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Is the trade-in program legit?

G

Guitarmaster

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 7, 2014
20
8
I am thinking of trading in my AW S7 for a S9. I’ve always sold my watches through FB market but don’t want to do that this year.

I am hesitant of sending my AW tthough the mail for the trade in. I read some stories were they claim that the product has some a scratches or is non-functional.

is this a rare occurrence? Am I ok using the trade-in kit?
 
Guitarmaster said:
I am thinking of trading in my AW S7 for a S9. I’ve always sold my watches through FB market but don’t want to do that this year.

I am hesitant of sending my AW tthough the mail for the trade in. I read some stories were they claim that the product has some a scratches or is non-functional.

is this a rare occurrence? Am I ok using the trade-in kit?
Click to expand...
You can even do the trade in at the store. Just make sure you mention that you're trading it against the order you've placed.

The store will verify the device and run diagnostics, if needed, and if everything checks out then they issue you a credit.
You can choose the credit in the form a gift card or to the card of your choice.

Obviously you're getting less than the market value for your device. But like the other fellow MacRumor user said, you're paying for the convenience of a hassle free process.

I too, used to sell my devices for a larger amount on Facebook and OfferUp but just couldnt stand dealing with lowballers and time wasters.

Hassle free and seamless experience at the Apple Store since 2018.
 
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Chuckeee said:
The typical complaint is the trade in value is significantly below the after market used value. You pay a lot for convenience of just trading it in. But I guess it is better than just sticking it in a junk drawer.
Click to expand...
I understand this. My question was more related to the mail in trade in program.
 
It's legit - yes.
If the offer is different from the website estimate - you can cancel, & Apple will return it...


If the condition of your device is different from what you described, we’ll provide a revised value.

If the revised value is lower than the initial estimate, you can either accept or reject it. If you accept it, we’ll continue with the trade-in and either charge or credit the difference in value to the card you provided. If you reject it, we’ll cancel the trade-in, return your old device, and charge the original trade-in value to your card.

If the revised value increases, we’ll automatically increase your trade-in credit.

www.apple.com

Apple Trade In

Trade in your iPhone, iPad, Mac, Watch, or any other device for credit toward a new one, or recycle it responsibly for free with Apple Trade In.
www.apple.com
 
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Gooner49 said:
I too, used to sell my devices for a larger amount on Facebook and OfferUp but just couldnt stand dealing with lowballers and time wasters.
Click to expand...
I’ve had good experiences using Swappa, but it’s been a while - sold my S5 when the S6 came out.
 
I traded in my iPad 9 through Apple Canada (they use a third party). They proposed a decent figure but then sent me an email and "revised" my trade in from $190 to $0.

They had the audacity to include an "Accept" button for their new $0 offer.

Luckily it also had an option to send it back. Which I took. They sent the iPad back and I sold it privately for more than $190.
 
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I like using it, and even if the watch is just getting recycled it’s a decent value in trade without the hassle of third-party selling.
 
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irod87 said:
If you do it. I would take photos and videos of the condition as you pack it. Just to help your case in the event they try to say it arrived in poor condition.
Click to expand...
yep, do that on all my trade-ins, and never had an issue with Apple, always got the quoted $$
 
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deeddawg said:
I’ve had good experiences using Swappa, but it’s been a while - sold my S5 when the S6 came out.
Click to expand...

I've heard of it from my colleagues but I'm old school and extremely skeptical of mailing in devices that may turn ugly down the road.

I may end up trying it out sometime in the future but the differences in price point for Apple Watch Ultra was negligible.

I believe I saw the price of $375 offered and that's lower than what Apple offered. Albeit by $5.
 
I too have done the Apple trade in multiple times, but I'd never do the mail-in option. The stores all do it nearly instantly. Easiest process ever. You don't even have to do the trade-in at the time you buy your other device. They just apply the trade-in value as a credit back to your card.
 
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I have done the Best Buy trade in a few times. Offers are usually higher than Apple. Easy, in-store trade.
Just picked up a Watch 8 for my daughter for $279 there. Traded her 3 year old Series 6 in for $110.
 
I've traded in via mail multiple times without issue...until this year, haha!!

Sent a Series 8 and AWU in for trade. One made it fine, one was shown "Delivery Exception - Damaged in transit, handling per shipper instructions"

Guess which one was "damaged"? haha!! Yep, the AWU of course.

I don't know what happens now. The exception just happened today. We'll see!!

But from now on, I'll be trading in at the Apple Store :)
 
it seems the current trade deals are similar to eBay sale price. BB and Apple offering $90 for the S5 and $230 for the S8 while a new S8 is now $280. Last year BB offered $75 for the S5 but now it's $90 so it went up in value? weird but ok.
 
Lucas Curious said:
it seems the current trade deals are similar to eBay sale price. BB and Apple offering $90 for the S5 and $230 for the S8 while a new S8 is now $280. Last year BB offered $75 for the S5 but now it's $90 so it went up in value? weird but ok.
Click to expand...
The series 5 trade in value is up $15 while the battery replacement cost to keep that four year old watch healthy is up $20, meanwhile the cost of buying a brand new equivalent replacement (series 9) is unchanged. For those weighing the decision whether to keep or replace, the calculus for buying a new one just shifted by $35 in favor of a sale for Apple. Seems less weird when you think about it in that light.
 
I traded in my S3 for a S5 in 2019 by mail and got the quoted amount. My S5 is on its way to Elk Grove as a trade-in for my S9. I was quoted $90 for the S5.
 
Did anyone calculate the "financial" aspect of trading in to Apple every 2 years vs keeping the watch longer for say 4 years and then trading in/selling?

Apple giving $155 for S7 (2 yr old) -> Swappa is $200 ish.
$60 for S4 (5 year old) ->Didn't check.
 
joefrank64k said:
I've traded in via mail multiple times without issue...until this year, haha!!

Sent a Series 8 and AWU in for trade. One made it fine, one was shown "Delivery Exception - Damaged in transit, handling per shipper instructions"

Guess which one was "damaged"? haha!! Yep, the AWU of course.

I don't know what happens now. The exception just happened today. We'll see!!

But from now on, I'll be trading in at the Apple Store :)
Click to expand...
Great news! I called Apple and explained what I saw on FedEx tracking and asked "what happens now?"

They confirmed that they saw the same message on FedEx tracking, said they would contact FedEx, and that I would get an email today with any progress.

I just got an email saying, "We've concluded our investigation and will be issuing you a trade-in credit based upon the original quoted value. We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you again for shopping with Apple."

Nice!!
 
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joefrank64k said:
Great news! I called Apple and explained what I saw on FedEx tracking and asked "what happens now?"

They confirmed that they saw the same message on FedEx tracking, said they would contact FedEx, and that I would get an email today with any progress.

I just got an email saying, "We've concluded our investigation and will be issuing you a trade-in credit based upon the original quoted value. We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you again for shopping with Apple."

Nice!!
Click to expand...
Thanks for this update!
 
Never had any problems trading in watches or phones with Apple. Had a nightmare trading-in a Mac.

Make sure you have documentation and photos of everything before you send it in so you can document your case if anything happens.
 
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