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I tried this and it didn't work out well at the Apple store in San Diego. Their system wouldn't take my trade and apply it to my purchase. The only thing they would do is take the trade-in box and offer to give it to UPS.

However, they had no way to give me a receipt for taking it would have had to do it on trust. The truth of it is that would have been low-risk, but it was going to be no different than just dropping it into the UPS store. And with the UPS store, at least I would get a drop-off receipt.

I think that getting a gift card would have been an option however.
I am afraid this would happen. Pretty much the config I want is a BTO/CTO and at the point I would be able to order it in two weeks, well Jan would be the time it would arrive. 1700$ is a decent amount towards the MBP build but then I would be out without a computer for quite sometime lol
 
I tried this and it didn't work out well at the Apple store in San Diego. Their system wouldn't take my trade and apply it to my purchase. The only thing they would do is take the trade-in box and offer to give it to UPS.

However, they had no way to give me a receipt for taking it would have had to do it on trust. The truth of it is that would have been low-risk, but it was going to be no different than just dropping it into the UPS store. And with the UPS store, at least I would get a drop-off receipt.

I think that getting a gift card would have been an option however.
Something doesn't sound quite right about what the store told you. It's the same system at all Apple stores. It sounds more like maybe the person didn't know how to do it and didn't have someone to ask. Hope it works out well for you.
 
I have an appointment tomorrow to trade-in my MBP at the Apple Store. I ordered/received my 14 MBP earlier this week and go the trade-in box, but don't want to ship it. I chatted with the Apple Store and they said they can do trade-ins. Fingers crossed everything goes smoothly.

Do I need to take my powerbrick and cable with me? I can't see anywhere what I need to bring besides the laptop.
 
Do I need to take my powerbrick and cable with me? I can't see anywhere what I need to bring besides the laptop.
Apparently it’s not required. Several people had said that, but I brought mine anyway and left it in the car, just in case they wanted it, but they didn’t.
 
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Do I need to take my powerbrick and cable with me? I can't see anywhere what I need to bring besides the laptop.
That question is answered in Apple Trade-in FAQ, and the answer is no.
 
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That question is answered in Apple Trade-in FAQ, and the answer is no.
The slightly confusing part is that the trade-in box that they send to you does instruct you (pictorially) to include the charger… though people have said it’s not necessary, if I had done the shipped option, I would have sent the charger just out of fear of them doing a deduction on the price.
 
The slightly confusing part is that the trade-in box that they send to you does instruct you (pictorially) to include the charger… though people have said it’s not necessary, if I had done the shipped option, I would have sent the charger just out of fear of them doing a deduction on the price.
I would guess that's because Phobio handles trade-ins for companies other than Apple as well, and those instructions may be generic.
 
Ok I ended up trading in and received a gift card but I didn't apply it to my purchase 14 in I bought 1 week ago. I am returning the 14 and getting larger 1TB silver model. So I applied the gift card to my 14in that's coming in in December and I'm returning the 14 in base.

Oh and the best part? I kept the 96w 16in charger! They didn't even ask for it.
 
I traded in my M1 Air (selected the trade on option during checkout for in store pickup), and selected the collection time online after picking up the machine in store. A courier guy came to my home to collect the MacBook at the scheduled time and I received full trade in value credited to my credit card account 4 days later.
 
I would guess that's because Phobio handles trade-ins for companies other than Apple as well, and those instructions may be generic.
No, it's an Apple-branded pamphlet. Probably just old instructions that haven't been updated.
 
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I have an appointment tomorrow to trade-in my MBP at the Apple Store. I ordered/received my 14 MBP earlier this week and go the trade-in box, but don't want to ship it. I chatted with the Apple Store and they said they can do trade-ins. Fingers crossed everything goes smoothly.

Do I need to take my powerbrick and cable with me? I can't see anywhere what I need to bring besides the laptop.
What did you choose as “reason” for your appointment?
I can only find “shopping assistance”… nothing related to “trade in”
Does it even matter what kind of appointment you have?
 
Well that was frustrating……. I ordered my MBP on Oct 18th and it was delivered on Nov 2nd. Went to the Apple Store today to trade in the old device and they said their system said it was past the 14 day window and they couldn’t accept it. Called Apple from the store and they said the 14 days starts from when the device is delivered but there was nothing they could do about what the store’s system showed and they told me I’d need to mail it in using the trade in box. So I ended up putting it in the box and shipping it…. Hopefully no issues arise.
 
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Well that was frustrating……. I ordered my MBP on Oct 18th and it was delivered on Nov 2nd. Went to the Apple Store today to trade in the old device and they said their system said it was past the 14 day window and they couldn’t accept it. Called Apple from the store and they said the 14 days starts from when the device is delivered but there was nothing they could do about what the store’s system showed and they told me I’d need to mail it in using the trade in box. So I ended up putting it in the box and shipping it…. Hopefully no issues arise.
Just sent my wife’s Air, she has a new base Pro. Online est.$380. Yesterday Apple Card credited $404. I did sen in the charger.

