Apple Adjusts Trade-In Values for iPhones, iPads, Macs, and More

[carrrrrlos]

Great! So now I can trade in my in-perfectly-good-condition 14Pro for $300 and turn right around and buy it back from the Apple refurnished store for $1019! Sweet! Thanks Apple.

 

[TVreporter]

Tim got to pay for Google Siri somehow!

 

[Silverstring]

APPLE DOESN'T WANT THESES DEVICES BACK.

They don't want them, they don't want to pay for them, they don't want to deal with them, they don't want to wipe them, clean them, refurb them, sell them, re-sell them, recycle them, junk them etc..

The only reason the trade-in programs exist is that they help sell more devices. Most folks trading in a device buy a new one, so by having a trade-in allowance, they can sell you more new stuff. Accordingly, they are not paying you what the device is 'worth'. They are paying the lowest they think you will accept and still do the deal.

Distinction without a difference.

People/corporations respond to incentives. In this case as you state, the incentive for Apple is to induce/facilitate a new purchase.

Apple has determined that all of:

• Offering trade-ins
• Paying for them
• Dealing with them
• Wiping them
• Cleaning them
• Refurbishing them
• Selling them
• Re-selling them
• Recycling them
• Junking them

Is worth the effort for the desired outcome. They do want the stuff back (and also want all of the associated elements above, too) because of the incentive that doing those things provides. The incentive creates the desire. Wanting the devices back for completely self-serving, ultimately net profit-generating reasons and wanting the devices back for completely benevolent selfless reasons or any other reasons are all still wanting the devices back.

What would the alternative even be? A corporation/person taking devices back for no benefit?

I agree that selling more devices is the primary, most heavily-weighted reason for the program, but the only reason? No.

The other, secondary reasons include, but are not limited to:

• The PR value of being a “green” company in the eyes of eco-conscious consumers
• The ability to harvest metals and other materials from recycled devices to lower future manufacturing costs
• the brand equity of Apple providing a “we’ll take care of it for you” premium experience by taking the cognitive load + time of having to deal with an old device off the consumers’ hands
• In service of their corporate goals for carbon neutrality

Do any/all of these (and others not listed) outweigh the reason of selling more devices? No, but that doesn’t make them completely irrelevant to the calculus the company is making. The secondary reasons are still additional reasons.

 

[usbwire]

They dropped iPhone values? 15 PM got hit quite a bit. I assume no boost for trade-ins?

 

[goldmac2006]

They promoted and increased the trade-in value of iPhones from summer until the release of the iPhone 17, but now they’ve dropped it? Good grief! I’m glad I prefer to give away my old iPhones to my family instead of trading them in.

 

[grammatica]

"We can't give them too much of a good deal. We already gave them ProMotion and more storage on the base iPhone 17." —Tim Cook (probably)

 

[subjonas]

Quite a drop for iPhones, glad I traded mine in 6 weeks ago.

I traded in my 16PM yesterday 🤣

 

[svish]

Good to know about the changes in trade in values. Other than the ease of doing trade-in, it may be better to exchange old device somewhere else as one can get higher than what Apple offers.

 

[Michael Scrip]

Verizon makes more from having you as a customer for a couple/few years than Apple does for the single sale. That is why the carriers can offer more.

Exactly!

Verizon doesn't make their money selling Apple iPhones or Samsung Galaxy phones.

You know that $100/month you'll be paying for the rest of your life? That's where Verizon makes their money.

The service... monthly service. Cha-ching!

😎

 

[frownface]

Yes, the "old" trade-in values quoted in the article were the values from just before the iPhone 17 line's launch, not the prices that were in effect yesterday. For example, yesterday an iPhone 13 Pro Max and iPhone 14 Pro both had trade-in values of $320; today they are both $300. Steep drop from earlier in the summer ($370 and $380 respectively), but not from the last month's prices.

So phones dropped in value after the new ones came out. Who'd have thought.

 

[Col795]

Chip prices went up.... trade-in value goes down... break even ✅

 

[Tripps9000]

Curious that no 16e

Yeah saw that to Apple must have forgotten that phone is in their lineup 🧐