Apple is crediting 1/2 of original value for trade-in to buy new Silicon Mac

[coolbreeze2]

Apple website says I'll get $1010 for the above MBP if I trade in on the new MBP or Air introduced yesterday. I paid $2129 for it back in October 2018. First time I've witnessed Apple giving 1/2 of the original value. If I went with the Air that costs $999, I wouldn't be paying very much.

 

[AustinIllini]

Pro tip: Don't trade in. Sell privately

 

[deeddawg]

Be sure to also check MacMeAnOffer.com and CashForYourMac.com - they're likely going to be higher than Apple's offer and are proven companies.

Certainly private sales can often net more cash in pocket, but also typically involve greater time, effort, and potential risk depending on where you live. i.e. in the rural area where I'm currently staying, there's simply NOT much demand for >$1000 used MacBooks. Old pickups and used farm equipment? Sure. Fancy computers? Not so much.

 

[coolbreeze2]

Be sure to also check MacMeAnOffer.com and CashForYourMac.com - they're likely going to be higher than Apple's offer and are proven companies.

Thanks!

 

[Maconplasma]

As others said it's best to sell privately in your situation OP if you're not satisfied with the trade in offer. As a person who did a trade in for their 2018 15" I have to say Apple is being quite fair with the pricing you were quoted. Here's why. First your machine is going on 3 years old. Yep it's almost 2021. Secondly you've got the crap butterfly keyboard and Apple has an active program that covers up to 4 years of free keyboard repairs, so that's more money out of their pocket to repair your computer so that's taken into account for the trade in amount. Thirdly your specs aren't really that great. You have the base model i7 instead of the i9 and only 16GB ram instead of 32GB. Not sure if you went for the top GPU or have just the base config?

Lastly for the trade in program Apple pays for all the necessary packaging and shipping and Apple assumes all liability when the product is shipped back to them for inspection. The money Apple quoted you after inspection is guaranteed vs. a private seller saying the shipping damaged the machine or they found some damage and want you to give them a partial refund, or even worse a full refund. And this is after you spent money buying shipping materials and paying for shipping hoping it reaches the new owner in good shape.

 

[deeddawg]

The money Apple quoted you after inspection is guaranteed vs. a private seller saying the shipping damaged the machine or they found some damage and want you to give them a partial refund, or even worse a full refund. And this is after you spent money buying shipping materials and paying for shipping hoping it reaches the new owner in good shape.

Or better yet, you get a chargeback two months after the sale, leaving you with no computer and no money...

 

[4sallypat]

Looking at trading in my 2017 rMB 12" that I was hoping to see the 12" return but not this first iteration.

13" MBA M1 would be my new silent fanless travel machine.

So my trade in offer for the rMB was $400 for a machine that costed $1200.

Tempting to do the trade in as my Apple Card monthly would drop to $40/month for 12 months at 0%.
(Education pricing - base M1 MBA)

Or should I sell privately ???

 

[BeatCrazy]

Be sure to also check MacMeAnOffer.com and CashForYourMac.com - they're likely going to be higher than Apple's offer and are proven companies.

Certainly private sales can often net more cash in pocket, but also typically involve greater time, effort, and potential risk depending on where you live. i.e. in the rural area where I'm currently staying, there's simply NOT much demand for >$1000 used MacBooks. Old pickups and used farm equipment? Sure. Fancy computers? Not so much.

Out of curiosity, I tried both of those. The first had no offer for my iMac Pro, and the "Cash For" place was within a few dollars (less) than Apple direct trade.

Maybe they do better than Apple on different devices.

 

[yanksrock100]

If you aren’t comfortable with eBay, try Swappa. I’ve had great experiences selling my working devices on Swappa.

 

[deeddawg]

Out of curiosity, I tried both of those. The first had no offer for my iMac Pro, and the "Cash For" place was within a few dollars (less) than Apple direct trade.

Maybe they do better than Apple on different devices.

Interesting. When I checked with a couple of my systems yesterday they were showing up higher than Apple's offer, but as you note this likely varies.

 

[BeatCrazy]

If you aren’t comfortable with eBay, try Swappa. I’ve had great experiences selling my working devices on Swappa.

Swappa is really good. I've sold a few of my own iPhones there, without hassle, and for good prices. I haven't tried selling computers, however.

 

[PaladinGuy]

Swappa is really good. I've sold a few of my own iPhones there, without hassle, and for good prices. I haven't tried selling computers, however.

I’ve sold Apple watches and a MacBook Air on Swappa. Great site. Every transaction I’ve done on it has been perfect. Highly recommend it.