My Pro was shipped 10/25. Was stuck in China until yesterday, my trade in box arrived 11/1. Called Apple, was told I have until the 25th for the trade. This is all on Apple and UPS. You should be good.
 
Well that was frustrating……. I ordered my MBP on Oct 18th and it was delivered on Nov 2nd. Went to the Apple Store today to trade in the old device and they said their system said it was past the 14 day window and they couldn’t accept it. Called Apple from the store and they said the 14 days starts from when the device is delivered but there was nothing they could do about what the store’s system showed and they told me I’d need to mail it in using the trade in box. So I ended up putting it in the box and shipping it…. Hopefully no issues arise.

Similar to my experience then and I took delivery 26 Oct and went to the store on 3 Nov. I think that once the return box ships then the systems blocks it being traded to a store.
 
So my best bet is to place my BTO/CTO order and then make a appointment at ARS to trade in current MBP and then just wait for week of December 24th for the ordered one to arrive lol?
 
Hey everyone, okay so... I purchased a 16" MBP M1 Pro 16GB 1TB model on Oct 19 2021. It was shipped on Oct 30, and arrived on Nov 5. I spent the weekend setting up the new MBP and wiping the old one for my parents. I then took the old MBP to the Apple Store today, Nov 8, and asked to trade it in for an order I made online.

They started the process, reviewed the item, got cleared for quality. The sales rep typed in the serial number for my old MBP and it was linked to my online purchase. During the final stage, there was a problem. Sales rep said I had the computer for 20 days, which was past their window for an in store trade-in, and I would have to trade it in via mail. I told the sales rep that the machine didn't arrive at my house until Nov 5th and I had the computer for 3 days only.

I asked if they started counting from the purchase date or from the day my purchase arrived? I can't remember if the sales rep said "from the day the trade-in box arrives" or if it was from the purchase date? It was confusing. Regardless, Nov 8 was exactly 20 days from the date of purchase.

I asked if I could do my trade-in in store instead of mailing? Sales rep asked why I was intent on the trade-in being done in store? Told them I didn't trust the third party vendors for trade-ins since I can't be there to verify that they didn't purposefully scuff my old MBP just to mark down the value. The sales rep understood and got the manager involved. They had 2 options for me:

1) Call Apple 1-800 number and ask them to unlock the 20 day limit on their end so that the store could conduct the trade-in since their system in store could not override whatever they had marked at central.

2) Get a gift-card with the trade-in amount, and then cash it out.

We tried the first option and called on my phone, but the Apple rep on-call was of no help. Sales rep told me they don't think the person on the phone had any idea what they were doing, and I agreed. We both think the Apple on-call rep simply didn't want to release it or didn't know how?

We ended up conducting the gift card cash-out method, but I had to come in later that day to cash out. It was early in the morning and they didn't have enough cash on hand for me to cash out. Note: If you go in store to conduct your trade in, go later in the day when they have cash in the registers lol I was given a receipt with the inspection detail of my old MBP and gift card with the total amount of my trade-in value. I was able to get the full amount estimated online 😄

The sales rep was very nice and having experience working in retail (many a years ago lol) I let him know I understood what it's like to help customers with problems and that if I could, I would like to come back prior to his work shift ending so that there wouldn't be any confusion with other sales rep and having to rehash our trade-in setup lol

I returned later that day before the sales rep shift ended with the gift card, traded the gift card in for the full cash amount, and walked out the store with cash in-hand for my trade in.

Some Tips in Retrospect:
1) Have your Order Number, Shipping Date, and Date received information with you.
2) Go later in the Day.
3) Try to work with 1 sales rep so there's no confusion.
4) Keep calm and friendly with staff, it helps smoothen out the process 😉
5) Try to dress presentable lol This is an optional step but people tend to be less helpful, subconsciously, if you look like a bum. I dressed fancy 😅

I did get my money so I'm glad, but unfortunately (as other posters have mentioned) it was post-tax and not pre-tax since it's applied to a gift card and not to the purchase. I believe if you conduct the trade-in through the third party vendor, and get the full estimated trade-in value it'll be credited to your payment method plus whatever sales tax deduction? Could someone verify this for me? I'm curious about this too, since I have another MBP I'm waiting to arrive that I need to do a trade-in as well.

My last question is, how do you know if your trade-in via mail is conducted through Apple and not a third party vendor? Does the shipping label indicate who would be evaluating the trade-in?

Thanks!

Edit: Quick note, prior to going into the Apple Store, I was online with Apple Help Chat and asked if I could conduct a trade-in for a purchase I made online in-store instead of via mail. Apple Help Chat said yes you could bring it in store instead of returning it via mail through their trade-in kit.

