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

[ProfessionalFan]

Best to sell privately. Yes it’s hassle but worth it.

Worth it til the buyer scams you by saying the item was damaged or defective when it wasn't

@Victor Mortimer why the thumbs down? Are you implying this doesn't happen?

 

[macos9rules]

I wish they would do the same to their subscription plans!

 

[iLilana]

raise prices and give less money back. only thing left is to pay retail employees less.

 

[sw1tcher]

Nothing surprising here. Values decrease over time. Sell it privately if you want to make money because Apple isn’t a second hand store.

Apple's refurb store is basically a 2nd hand store since that's where they list bought back and refurbished items.

Apple buy items back for recycling only.

Apple buys items back to both recycle and resell if they can.

 

[webkit]

raise prices and give less money back. only thing left is to pay retail employees less.

But Apple also lowers prices. For example, the price of a new iPhone 14 dropped $100 about four months ago. It's therefore not unreasonable to see the value of a used iPhone 14 drop (in this case $30) as well.

 

[Victor Mortimer]

Nothing surprising here. Values decrease over time. Sell it privately if you want to make money because Apple isn’t a second hand store. Apple buy items back for recycling only.

Exactly. Apple is taking them back to shred them. They only do this to get used devices off the market so people will have to buy new instead.

If you want to do the responsible thing for yourself and the environment, eBay!

 

[Victor Mortimer]

Worth it til the buyer scams you by saying the item was damaged or defective when it wasn't

@Victor Mortimer why the thumbs down? Are you implying this doesn't happen?

So rare as to be a non-issue. And giving devices back to Apple so they can shred them is irresponsible.

 

[GeneticBloom]

I traded in my S7 Watch in November and my S5 this month, and my 13 Pro when the 15's were released. The value for the S5 was ~$10 less than eBay, not worth the hassle to me. I scanned a QR code at FedEx and handed it over. It's even easier now than when they sent the box to my house for the S7. I have always used Apple trade in when I upgrade, the values are less, but it has never been a huge difference vs. resale for me.

 

[abbstrack]

I sat on trading in my spec'd out 2019 16" MB Pro all of last year, and saw the value go from about $600 or so in January to $840 in December of 2023. Fortunately I finally took advantage in December nad traded it in for an M3 Max. Can only assume that was a push by Apple to get those of us who hadn't switched to their silicon to take the leap. I imagine those prices will start their yearly decline again.

 

[Digital Skunk]

I'm glad I sold my 15" touchbar when I did. I got a whooping $580 for it and sold it just a few weeks before the 15" MacBook Air was released.

 

[jlc1978]

Exactly. Apple is taking them back to shred them. They only do this to get used devices off the market so people will have to buy new instead.

If you want to do the responsible thing for yourself and the environment, eBay!

Apple does two things:

1. shreds and recycles the phone to recover valuable materials
2. refurbishes and either sells them selves or to a 3rd pary who then resells them.

Selling to a third party gets Apple the cash up front without having to try to resell them and potentially compete with themselves.

So rare as to be a non-issue.

Still, some find more value in selling direct to Apple rather than dealing with eBay and potential scams.

And giving devices back to Apple so they can shred them is irresponsible.

Except they also recycle the result.

 

[wilhoitm]

Should I trade in my $7,500 Mac Pro so I can get $900 trade-in towards the Apple Vision Pro? 🤔

 

[macduke]

Their trade-ins are a joke. They wanted to give me like $450 for my nicely spec'd 2019 27" iMac 5K and I sold it for $1500.

 

[Christopher Kim]

I've sold a bunch of stuff on Swappa (to me, better than Ebay for Apple devices - both for buyers and sellers). I've definitely noticed that certain products (Eg. laptops) have huge differences in Apple trade-in value vs "Fair Market Value" on Swappa, whereas others (eg. iPhones) have smaller differences.

I was originally going to keep my 128gb iPhone 13 Pro for another year. I had just gotten a refurbed version via AppleCare+ in Sep after my kids dropped my phone and cracked the camera lenses. So I basically had a like-new iPhone 13 Pro w/ new battery. But as holidays approached, I decided I wanted to get the iPhone 15 Pro Max in Dec and got it a month ago.

Apple was offering $480 for my iPhone 13 Pro. Swappa showed for 128gb, sales for "mint" iPhones were around $525 - $550. Maybe I could've gotten a bit more given I had 100% battery health. But even Swappa (better fees than Ebay) takes 3% fee + 3.5% PayPayl fee + Seller pays shipping (~$20). Even if I could've gotten $550, net I would've gotten $495. Vs the super easy trade-in at Apple of $480, just made sense to trade-in and not go through the hassle and potential risks of selling online. I see iPhone 13 Pro trade-in value now now dropped to $420.

Just worked out that way that with my particular phone at that point in time. Doesn't always.

 

[steve09090]

Apple's refurb store is basically a 2nd hand store since that's where they list bought back and refurbished items.


Apple buys items back to both recycle and resell if they can.

I doubt very very much that they resell a second hand device. Probably just the ones returned during the first 14 day period. Not a 12 month old 14 Pro.

Nowhere does it say anywhere that refurbs are bought back items.

 

[svish]

Nothing special. The usual decrease in value of devices over time. As always it is better to sell old devices somewhere else.