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Apple Changes Trade-In Values for iPhones, Macs, and More

jahsavi said:
Be careful with the trade-in process. I once sent in an Apple Watch in mint condition. After it was received, I got an email from the third-party company that handles Apple’s trade-ins saying they had downgraded the condition to the lowest tier and were offering me $0. My options were to either accept nothing or have it shipped back.

What made it worse was that they included a photo showing the device powered on with a perfect screen.

I took a screenshot of that email, opened an Apple Support chat, and explained what happened. I mentioned that this kind of behavior was concerning coming from a trusted trade-in partner of Apple. Shortly after that, the original $200 trade-in offer was magically approved.
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So Apple made it right.
 
Lioness~ said:
I stopped trade-in with Apple - there's no Apple store here anyway. Sending devices into the trade-in service has not been a good solution for me here. I tried and the post-service returned it to me.
So I tried to talk/mail/chat with them, and it was horrible service.

It's much better in all ways to deal with re-sellers where I live. Classy service, and much better trade-in value as well.
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So you didn't put the new mailing label on the it or didn't cover the old onev up. Otherwise, there would have been no way for them to know your address to return it to you.
 
spazzcat said:
So you didn't put the new mailing label on the it or didn't cover the old onev up. Otherwise, there would have been no way for them to know your address to return it to you.
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You don’t live in my country, and have no idea how it works here, to start with. Don’t be an #####.
I don’t get a mailing label to start with, it’s already printed or attached on the return letter already.
We also write our own adress on the backside of the envelope, it's pretty custom here, so it can be returned if needed.
 
I just tried to trade in my iPhone 16 pro max. Sent it in and then Apple came back stating hat the phone had been "modified by a third party" and stated that it couldn't give anything for it. This is crazy. I don't know how to "modify" an iPhone. Their sending it back to me and ill sell it on eBay.
 
I had actually started my trade in shortly before the latest product launch, in anticipation of newer-generation products driving down the value of trades. The iPad actually went UP in value though. I have my mail-in kit but didn’t send my iPad to Apple yet though. Can I cancel and restart the process to attain the higher trade-in value? Thanks!
 
Lioness~ said:
You don’t live in my country, and have no idea how it works here, to start with. Don’t be an #####.
I don’t get a mailing label to start with, it’s already printed or attached on the return letter already.
We also write our own adress on the backside of the envelope, it's pretty custom here, so it can be returned if needed.
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I am just pointing out if came back you did something wrong. I realize they may do it differntly, but there still should be a new label in the box or pull off label on the box with a new label under it. The new label would have a return address and ship out address that is the same so no matter what the box gets to return place.
 
spazzcat said:
When you factor in all the fees and extra time (most people don't understand opportunity cost), you end up with only a little bit more for the increase risk.
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This is a good time to remind everyone that Best Buy also has a trade-in program, so they can still shop their trade a bit without having to worry about scams or safety as much. Last time I read about it, they were making offers in store, so you don't have to wait on a third party emailing you with an offer, either. Anyway, people can go check their website and see if the in-person thing is only at certain stores, and what their top offer range is.
 
what people fail to realize about eBay is you have to factor payment fees, eBay fees, then have to pay tax on the sale. I traded my iPhone 15 for 300 2 weeks ago, I would have gotten a hair more if I did it on eBay, wasn't worth the hassle. Even marketplace in my area they were only going for 350. Some devices it makes sense though to avoid trade in
 
artifex said:
This is a good time to remind everyone that Best Buy also has a trade-in program, so they can still shop their trade a bit without having to worry about scams or safety as much. Last time I read about it, they were making offers in store, so you don't have to wait on a third party emailing you with an offer, either. Anyway, people can go check their website and see if the in-person thing is only at certain stores, and what their top offer range is.
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Best Buy offered 190 for iPhone 15 when apple was 300. also, last year m3 iPad Air fetched 260, apple only was willing to give 180. at the end of the day it really depends on the device. I always scour everywhere first
 
My 2023 Mac Studio that cost me ~$3500 just three years ago has a trade in value of $735 now. Just wow. Slap in the face. The Apple Care would have still been active had I been gullible enough to buy it.
 
Upgrading your MacBook early can save money. I went M1 → M2 → M4, spending ~$1,397 total. If I buy the M5 for $1,199 and trade in my 1-year-old M4 for $770, my net cost for this upgrade will be only $429. Trading in yearly preserves value — waiting longer would reduce trade-in credit and make upgrades more expensive.
 
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gnyce said:
Upgrading your MacBook early can save money. I went M1 → M2 → M4, spending ~$1,397 total. If I buy the M5 for $1,199 and trade in my 1-year-old M4 for $770, my net cost for this upgrade will be only $429. Trading in yearly preserves value — waiting longer would reduce trade-in credit and make upgrades more expensive.
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Alternatively, buying what you can afford and using it for several years can save you even more. You didn't specify what your M4 cost, but your total cost of ownership might be much less than $429 per year if you keep it 4 or 5 years. Depends on how much you really need the new shiny.
What are the new features worth that extra $429 to you right now? That's over a third the cost of a new machine. If you wait 3 years instead, you can take the money from each year and buy a completely new machine (assuming it's at the same price) and keep your old one for "free" or sell it, probably still for a good amount.

In fact, another way of looking at it: if you can still get $400 for your current machine in 3 years, and the next one is still $1199, your net cost (800) is less than twice the net cost today, not the 3 times if you upgrade yearly.
 
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