Gazelle is an electronics trade-in and reCommerce company that buys and sells pre-owned smartphones, tablets, and other consumer electronics. The company launched Gazelle.com in 2008 as an online trade-in service, and it operates today under parent company ecoATM LLC, which acquired Gazelle in 2015.[1][2]
Design and History
The Gazelle wordmark is a stylized rendering of the company name with two horns placed in the position of the two letter “l”s in “Gazelle.” This design is documented in a trademark application filed by ecoATM, LLC in September 2024, which describes the mark as “the stylized word ‘Gazelle’ with two horns located in place of the two ‘l’ letters in the word ‘Gazelle’.”[3]
An earlier trademark for the Gazelle name, filed by Gazelle, Inc. in May 2010 and registered in January 2011, describes a different arrangement: the word “gazelle” with two horns located above the second “e.”[4] The first use date for that mark was July 28, 2008, the same year Gazelle.com launched.[4][1]
Gazelle was founded in 2006 and opened its doors in 2007, pioneering the concept of reCommerce before launching its website in 2008.[1] In November 2015, Outerwall Inc., the owner of ecoATM, acquired Gazelle for $18 million.[2] The combined entity operates both brands, with ecoATM kiosks and the Gazelle.com online store serving as complementary channels.[5]
Meaning and Symbolism
The horn motif in the Gazelle wordmark directly references the gazelle animal, a visual pun on the company name. The trademark filings do not document additional symbolic meaning beyond this literal animal reference.[3][4]
Typography and Design
The current Gazelle mark is a wordmark-based design that incorporates the horn element into the letterforms themselves, replacing the two “l” characters.[3] The earlier registered version placed the horns above the second “e” rather than integrating them into the letterforms.[4] Neither trademark filing claims color as a feature of the mark.[3][4]
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