Apple Called Out for 'Brutal' Mac Trade-In Values Following Launch of New Models

[Sir_Macs_A_Lot]

I'm sorry, but a $52K hardware purchase sounds like something a big business could afford (because they have it in their budget and/or can write most of it off on their taxes). Who's spending this kind of dough and then turning around to trade it in?

 

[hooptyuber]

I'm somewhat bitter, speaking as a typical retail buyer, but truth be told, Apple doesn't have to offer a trade-in program at all. How many other companies offer to buy their used hardware back from their customers?

All dwindling Jobs-era hype and dazzle and brand loyalty aside, Apple is just another business and businesses have to make money. You pays yer money and you takes yer chances.

 

[rippley5150]

Do the trade in prices make it to the refurb store or do the prices get bumped up ? lol

 

[monokakata]

How many cores?

Just the marine. Oh never mind.

 

[Realityck]

Do the trade in prices make it to the refurb store or do the prices get bumped up ? lol

The refurb prices on recent products are not discounted that much more then compared to a retailer selling the same product for less than the US education discounts. So the trade in values are really fleecing consumers currently. Whoever Apple is partnering with needs to be changed.

 

[jerryk]

Do the trade in prices make it to the refurb store or do the prices get bumped up ? lol

The refurb prices are independent of trade-in prices. Think used car sales model. Trade-in is a separate transaction for a refurb(used) sale, with each having their own profit and loss targets.

 

[topdrawer]

I'm sorry, but a $52K hardware purchase sounds like something a big business could afford (because they have it in their budget and/or can write most of it off on their taxes). Who's spending this kind of dough and then turning around to trade it in?

they can donate it to a school and get a big write-off on top of the business expense write off they already got when they bought it.

 

[ninecows]

I can offer you a 1000 for that Mac pro. That will give 30 more for your next Mac

 

[ksec]

$700 for my 2016 i7 last year

I seriously, seriously doubt that.

 

[Stromos]

Apple and other trade-in providers have similar offers, which is why I never use them. I always sell my devices myself. Sure, it can take a lot longer, but you can get quite a bit more than what they offer you in trade-in. You're giving up value with the convenience of handing it to them, them inspecting and fixing/replacing parts, and, most importantly, adding a warranty to the item and offer AppleCare when they sell it as a refurb.

I sold my iPhone 12 Pro for $450. Apple offered up to $330, which I'm sure was for the highest storage option. I also just sold my 2018 iPad Pro for $350. I initially asked for $450, but settled because I needed the money. Apple offered up to $445, which again is probably for the 12.9" and highest storage option. I have my cellular series 5 watch for sale too for $175. Apple is only offering $75 and selling refurbs for $450...

So how exactly you do this and not get scammed? I'm honestly curious and someone who dealt with the Paypal 180 day buyer protection scamming.

Sell on Swappa/Ebay? The buyer has six months to change his mind and say the product is damaged for a full refund.

Yes they have to send the product back to the seller (in theory). So they can go outside and curb stomp the device and send it back.

Get a new iPhone/iPad every six months without ever paying a dime!

 

[FriendlyMackle]

No, the reason to do it is that you may get a lower but still somewhat decent amount and don't have to deal with weird buyers, friends who complain that the item you sold them is now defective and so on.

There’s definitely an element of risk which seems riskier than just trading to Apple for their low value offers. But from what I’ve read about Apple’s trade-in partner, Phobio, I think there’s real risk that you won’t even get the low-ball spec they offer! That’s according to many disatisfied customers who (claim) they sent in perfect condition items and had their offer dramatically reduced by Phobio to a tenth of that value due to ‘damage’ or poor condition. Too many complaints for me to use Apple trade-in, however seemingly convenient.

I’ve always sold my used items either on ebay or swappa. I’ve never had a problem in around 10 years of doing this. I would never sell something to either a friend or family…that’s just asking for problems! Even when you sell something in perfect condition, there could be complaints from friends/fam. Anyhow, I have always had above-board experiences both buying and selling online. The key is ‘reputable’ buyers/sellers ONLY. Meaning they need a good history.

 

[ninecows]

But they still sell this config that the original tweet says. That’s some serious profit they can make if the machine is in good shape. It’s not last year’s model. It’s this year’s model.


Btw, Dave from the original tweet: I might be willing to increase my offer to $1200 for that machine if it comes with wheels.

 

[Silverado]

Apple Corp continues its trend of squeezing profit from very opportunity, in the process eliminating previous high value opportunities for customers.

Too bad for us. But good for the bottom line and stock price.

In the end, it’s a corporation, not a co-op. So can you blame them?

If we don’t like it, we should sell our old machines elsewhere.

 

[ninetyCent]

People crying about companies not buying back their used **** now? Stop being a baby

 

[rm5]

This is really interesting. Take a look at this screenshot—they're offering me $440 if I was to trade in my M1 MacBook Air right now. That's actually more than what they used to offer—I think a few months ago it was something like $350.

 

[aidler]

Apple obviously doesn't think much of its own products.

 

[geartau]

gee

ebay:
- you ship the product
- paypal + ebay fees
- receiver inspects and rates

Apple:
- sends a box to you
- you ship for free
- apple inspects and sends you credit
- apple replaces the housing
- apple slaps on a new battery (where applicable)
- apple includes new accessories
- apple recycles old housing and other parts
- apple includes 1 year warranty
- apple holds it in inventory and deals with selling
- apple releasing new products that devalue the used products they're holding
- apple has to make similar margins as their other products

how many humans are involved in Apple trade in? lots.

it's not difficult to see why this is happening.