Edit: I added some extra details on my experience that was left out, also fixed grammar. Wanted to mention that I went back online and talked to Apple Help Chat Trade-In Specialist and asked to verify if I could conduct a trade-in for an online order in store instead of through mail, since I have another MBP coming. The specialist stated that it was up to the discretion of each Apple Store. So there seems to be 2 different answers 🤔
 
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Hey everyone, okay so... I purchased a 16" MBP M1 Pro 16GB 1TB model on Oct 19 2021. It was shipped on Oct 30, and arrived on Nov 5. I spent the weekend setting up the new MBP and wiping the old one for my parents. I then took the old MBP to the Apple Store today, Nov 8, and asked to trade it in for an order I made online.

They started the process, reviewed the item, got cleared for quality. During the final stage, the sales clerk had a problem stating that I had the computer for 20 days, which was past their window for an in store trade-in and I would have to trade it in via mail. I told the sales rep that the machine didn't arrive at my house until Nov 5th and I had the computer for 3 days only. I asked the sales rep if they started counting from the purchase date or from the day my purchase arrived? I can't remember if the sales rep said "from the day the trade-in box arrives" or if it was from the purchase date? It was confusing. Regardless, Nov 8 was exactly 20 days from the date of purchase.

I asked the sales rep if there was any way I could do my trade-in in store instead of mailing? Sales rep asked why I was intent on doing it in-store? Told them I didn't trust the third party vendors to conduct my trade-in since I can't be there to verify that they didn't purposefully scuff my old MBP just to mark down the value. The sales rep understood and got the manager involved. They had 2 options for me:

1) Call Apple 1-800 number and ask them to unlock the 20 day limit on their end so that the store could conduct the trade-in since their system in store could not override whatever they had marked at central.

2) Get a gift-card with the trade-in amount, and then cash it out.

We tried the first option and called on my phone, but the Apple rep on-call was of no help. Sales rep told me they don't think the person on the phone had any idea what they were doing, and I agreed. We both think the Apple on-call rep simply didn't want to release it or didn't know how?

We ended up conducting the gift card cash-out method, but I had to come in later that day when the store had enough in "cash" for me to cash out. It was early in the morning and they didn't have enough cash on hand for me to cash out. Note: If you go in store to conduct your trade in, go later in the day when they have cash in the registers lol

I returned later that day, and walked out the store with cash in-hand for my trade in.

I did get my money so I'm glad, but unfortunately (as other posters have mentioned) it was post-tax and not pre-tax since it's applied to a gift card and not to the purchase. I believe if you conduct the trade-in through the third party vendor, and get the full estimated trade-in value it'll be credited to your payment method plus whatever sales tax deduction.

My only question is, how do you know if your trade-in mail in is conducted through Apple and not a third party vendor? Does the shipping label indicate who would be evaluating the trade-in?

Thanks!
My shipping label indicated that the trade-in was going to Apple’s Carlisle PA facility. I later confirmed that the trade-in was received and that their Apple technicians would evaluate the MM for value either +/- and I would receive email confirmation of the amount. The amount will then be applied to my card of purchase.
 
The box with return shipping label I received is addressed to AI in Elk Grove CA. Did anyone else send their mac to that address? All the other posters seems to have their macs sent to PA.
 
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The box with return shipping label I received is addressed to AI in Elk Grove CA. Did anyone else send their mac to that address?
That is where mine went also. Only issue I had was they gave me a $250 Apple gift card then refunded $530 to my credit card, rather than refund me the whole $780. I called Apple and they agreed to credit my card the $250 and that is still processing.

@CoffeeMacBook > You don't get the sales tax back.
 
The box with return shipping label I received is addressed to AI in Elk Grove CA. Did anyone else send their mac to that address? All the other posters seems to have their macs sent to PA.
I sent mine to the same address last week. They claimed my 2019 13-in MBP wouldn't power on/off, so they devalued my offer down to $0. I rejected that, asked for the device back, and it arrived in my hands today.

It works perfectly fine.
 
I'm returning a late 2015 MBP and the return label sends it to a location in Houston, TX.

Thanks to so many having shared their experiences, after I wiped the data, I created a new ID solely to be used for validation.

I then made a video showing every side of my device, showed it unplugged and then plugged in to show it charged, typed to show the keyboard worked, used the touch pad, and brought up Siri to ask something to prove that its speakers worked. I finally videoed me putting it in the protective wrapper, then box, and made sure to capture me applying the tape, labels, and the shipment info.

Obviously, a tiny bit of effort but it should ensure clarity if things go awry at some point! Doing it in person would have been ideal, however, I got the box almost a week before I actually got the new MBP and didn’t want to have a failed in-store return because their system stops it!
 
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