A new subscription service allows potential gadget owners to test out new devices like Apple’s new iPad tablet before committing to a purchase. YBUY, which bills itself as a try-before-you-buy online subscription service, charges users a flat monthly fee of $24.95 for access to a wide range of consumer electronics as well as home and kitchen gadgets. Users can choose one device at a time from YBUY’s catalog and trial the gadget for up to 30 days before returning it. Beginning in April, the company’s inventory will also include Apple’s new iPad. ”For most consumers, when it comes to electronics or products for the home, the idea is that they want to test the product out first,” YBUY CEO Stephen Svajian said. ”We can actually bring the showroom straight to your living room. Our unique alternative, that comes to you brand new or completely sanitized, allows consumers to test it out for 30 days in the comfort of your own home. This can really help you get to know the item you would like to invest in, before fully committing to make the purchase. There’s no other experience like it out there on the market.” YBUY’s press release follows below.

YBUY, New Try-Before-You-Buy Online Subscription Service, To Offer Apple’s New iPad, Starting April 1

Unique Service Allows Consumers To Touch, Feel And Experience Latest In Electronics, Home And Kitchen Gadgets For 30-Day Trial Period Before Committing To Buy

MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif., March 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ –  Have you been thinking about purchasing Apple’s new iPad, but not quite sure you are ready to make the investment? Wouldn’t it be nice if you had a little extra time, in the comfort of your own home, to test drive the new state-of-the-art mobile device before fully committing to buy it?

YBUY, the new try-before-you-buy online subscription service, announced today that it will be carrying Apple’s third generation iPad, starting today at www.ybuy.com. Orders placed today will be shipped to customers before April 1, 2012. YBUY, which officially launched in January, gives consumers a chance to test drive the latest in electronics, home and kitchen gadgets for 30 days before they commit to purchase.

For $24.95 a month, YBUY members can try out products ranging from iPads and high-end Bose headsets to Breville coffee makers, Rabbit Air purifiers, or the Sous Vide water oven for 30 days. After the trial period ends, YBUYERs have the opportunity to keep the item and have the trial fee applied toward the YBUY product purchase price. Or, the customer can easily send the product back to YBUY and select another item from the curated list of top-of-the-line products. On most products, YBUY will send a mid-month offer to the customer to buy the product at a significant discount, sometimes up to 25 percent off the retail price. Shipping is free both ways.

“For most consumers, when it comes to electronics or products for the home, the idea is that they want to test the product out first,” said YBUY CEO Stephen Svajian. “Typically, you’ll wait in line for hours. Then, when you finally get into the store, there’s someone right behind you breathing down your neck, pressuring you, and maybe even dripping sweat on you. And at the end of the day, you may only get five or ten minutes with a device that hundreds of other people have had their mitts on. I don’t know about you, but I’ve never seen someone wipe down an iPad after they use it. This can make for a pretty gross and stressful shopping experience.”

With YBUY, Svajian said, there’s no reason for brick and mortar showrooms to exist. “We can actually bring the showroom straight to your living room,” he said. “Our unique alternative, that comes to you brand new or completely sanitized, allows consumers to test it out for 30 days in the comfort of your own home. This can really help you get to know the item you would like to invest in, before fully committing to make the purchase. There’s no other experience like it out there on the market.”

YBUY offers both new and factory refurbished products certified by the manufacturer. All returned products are sanitized and refurbished before being sent to another customer.

According to Svajian, YBUYs quantities of Apple’s new iPad will be limited, beginning April 1. He encouraged customers to sign up as soon as possible so they can add their name to the waiting list. For more information, or to start your 30-day in-home trial of the latest electronics and home gadgets, visit www.ybuy.com.

Brick and mortar shopaholics have so few places to turn for an adrenaline rush these days thanks to the advent of online shopping, but Black Friday always promises to be a battle that tests even the most seasoned shopper’s will. Anxious consumers line up early outside their retailers of choice and prepare to push, shove, crawl and even trample their way to some of the deepest discounts of the year. It’s no holds barred and things are bound to get dirty, but those who plan to work off their Thanksgiving feasts by throwing elbows and sprinting from store to store had better get their game faces on and go in prepared. Following the break, we lay out all the top tech retailers in the country and link you to the tools you need to map out your plan of attack. Good luck, be safe, and Godspeed.

Best Buy Black Friday 2011 sale details

Doors open: 12:00 AM

BJ’s Wholesale Club Black Friday 2011 sale detail

Doors open: 7:00 AM

Costco Black Friday 2011 sale details

Doors open: 9:00 AM

GameStop Black Friday 2011 sale detail

Doors open: 12:00 AM

Kmart Black Friday 2011 sale detail

Doors open: 5:00 AM

RadioShack Black Friday 2011 sale details

Doors Open: 5:30 AM

Sam’s Club Black Friday 2011 sale details

Doors open: 5:00 AM

Staples Black Friday 2011 sale details

Doors open: 6:00 AM

Target Black Friday 2011 sale details

Doors open: 12:00 AM

Walmart Black Friday 2011 sale details

Doors open: 12:00 AM

Bonus

For those who would rather not fight through angry mobs of sale-hungry consumers, feel free to enjoy Amazon’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals from the comfort of your desk or couch.

