Treasure Valley Electronics Store Options for Old TVs in Boise

A Treasure Valley electronics store can take some old gear off your hands, but big tube TVs, dead monitors and boxes of mixed electronic equipment usually need a recycler, a county drop-off or a hauling crew instead. Which route fits depends on how many items you have, how heavy they are and how much of a Saturday you want to give up. None of it can go in your curbside cart.

A lot of Boise basements have that one far corner where old TVs and electronics have been piling up for years. Tube sets stacked like furniture, maybe one with a VCR still sitting on top.

The trouble is that the rules are different than they are for a broken chair or a bag of clothes, and nobody tells you until you've already carried a heavy console TV up the stairs.

Can a Treasure Valley electronics store take your old TV?

Sometimes. Not every big-box store Boise shoppers visit takes TVs, and the ones that do usually set size limits and charge a per-set fee.

Store hours and drop-off rules change, so call the customer service desk before you load the car. Most consumer electronics drop-off programs are built for small things like phones, cords and printers, not a heavy console set.

Quick tip: If you're about to buy a new TV, ask whether the retailer will offer haul-away of the old one at delivery. Some do, and it's worth asking during a big holiday sale too, since it can save you a separate trip.

Why can't old TVs go out with the trash?

Electronics have things in them that landfills would rather not bury. Older tube and rear-projection sets use leaded glass. Many older flat screens have mercury in the backlights.

Even the latest flat screens have circuit boards inside and batteries in the remote that don't belong in a landfill.

Laptop and tablet batteries are their own headache. Get one compacted in the back of a truck and it can catch fire. The same goes for old gaming controllers, handheld gaming systems and anything else with a built-in rechargeable battery.

So curbside service in Boise, Meridian, and Nampa isn't set up to take any of it. Neither are most bulky-item pickups.

Good to know: Don't open the back of an old tube TV to strip parts. The picture tube can hold a charge long after it's unplugged, and the glass is heavy and easy to crack.

Where can old TVs actually go?

Here's how the main Boise electronics drop-off options stack up:

What you pay at most places depends on the size and type of set. The big rear-projection monsters tend to cost more, because breaking one down is a genuine chore.

Donation trips people up too. Donation centers like Idaho Youth Ranch and local thrift stores may take a working flat screen from the last few years.

Most won't take an old tube TV, because they can't put it up for sale or get rid of it either. That's exactly the problem you're trying to hand off.

Heads up: Don't set a TV or a monitor outside "just for a day." Rain gets into the back of the cabinet, and some recyclers may refuse a water-damaged unit once they spot the corrosion. If it's going out, it goes out the morning of the pickup, not the weekend before.

Which is the best store to buy electronics, and will it take your old one?

For most people, the best place to buy is the one that makes getting rid of the old set easy too. A good buying experience includes a clear answer about what happens to the TV you're replacing.

Before you compare prices on the latest models, ask a few plain questions:

• Will they take the old TV when the new one is delivered, or only if you bring it in?
• Do they take tube sets, or only flat screens?
• Is there a trade-in program for newer phones, tablets or laptops?
• Do trade-ins pay out as credit or a gift card?

Trade-in programs mostly want the latest phones, tablets and laptops in working shape. An old DVD player or a cracked monitor won't get you anything back.

The same goes online. The cheapest website to buy electronics from may not offer any way to take the old one away.

Holiday shopping season is when a lot of old sets get replaced. If you just got a new TV as a gift, picked one up on sale or grabbed an open-box deal, line up where the old one is going before the new box comes through the door.

Wipe your data before anything leaves the house

This is the step people skip, and it's the one that actually matters. A legitimate recycler should wipe or destroy the drive. You just don't want to find out later that the "recycler" you handed it to resold your old desktop instead.

Take a few minutes and handle it yourself. Sign out of your accounts, factory reset the device, and pull the drive if you'd rather keep it in a drawer. The reset option is usually in the settings menu.

Worth checking before anything goes:

• Smart TVs, which are still signed into your streaming accounts
• Smart speakers and video doorbells tied to your phone
• Old phones and tablets living in junk drawers
• Printers with scan-to-email set up
• External drives buried in a box of cables

Routers and modems are a separate thing. If you rented one from your internet provider and never sent it back, don't recycle it. They may bill you for it.

When it's worth calling a truck instead of shopping around

One TV isn't worth calling a truck for. If that's all you've got and you don't mind the drive, run it to a drop-off yourself and keep your money.

Where we make sense is when the electronics are part of something bigger. A basement full of boxes with two old sets buried in it. A small business office cleanout with a dozen monitors and a crate of cables. A parent's house where somehow every closet has a printer in it.

On a household junk removal job, the electronic equipment goes in the truck with the rest of the load, and much of what we haul is donated or recycled. That's part of what you're already paying by volume. No surprise line item for the TV.

What a load costs comes down to how much truck space it takes up. Weight and access still matter for planning the job, and stairs matter more than people expect. A heavy projection TV coming up from a finished basement is a two-person job all by itself.

A few things make truck day go smoother:

• Group all the electronic equipment in one spot, near the door if you can.
• Put cords and remotes in one box instead of leaving them tangled behind furniture.
• Mention stairs, tight turns and any oversized sets when you ask for an estimate.

Small pile and a free afternoon? Drive it yourself. Heavy sets, a basement full of boxes, or a whole house of dead tech? That's when Top Shelf Junk Removal and Demolition is worth the call.

Give us a ring at (208) 593-2877 and tell us what you're looking at. If it's something you can knock out on your own, we'll say so. If it's not, we'll give you a free estimate and get you on the schedule.

Frequently asked questions

Do Boise electronics recyclers charge to take old TVs?

Many drop-offs that take TVs charge a fee per set, and it depends on size and type. Tube and rear-projection sets often cost more than flat screens because they're heavier and harder to break down.

Should I call customer service before I drive over?

Yes. Drop-off rules, fees and hours change, and some places only take certain kinds of electronic equipment. A quick call beats a wasted trip and a bad experience at the counter.

Where's the cheapest place to buy electronics or get rid of them in Boise?

For people in Boise and the rest of Ada County with a small load, the county drop-off is often a low-cost way to get rid of them; check current fees first. For buying, prices shift all year, so shop around and ask about haul-away before you pay.

Is old gear worth any money?

Related reading: Junk Removal Boise Prices: What Your Quote Actually Includes and Junk Removal in Boise: Old Lawn Mowers, Grills and Yard Tools.

Most old electronics worth anything are newer, working devices like recent phones, laptops and tablets. Tube TVs, VCRs and dead printers have little or no value, which is why they cost money to retire.