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Series 3 trade-in is a ripoff!!

coolbreeze2

coolbreeze2

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Sep 24, 2009
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Since I'm using my Series 3 LTE way less than my Series 4 LTE, I decided to see how much the Apple website would give me for the Series 3 as a trade in on a Series 5. The verdict.....a whopping $60. My trade-in is in mint condition. I go to the refurbished section and my exact same watch costs $549. Apple is admitting it's worth way more than $60! WTF Apple????
 
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Apple only cares about one thing - grabbing as much money as possible out of your pocket for themselves. They know at a psychological level that you would be more excited about the new device and would overlook how much margin you are giving up with your trade in. Car dealers pull the same trick on buyers with new car fever where they just shunt a large part of their margin into the trade-in.
 
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mtneer said:
Apple only cares about one thing - grabbing as much money as possible out of your pocket for themselves. They know at a psychological level that you would be more excited about the new device and would overlook how much margin you are giving up with your trade in. Car dealers pull the same trick on buyers with new car fever where they just shunt a large part of their margin into the trade-in.
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They use money to keep score. You'd think after awhile they'd get tired of it. Nope.
 
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deeddawg said:
Selling to a wholesaler is never a deal. Dunno why anyone would expect otherwise.

Go sell it on ebay or craigslist if you want more money for it.

Apple doesn’t owe you a thing.
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I know Apple owes me nothing but I expect more from Apple because of the superb professionalism, customer service, and integrity they have demonstrated in the past. Yes I can expect more.

But as you said they owe me nothing. Therefore rather than risk the crazies you can encounter on sites like CraigsList, I will gift the watch to my daughter who is in grad school.
 
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Yeah that was one of the hardest things to tell customers. One thing to take into account is the amount of handling apple is incurring into the trade in. Think about a swappa transaction; swappa's cut, the shipping, box, tape and your time. Then there is the worry what the seller will do after they receive the watch.

I am sure the bean counters at apple have that figured out to the minute.

Yeah the trade in is low.
 
All Apple trade-in are rip off because their only intention is to recycle your device for parts or repairs, not refurbishing. You'd make more money selling your S3 off eBay, Swappa, Gumtree or Craigslist.
 
Which one of these websites would facilitate me not being ripped off? For example, I hear about Craig's list transactions where the buyer was examining the merchandise and ran off with merchandise without paying!
 
And this is why I’m the only one of my friends who still purchases the SS model. All of my Apple Watch owning friends now own aluminium models.
They got tired of the awful re-sell values and risk of selling them online.
They’ve all realised that the aluminium with AC+ is the way ahead.
 
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I’ve had a very good experience on Swappa, both as a buyer and as a seller. And current selling prices on a Series 3 are north of $60, that’s for sure. Good luck, whatever you decide.
 
The-Real-Deal82 said:
Apples owes consumers more than they owe Apple I would say lol.
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Apple has zero obligation to act as a conduit to a used device wholesaler.

That they offer it as a convenience is a nice plus, but there are other options for those wanting more money for their used watch.

Folks expecting more from Apple have fallen for the marketing and forgotten they remain a for-profit corporation beholden to their shareholders.
 
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deeddawg said:
Apple has zero obligation to act as a conduit to a used device wholesaler.

That they offer it as a convenience is a nice plus, but there are other options for those wanting more money for their used watch.

Folks expecting more from Apple have fallen for the marketing and forgotten they remain a for-profit corporation beholden to their shareholders.
Click to expand...

Yeah but there’s offering less than a private sale and then there’s taking the piss. Personally I’d never trade in something for a lower price, but you’d expect a bit more than £100 for a series 4 Apple Watch.
 
The-Real-Deal82 said:
Yeah but there’s offering less than a private sale and then there’s taking the piss. Personally I’d never trade in something for a lower price, but you’d expect a bit more than £100 for a series 4 Apple Watch.
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Why? Apple is likely fro ting for another wholesaler, so add a layer of transaction costs.

Nothing stopping anyone from going to any of the other wholesalers — which are offering substantially more?
 
deeddawg said:
Why? Apple is likely fro ting for another wholesaler, so add a layer of transaction costs.

Nothing stopping anyone from going to any of the other wholesalers — which are offering substantially more?
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I wasn’t saying there is nothing stopping people selling through another medium. That’s the wise thing to do.
 
These are the weirdest complaints. It's like the people get all up in arms about what Gamestop will give them for trade ins. If you don't like it, then don't sell it to them and sell it to someone who will give you the value you feel it deserves. If you aren't willing to do the work for that then don't complain.
 
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bbednarz said:
These are the weirdest complaints. It's like the people get all up in arms about what Gamestop will give them for trade ins. If you don't like it, then don't sell it to them and sell it to someone who will give you the value you feel it deserves. If you aren't willing to do the work for that then don't complain.
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I very much doubt those people complaining here about Apples trade in values are actually trading their watches in to Apple, to be fair. I wouldn’t mind betting your advice here is not something new.
 
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bbednarz said:
These are the weirdest complaints. It's like the people get all up in arms about what Gamestop will give them for trade ins. If you don't like it, then don't sell it to them and sell it to someone who will give you the value you feel it deserves. If you aren't willing to do the work for that then don't complain.
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Sorry I can't agree with you on the sole premise of your hockey team preference.
When working at the store, a husband and wife came in. He was trading a series 2 for a 4. I gave them the trade in value. She said fine. He looked at her and said I can sell it for more. She looked at me and said fine, it's not going to sit in the pile of the other stuff he is never going to sell.
 
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The-Real-Deal82 said:
Yeah but there’s offering less than a private sale and then there’s taking the piss. Personally I’d never trade in something for a lower price, but you’d expect a bit more than £100 for a series 4 Apple Watch.
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Free market.

there’s an old saying in business to avoid telling your customers “no”. Instead, answer “yes” but price it such that they’ll go somewhere else or your can subcontract th work profitably.

IMHO that’s the case here. Also IMHO folks who don’t like Apples offer would be more productive to go find a different wholesaler rather than whine about it here. Not saying they shouldn’t voice their opinion, but I’m also not going to refrain from voicing my view that they appear self-entitled, naive, and silly.
 
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