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I did the same thing. However, depending on the device and the time of year there are a lot of smaller (hidden gem) companies that seem slightly sketchy that can payout even more.

Do you know which companies still offer free boxes? Serious question.
I know Apple will send a free box through their trade in program, I have done that before as well.
 
These guys have turned into crooks. They claimed my pristine ipad I had sent in had a blemished display and offered just a few bucks. I refused. When I got it back after refusing, it wasn't a display blemish, it had been what looked to be hammered on with the display totally destroyed with shattered glass in the bag. Payback for not taking the reduced value I guess. Still had three weeks of Applecare + left so not a total loss. They are conniving scumbags. Hopefully they will go completely out of business soon. The world doesn't need a company like this.
I had similar experience with amazon trade in. bought an xbox combo deal with a tv and had a brand new in box xbox that wanted to get rid of as I kept the tv. sent it over to amazon and checked the box not to send it back to me if value was lower thinking there's no possible way for them to lower this as the box hasn't been opened. they said the xbox was damaged and gave me like a 1/3 of what I was originally quoted. nothing I could do...so I contacted amazon and basically called a liar saying I lied about the condition. took it up to management and they told me to pound sand as well. I will never trade in anywhere except for apple's in person trade in as you get a gift card immediately or you can also refuse their offer. I'm curious how often these bad scenarios happen like ours.
 
Or to their cell provider. My wife upgraded from an 8 to 12 mini for “free with qualifying trade-in.” They charge for the new one and give her a credit on the same bill. Keeps her as a customer and isn’t exactly like a subsidized device, but pretty close. Credit depends on condition of the device body and display. Her’s was perfect, aside from a non-functional home button, and they are giving her full credit.

As an aside, the 12 mini is more impressive than I would’ve thought. As a 12 Pro Max user I would be happy with the 12 mini too. The size is fantastic and the screen is larger than I thought it would be in a device that small. Battery life (no 5G service) is better than the 8 it replaced when it had a fresh battery. She loves it.
yeah but you also have to ship them the device and they can lie and give you nothing for it. I've had problems with att back in the day they wouldn't honor their trade in prices.
 
yeah but you also have to ship them the device and they can lie and give you nothing for it. I've had problems with att back in the day they wouldn't honor their trade in prices.
You have to trust someone somewhere, yes.

We ended up going into the store (att) because she’s classified as a first responder on their FirstNet service (it’s extremely difficult to do this over the phone according to them, which I believe since att’s system had a hard time activating everything anyway) and the manager approved it knowing the home button was broken. He said, “they don’t care about that” and he was right.

Now, they could’ve still only given us a little back but at least we would’ve have a manager as a witness to the condition it was sent out in. Taking a picture at the store would’ve cemented that even more.
 
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You have to trust someone somewhere, yes. We ended up going into the store (att) because she’s a first responder on their FirstNet service (it’s extremely difficult to do this over the phone according to them) and the manager approved it knowing the home button was broken. He said they don’t care about that and he was right. Now, they could’ve still only given us a little back but at least we would’ve have a manager as a witness to the condition it was sent out in. Taking a picture at the store would’ve cemented that even more.
well that is good that it was in store, bc I had a friend go in store and they told him they only do it if he ships it in. he's still waiting to hear back.
 
Good they sucked! I sent my iPhone 10 in and they tried to give me a deprecated value saying the screen was cracked and an image of a iPhone 6. I emailed them with pictures that I took along with my IMEI saying the images they provided was not my phone. CS was no help, I had to call in and talk to a supervisor for them to go “o yea that’s not your phone,let’s adjust your trade in”. After that I never used them again. If I didn’t have that proof they would of swindled me out of a phone. It may of been purely the person that did the trade in being to blame but you kinda loose faith in a company after something like that.
 
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I used them a few times a few years ago to sell my Apple stuff. Lately the prices they were paying for iPhones and iPads were pathetic.
 
I was going to mock Gazelle’s notoriously lowball offers on trade ins, until I remember Apple offered me a whopping 900 bucks in trade for a MBP I paid 1800 bucks for before taxes not six months ago.
 
Or to their cell provider. My wife upgraded from an 8 to 12 mini for “free with qualifying trade-in.” They charge for the new one and give her a credit on the same bill. Keeps her as a customer and isn’t exactly like a subsidized device, but pretty close. Credit depends on condition of the device body and display. Her’s was perfect, aside from a non-functional home button, and they are giving her full credit.

