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I've never found the trade in programs to be useful. They save you time and take tons of money if you just put in the effort and sold yourself.
 
I was wondering when Apple would drop the trade in price dramatically as it was inevitable.

Felt bad I traded my X in (that was jailbreakable) when I got XR prematurely, but lesson learned, and I was paranoid the resell value would drop too much too quick. Now we're at the point of no return

I now have a jailbroken XR and a $525 gift card on standby, so all good.
 
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Why anybody would do this when they can get significantly more on the open market is beyond me.
It's very obviously for people who don't want the hassle of selling on the open market or people who aren't familiar enough with Craigslist or similar outlets.

"Why would anyone go to a restaurant when you can just buy all the ingredients and cook it yourself for much less money?"
 



Apple recently lowered direct trade-in values for iPhones, providing customers with a maximum of $349 when trading in an iPhone without purchasing a new one at the same time.

Apple used to offer a maximum of $500 when doing a direct iPhone trade-in through its trade-in website, and just a few weeks ago, we tested trading in an iPhone X and were offered $500 by Apple. Today, Apple's maximum price for the same iPhone X is $349.

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iPhone X trade-in value from April 30 (trade-in site)
Not all iPhones were worth $500, but for newer models in good condition, Apple was indeed providing credit up to $500 in the form of an Apple gift card that could be put towards a new device purchase.

iphonetradeinvaluecurrent-800x519.jpg

iPhone X trade-in value today (trade-in site)
The $349 maximum seems to apply only to direct trade-ins that don't involve a purchase. If you use the trade-in process while purchasing a new iPhone, which puts the cost of that trade-in towards the new device, you can get higher prices.

That same iPhone X that's worth $349 when doing a direct trade-in with Apple is worth $450 if you trade it in while buying a new iPhone XR. At $450, Apple is still offering less than the $500 maximum iPhone trade-in value that was available before, but it's still better than the $349 that's available through the trade-in site.

On its trade-in site, Apple heavily promoted a $449 trade-in price for the iPhone XR when trading in an iPhone 8 or iPhone 7 Plus, but now the advertised pricing is $479 instead of $449. Listed iPhone XR and XS pricing with trade-in has gone up across the board as Apple has dropped trade-in values for all iPhones.

appleiphonexrtradein-800x690.jpg

With Apple's direct trade-in pricing drops, Apple is no longer offering some of the best iPhone trade-in pricing, and it may not be worth an iPhone trade-in through Apple unless it's done when you're purchasing a new iPhone.

appletradeinvalues-800x501.jpg

Maximum trade-in values when purchasing another iPhone
If you do a trade-in while purchasing a new device, you can get up to $450 for an iPhone X, up to $350 for an iPhone 8 Plus, up to $270 for an iPhone 8 or 7 Plus, and up to $200 for an iPhone 7 or 6s Plus. Other devices have trade-in values below $200.

appletradeinvalueiphone.jpg

Apple's iPhone X trade-in offer today when purchasing new iPhone
Apple has a prominent section on all iPhone purchase pages that asks "Do you have an iPhone to trade in?" and if you select yes, you can go through the steps to get the upgraded pricing.

Trade-in pricing on other devices has also dropped. Apple now offers a maximum of $367 for tablet trade-ins, up to $965 when trading in a computer, and up to $173 when trading in an Apple Watch. That's down from $405 for tablets, $1100 for computers, and $191 for an Apple Watch. Trade-in values do not differ on non-iPhone products between the trade-in site and a trade-in with purchase.

The new trade-in pricing system is confusing and could potentially lead to some customers getting lower value for their iPhones if they're not aware of the disparity in pricing between doing a direct trade-in through Apple's trade-in page and doing a trade-in when purchasing a new iPhone.

Apple's new direct trade-in pricing is comparative to trade-in pricing from other sites like Gazelle, but you're always going to get the best price selling direct on a site like eBay or Swappa.

Article Link: Apple Lowers Maximum iPhone Trade-In Values, Best Deals Now Limited to Trade-Ins with Purchase

Apple, very shady dealings man really low ankle biting.
 
I've never found the trade in programs to be useful. They save you time and take tons of money if you just put in the effort and sold yourself.

Entirely agree. I never trade in my iPhones or any tech device for that matter. I’d rather either hand it down to a family member/friend/colleague or sell locally with cash-in-hand. The thing with trade-ins, it’s merely a marketing tactic to bring the consumer into the store to spend more money on accessories, etc. I’m not saying there’s not advantages to trade-ins, but I never usually find the offers attractive enough, especially when my devices are typically in mint/perfect condition when I am ready to sell versus what the trade-in will offer for a price.
 
eBay is the _last_place I would recommend, full of fraud, especially given the amount of Apple popularity on that site. Swappa is a decent alternative.

Otherwise, I’d suggest selling locally if someone doesn’t want to trade in, it’s cash in hand, just meet at the police department/local public area when doing so.

where are you living - this sounds terrible ...
 
Why anybody would do this when they can get significantly more on the open market is beyond me.
People wants convenience, and it’s more convenient to just trade up directly with Apple when buying a new iPhone than trying to deal with the open market. And some people simply don’t have the time to be responding to every single inquiries on their Craigslist/eBay post.
 
If one goes to an Apple Store, with a qualifying iPhone (in order to trade), can one receive an Apple Gift Card to use towards anything in the Store or on Apple.com?
 
They lowered the trade-in values of my iPad Pro 9.7" 32 GB model too. I checked the value right after the iPad Mini 5 was released and it was at $189. I checked again a few days ago and it was down to $171. Even at $189 it was way below what I could get selling it myself, but such is the trade-in business because they want to make money off of it again when they resell it.
 
Maybe they're lowing trade in values in anticipation of a lowered price point :p. Have to keep the trade in at a certain percentage of the sale value (or lower) to maintain margins / etc.

That would be overall a good thing.

but it is Apple we're talking about here :p. I don't actually believe we'll see this related to price cuts.
 
I've sold a couple things on OfferUp and other sites, but I personally found the trade in program to be useful. I got $200 for my old 6S when purchasing a new XR for my parents. The value sweet spot of an old device and convenience of a 10 minute transaction was worth it to me.

I'm all for bashing Apple's nonsensical changes, but there's a definitely a value here for people who don't want to spend their time dealing with other people trying to get a good deal.
 
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In the past I was considered to be an enthusiast. Now I am sticking with a phone for 2 or more years. Even though I could afford the upgrade costs, I do not _want_ to afford it anymore. It feels like a rip off.

I used to upgrade regularly too. But now still have my iPhone 6. It does everything I want, works well, and has a headphone port. I'm guessing we will never see a headphone port on an iPhone again, so I will eventually upgrade to an Android when I need to.
 
Apple used to be about simplicity.
What could be simpler than trading it in?
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Even Apple thinks that the iPhone doesn't have the value it once had.
The iPhone X is nearly two years old. I think you’ll find that the value will drop again in another four months.

Doesn’t it make sense to you that it’s worth less and less, the older it gets?
 
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And yet the 2013 Mac Pro is selling today for the same price as when it was first released.
Not true. Prices have been reduced, while configurations were also upgraded. Also, the mostly business customers who buy Mac Pro rarely pay list price, as discounting is common in the corporate/enterprise channel vs. Apple retail channel (whether physical stores or online).
 
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