and

automatically verifying the integrity of the used mobile electronic device includes obtaining information from the used mobile electronic device via the electrical connector.

27 . The method according to claim 1 , further comprising comparing information derived from a barcode sticker of the used mobile electronic device to information derived from an about page displayed on the used mobile electronic device.

28 . The method according to claim 5 , wherein dispensing the pre-acquisition purchase price includes dispensing the pre-acquisition purchase price as cash.

29 . The method according to claim 5 , wherein each of the pre-acquisition purchase prices is established by a winning bid from a pre-qualified online bidder among a plurality of pre-qualified online bidders.

30 . The method according to claim 5 , further comprising shipping the received electronic device to a winning bidder among the plurality of bidders.

31 . The method according to claim 5 , wherein identifying the model of the received electronic device includes:

identifying that the received electronic device matches one of a subset of models of electronic devices based on a dimension of the received electronic device; and

identifying that the received electronic device matches a particular model within the subset based on a secondary feature of the received electronic device.

32 . The method according to claim 5 , further comprising determining, at the kiosk, an ownership status of the received electronic device.

33 . The method according to claim 5 , wherein:

the kiosk includes an electrical connector; and

automatically determining the condition grade of the received electronic device includes obtaining information from the received electronic device via the electrical connector.