Just throw it away.

So I am in the market for a new point and shoot digital camera, basically to replace the one that got dropped. It seems like a pretty straight forward process, but as I am learning this is an overly complicated process, and I even know the exact camera I want.
It will be my third of the exact same camera in five years because the first iteration treated me so well and I now have back up batteries, chargers and SD cards. The problem is, what do you do with a 12 month old semi broken camera? It works most of the time, but it’s cracked, it won’t eject the battery easily and doesn’t always play nice. Some research reveals that there is a much better camera already on the market for less than the last one I bought, so a $100 repair job seems silly over a $170 new camera. Here is where it gets goofy. No one wants this camera…NO ONE! A camera shop wouldn’t take a credit for a trade in, or even take it to recycle it. “I think people just throw away old cameras” told over the phone by a camera shop employee. I was shocked.
The resolution is I found a company online that will take my old camera and donate parts or money to a charity of my choosing. Now, the shipping comes at my cost and I will get nothing out of the experience but a good feeling. What bothers me the most is that the calls to several camera shops all had the same advice…throw it away. Needless to say I found a proper home for my old camera that will benefit a charity of my choosing, but I am sad that it took this much effort to recycle.