 

[techfreak23]

So how exactly you do this and not get scammed? I'm honestly curious and someone who dealt with the Paypal 180 day buyer protection scamming.

Sell on Swappa/Ebay? The buyer has six months to change his mind and say the product is damaged for a full refund.

Yes they have to send the product back to the seller (in theory). So they can go outside and curb stomp the device and send it back.

Get a new iPhone/iPad every six months without ever paying a dime!

lol I should have been more clear. These are in-person transactions only through Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace. I don’t do shipping or PayPal or anything. Cash only. Not worth the risk in my mind. There are no scams in my dealings.

The upgrade programs used to be able to be gamed, but now they charge for 12 month upgrade program, or at least AT&T does now. They charge an extra $5 a month for the 12 month upgrade, otherwise it’s a 30 month installment plan. I used to upgrade at 12 months then sell the old phone before the 2 week return period was up then paid off the remaining balance with some cash leftover. It worked out that I was only paying about 6-7 months worth instead of the full 12 months which would have been about half the cost of the phone. I guess you can still game it technically but it will just cost an extra $60. Not worth it for me at this point with the even more incremental upgrades each year.

 

[dbwie]

I'm pissed now too.

Planning on buying a new mini and was hoping to offset most of the cost by trading in my late 2012 mini but Apple says they won't give me dime for and want to recycle it. That's BS. I should be entitled to at least 50% of its original value. /s

Wow you think you are entitled to 50% back for an 11 year old Mac mini. LOL

 

[rm5]

I sold my 2012 Mac mini locally for $100. Did I want $150 or even $200? Absolutely. But did I take $100? Yep. Just deal with it.

 

[0ceans]

I bought a base 14" MBP literally three weeks ago. MSRP was US$2,000. Trade-in value at Apple right now is US$750; and I'm past the return window. I would've waited for this M2 refresh, which I thought was coming in March, except my previous laptop (i9 16" MBP) just died on me and I needed a replacement immediately.

Feeling really, really bummed even though I'm sure my experience with this laptop is absolutely identical to what it would've been with the new hardware. Still, doesn't feel good.

 

[AlexMac89]

Sure, let's look at some data:

Car Depreciation: How Much Is My Car Worth?

New cars lose around 20% of their value in the first year, and they’ll be worth about 40% of what you paid after five years. This process is called depreciation.

www.lendingtree.com

Car Depreciation: How Much Is Your Car Worth?

Car depreciation can be a real drag on your car when you try to sell it. Learn more about car depreciation, how it works, and what you can do to slow it down.

www.ramseysolutions.com

Car Depreciation Calculator

The car depreciation calculator allows you to find the market value of your car after a few years.

www.omnicalculator.com

According to these, the average car is worth roughly 50% after four years.

Not 2% like the Mac Pro according to Phobio.

The average car (bought by the average person) also is equally usable 4 years later to the next owner as it was the original with little to no change in performance and/or usability.

The vast majority of cars also aren’t specialty, niche, high end goods 50x+ more expensive than what is being purchased by average users instead.

 

[JippaLippa]

It's a shame, as the experience was rather convenient.
Hovewer I'm changing my M1 Ultra for an M3 Ultra whenever it'll be released, and I'll pretty much have to sell my current one on the used market, with all that entails..

 

[JippaLippa]

I bought a base 14" MBP literally three weeks ago. MSRP was US$2,000. Trade-in value at Apple right now is US$750; and I'm past the return window. I would've waited for this M2 refresh, which I thought was coming in March, except my previous laptop (i9 16" MBP) just died on me and I needed a replacement immediately.

Feeling really, really bummed even though I'm sure my experience with this laptop is absolutely identical to what it would've been with the new hardware. Still, doesn't feel good.

Friend of mine just gotten an M1 Pro 14" too (about 20 days ago).
I advised him to wait a little, but he wanted to get the thing immediately.
Even if we don't consider the increase in performance, the new models have HDMI 2.1 and wifi-6E, 2 excellent future proofing features.
Oh well...

 

[Noogieman]

Yesterday right after the new M2 Mini was announced I checked out on what Apple would give me for my 10 months old M1 Mini 16 GB 256 GB. €200 ! I paid new 929,-€ (100 Euros cheaper than in Apple Store at that time – a good price).

I checked out the other buyers on the net. The highest trade in price was at 11 p.m €729. Half an hour later, the shop didn't work. In the morning, the price has dropped to €520,-

200 euros price drop “overnight”.

What did apple do?
They lowered the price of the base M2 Model (100 euros). The 256 GB SSD is slower than the M1. So you got to upgrade to a 512 SSD (€230!!!). Instead of selling the base M2 for 799,-€ like they used to and ship it with a 512 GB SSD… They know people will spend the extra 230,- so they make a 130 profit!
They destroyed the price of the M1 minis with that move. (Normally there is no price drop – we got inflation in Europe).

So I spend €929 for a M1 16 GB/256 GB and lost €409.
I want to buy a M2 (but this time I need to upgrade to 512 GB because of the slow 256 GB SSD.)
A M2 Mini with 16 GB/512 GB would cost me, 1159,-€

1159 – 409 = 750,- €.

750 Euros for a speed bump of 18% – That's just plain crazy.

Nobody will notice 18% in real life. You have to be insane to sell a M1 and purchase a M2.