I can't believe Apple did this to my trade-in amount

[MacCheetah3]

For fun I put my Mini into the trade-in, and it told me my 1-year-old Mini was worth $300 ($2100 MSRP). It's pristine, and I'm using it to write this post.

Wow, not sure how to respond. That seems terribly low

As @FreakinEurekan already pointed out, Apple puts little to no weight in upgrades regarding trade-in value.

In curiosity, I also inquired on the trade-in value of my current Mac mini:

MSRP: $2599
Offered: $765
— which is actually a little higher than I expected from Apple

A (completely) third-party site, such as ItsWorthMore, currently quoted $1545.
In my opinion, that’s tolerable/acceptable. Not as if I’m going to trade up yet.

P.S. @blufrog You may want to edit your signature. Unless I’m mistaken on your formatting, there’s no 16-core CPU (M4 Pro) Mac mini.

 

[mdcmdcmdc]

It’s like trading in your car at the dealer. They give you something, and it’s convenient. But if you’re willing to take the time and effort, you can do better selling it yourself.

 

[richard13]

For fun I put my Mini into the trade-in, and it told me my 1-year-old Mini was worth $300 ($2100 MSRP). It's pristine, and I'm using it to write this post.

I wonder if this low ball trade-in value has anything to do with popularity. I would guess that they value all in one devices like phones and laptops more than a mini, if only because they are sellable to just about anyone. A mini is a little more of a specialized device for people who want to have specific accessories and upgrades.

 

[throAU]

It’s like trading in your car at the dealer. They give you something, and it’s convenient. But if you’re willing to take the time and effort, you can do better selling it yourself.

Its not really like that at all.

Its like trading your car at the dealer - they say they will give you say, $1000, and then after you ship your car off to them after receiving your new car they say "actually nah, we're valuing your car at $0".

 

[CalMin]

I remember when Apple switched from Intel to Apple silicon, I had to quickly dump my 2019 i9 MacBook Pro while it had some value remaining. I ordered my MacBook Pro M1 and traded in the Intel machine by mail. When they received it, I was told that the screen was broken and therefore my trade was worth exactly $0.

Luckily I had taken photos on the day of shipping and filed a dispute. After a few stressful days of wondering if I had lost money or not, they restored the full trade-in value. No apology, no explanation, just a cold note that my trade-in had been re-assessed and approved.

Although, technically, Apple outsources this stuff to a 3rd-party they still own the customer experience which, in this instance was terrible.

 

[mdcmdcmdc]

Its not really like that at all.

Its like trading your car at the dealer - they say they will give you say, $1000, and then after you ship your car off to them after receiving your new car they say "actually nah, we're valuing your car at $0".

Maybe for you. For me, it was like they evaluated it at $1000 and then gave me $1200.