As an aside, the 12 mini is more impressive than I would’ve thought. As a 12 Pro Max user I would be happy with the 12 mini too. The size is fantastic and the screen is larger than I thought it would be in a device that small. Battery life (no 5G service) is better than the 8 it replaced when it had a fresh battery. She loves it.
Ahhh, but those cameras on your 12 Pro Max are considerably better than the ones on her 12 mini.
 
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Gazelle had always been great for me and the others on my cell phone plan, I'd make them upgrade every two years (during the contract years).

They'd say "I don't need a new phone right now" and I'd remind them that the $200 Gazelle was going pay them would cover the cost of the $199 for the new iPhone (and they'd offer less next year). I'd normally boost the storage, so I'd usually sell mine on eBay.
 
Never traded it until this year and to Apple but also because of promo.

Got $300 for my pristine condition XS +$150 from T-Mobile, $450 is definitely a good deal for my XS for 12 pro.

Very easy and quick process and they send you a kit to ship device to.
 
Used Gazelle for the first time a couple years ago to trade-in my iPhone 7. No issues at all through the process.

Used Gazelle again to trade-in my iPad. Totally different experience. I was informed that my iPad was severely scratched. I disputed their review, sent them photos I had taken of the iPad prior to sending, and requested photos of the alleged scratches.

Their assessment then changed from scratches to dead spots on the display. Again, I disputed it, sent them photos I had taken of the device powered on, and requested photos of the alleged dead spots. I received a blurry photo with what looked like reflections from the overhead lights circled as the problem areas. At that point, I asked to have my iPad returned, which they did.

I took it to Best Buy and did a trade-in there without issue.

The dumb thing was that Gazelle likely spent almost as much on the back-and-forth shipping as they were trying to gain by gaming the condition of the iPad they received.

Even after that experience, I tried them one more time with another iPad. Same thing happened — received an email stating that the condition didn’t match and they were lowering my value. I contested it with photos and asked them to return the iPad — the next day, received an email stating they made ”an error” and would honor the original trade-in.

All that being stated, I’m sure they had their share of customers trying to cheat them with damaged and/or stolen goods. Just like any trade-in program, they are taking on more of the risk. If you’re willing to take more of the risk, you’ll be rewarded with higher values via a private sale.
 
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I used the trade in program from Apple twice and it was great...and fast. Received the money as a gift card in my Apple wallet. I never tried the Gazelle option.
 
This really is the way to go for iPhones at least. But for Mac and Apple Watch trade ins, 3rd party tends to pay out better than Apple. If Apple offered an iUP for those products that'd be great.
I'd LOVE an upgrade program for their watches! Surprised it's not already live. With watch turnover much slower (I'm guessing) than handhelds (maybe?), it would seem Apple would happily take my $200/yr every year as opposed to $400 one time over the next 3-5 year (or more).

As has been discussing of late, Apple could flip the switch on an upgrade program for more than just phones (and watches). All sorts of unknowns aside, I'd be very interested in such a program.
 
These guys have turned into crooks. They claimed my pristine ipad I had sent in had a blemished display and offered just a few bucks. I refused. When I got it back after refusing, it wasn't a display blemish, it had been what looked to be hammered on with the display totally destroyed with shattered glass in the bag. Payback for not taking the reduced value I guess. Still had three weeks of Applecare + left so not a total loss. They are conniving scumbags. Hopefully they will go completely out of business soon. The world doesn't need a company like this.
Your chest probably feels less heavy and tight after getting that story off. That was a terrible experience. Good thing AC+ saved the device.
 
Wonder if this will be a starting point for any others worldwide to follow suit like BoomerangBuyBack, or Mobile Monster here in Australia

"In future, Gazelle intends to focus on its in-store ecoATM kiosks, which offer instant cash for devices, although they don't usually offer as much in return as customers would get through traditional trade-in programs."

So, a cash converters replacement.


How will people get good money now ? Apple's retricting this, probably to their own trade-in, which doesn't give you cash.
 
I think I remember using them for an iMac quote, and they still sent a shipping box. That I just kept it to ship it to my parents instead and said here ya go free computer.
 
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