Amazon Black Friday 2011 sale details

AmazonWireless Black Friday 2011 sale details

Doors open: Always

You’re still stuffed from a supersized feast the day before but you manage to pry yourself out of bed hours ahead of sunrise. A quick shower does little to wash off the shame brought on by having ingested five slices of pumpkin pie, but at least it helps to wake you up. As you exit your home and click the unlock button on your car’s key fob, your mind strays as you think of a hundred different reasons to go back inside and get back in bed. But you can’t. Your local retailers are calling to you from afar. The urge to save is too strong.  There is no turning back… It’s Black Friday.

If you plan on going to war this Friday, you had better be armed — and that’s where your pals at BGR come in. In our Black Friday 2010 guide, we lay out your 10 best local deal wielders and give you links to all the ammo you need. This way, instead of flying blind, you can put together a strategy and score all the gadgets you can carry at the deepest discounts of the year. Good luck, be safe, and Godspeed.

BEST BUY Black Friday 2010 sale details

Doors open: 5:00 AM

BJ’s WHOLESALE CLUB Black Friday 2010 sale details

Doors open: 7:00 AM

COSTCO Black Friday 2010 sale details

Doors open: 9:00 AM

GAMESTOP Black Friday 2010 sale details

Doors open: 5:00 AM

KMART Black Friday 2010 sale details

Doors open: 5:00 AM

RADIOSHACK Black Friday 2010 sale details

Doors Open: 5:30 AM

SAM’S CLUB Black Friday 2010 sale details

Doors open: 5:00 AM

STAPLES Black Friday 2010 sale details

Doors open: 6:00 AM

TARGET Black Friday 2010 sale details

Doors open: 4:00 AM

WALMART Black Friday 2010 sale details

Doors open: 5:00 AM

Bonus

For those who would rather not fight through angry mobs of sale-hungry consumers, feel free to enjoy Amazon.com’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals from the comfort of your desk or couch.

AMAZON Black Friday 2010 sale details

Doors open: Always

If you live and breathe gadgets and tech, and love writing about them, then we might have something for you. We’re currently expanding faster than ever and are looking for talented, dedicated, hardworking individuals to help grow BGR. Professional writing experience is not required, though it will most certainly help. Some of these are full time gigs — salary and benefits — and some are location-specific. Here are the positions we’re currently looking to fill:

• East Coast contributor (preferably NYC)
• West Coast contributor (preferably San Francisco or Seattle)
• Weekend contributor
• European Correspondent
• Business editor
• Gaming editor
• Mobile editor

Think you’ve got what it takes to rock out in a fast-paced constant cycle of tech news? Well, if you do, we’d love to hear from you. If you’d like to apply, please send an email to jobs at bgr dot com. Please include the following:

• Some information about yourself. Name, where you live, what you like to do, your passion for all things tech, etc.
• College and work-related background information
• Your top 4 favorite gadgets or pieces of tech of all time. Phones, TVs, gaming systems — whatever!
• What position you’d be most interested in, how much time you’d be able to contribute to the job, and how flexible you are with timing.
• Three sample posts written in the BGR flavor. Be comfortable with the writing, keep it professional, and write things you think would appear on the site, written by one of us.

Please include all of this information in the main body of the email, and put the position you’re most interested in the email subject. Please don’t send attachments, we won’t look at them. Unfortunately we won’t be able to respond to everyone, but you’ll hear from us if we’re interested!

Google went shopping recently and added Labpixies to its repertoire of acquired properties. For those unfamiliar with the small start-up out of Israel, Labpixies is a development company that has produced a plethora of casual games and applications/gadgets for Facebook, Android, the iPhone OS, and more. Labpixies was also one of the first development teams to jump on board with the iGoogle platform. Acquisition details were not revealed, but Labpixies says it doesn’t expect its new-found success will change how it goes about brining additional applications and games to Google’s multiple platforms.Read

Back in June we told you about the updated electronics recycling program Best Buy was piloting (above and beyond their efforts already in place) and we’re happy to see other big retailers jumping on board with programs of their own. RadioShack is jazzing things up a bit with it’s electronics recycling program and offering up cash for your unused gear. Well, not really cash, but you’ll get a gift card good at any Shack which is still pretty cool. The process is easy – hit the site, appraise your unused electronics online and as long as your appraisal is realistic (don’t try to pass off your smashed BlackBerry as brand new) you’ll know exactly how much you’re in store for. The prices aren’t half bad either and some are even more than what you might get from eBay. $255 for a Nokia N95 8GB, $62 for a Samsung Blackjack, $42 for a 3rd generation iPod classic, $300 or more for a used laptop… They’ll even take that old Vertu Ascent off your hands for an even $510. Ok well that last one’s probably not such a good deal, but it’s definitely worth browsing through the site to see if RadioShack might be able to lighten the financial burden that this holiday season will undoubtedly be.

[Via SlipperyBrick]

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