Don’t Use the Apple Trade-in Program
Apple’s stock price is skyrocketing! Hooray! The company is flooded with cash – and always seems to be flooded with cash – which is why it is now lowering exchange prices for its large list of iPhones, iPads, Apple Watch and Macs.
I always recommend shopping around if you want to sell your old Apple devices before buying something new, but a lot of people ignore this advice and go straight to the Apple store to exchange their hardware. And that’s okay. It’s fast, easy, and gives you the option to use for additional Apple purchases. But is this the best offer? Usually not. Currently? Double no.
First, let’s take a look at the changes. Here’s the maximum you can get for the various trades at Apple retail stores, and how that has changed from previous trade values:
IPhone Exchange Cost
- IPhone XS Max: 500 (- $ 100)
- IPhone XS: $ 420 (- $ 80)
- iPhone XR: $ 300 (- $ 70)
- IPhone X: $ 320 (- $ 80)
- iPhone 8 Plus: $ 250 (- $ 50)
- IPhone 8: $ 170 (- $ 50)
- IPhone 7 Plus: $ 150 (- $ 50)
- IPhone 7: $ 120 (- $ 30)
- IPhone 6s Plus: up to $ 100 (- $ 20)
- IPhone 6s: $ 80 (- $ 20)
IPad exchange cost
- iPad Pro: $ 220 (- $ 70)
- IPad: $ 100 (- $ 40)
- iPad Air: $ 70 (- $ 30)
- IPad mini: $ 80 (- $ 40)
Apple Watch exchange cost
- Apple Watch Series 4: $ 100 (- $ 10)
Mac exchange cost
- MacBook Air: $ 660 (- $ 10)
- MacBook: $ 610 (- $ 20)
- iMac Pro: $ 4,150 (- $ 90)
- iMac: $ 1,500 (- $ 60)
Are Apple’s New Valuables Still Acceptable for Exchange?
To answer that question, let’s focus on the iPhone – I bet it’s a big part of what people trade. You have a variety of places to sell your iPhone online, from good old eBay and Craigslist to specialist sites like Gazelle or giant online retailers like Amazon . Here’s the maximum value you can expect to get for your last iPhone from some of the more well-known exchange sites, including buy-directly sites like Gadgetgone and “make it easy to sell to someone else” sites like Swappa. …
(What you actually get depends on your device, its carrier, size, color, and so on, the maximum amount of storage on each device.)
IPhone XS Maximum exchange values
- Apple: $ 500
- Amazon: doesn’t exist
- Gadgetgone: $ 675
- Gazelle: $ 423.
- Swappa: $ 730 (average)
IPhone XS exchange cost
- Apple: $ 420
- Amazon: DNE
- Gadgetgone: $ 620
- Gazelle: $ 376
- Swappa: $ 634 (average)
IPhone XR Exchange Cost
- Apple: $ 300
- Amazon: DNE
- Gadgetgone: $ 480
- Gazelle: $ 354
- Swappa: $ 560 (average)
IPhone X exchange values
- Apple: $ 320
- Amazon: $ 290
- Gadgetgone: $ 440
- Gazelle: $ 262
- Swappa: $ 474 (average)
IPhone 8 Plus Exchange Cost
- Apple: $ 250
- Amazon: $ 210
- Gadgetgone: $ 370
- Gazelle: $ 205
- Swappa: $ 408 (average)
Exchange cost iPhone 8
- Apple: $ 170
- Amazon: $ 155
- Gadgetgone: $ 330
- Gazelle: $ 241
- Swappa: $ 334 (average)
As you can see, there is a fairly wide range of prices that you can get for your used iPhone, especially if it is in excellent condition and is one of the newer models that Apple sells. If I was going to trade my iPhone, I wouldn’t go with Apple. I would at least consider selling it on Swappa or Gadgetgone, and I would categorically stay away from Amazon. I could consider a Gazelle, but it seems silly when you can get a lot more money elsewhere.
Warning? Your device is better off being in as good condition as you say, otherwise companies like Gadgetgone will give you a revised rating that is slightly lower than you’d expect. You don’t have to accept this (and Gadgetgone will even send you your iPhone for free if you don’t agree), but it’s just another hoop you will have to jump through if you were hoping for $$$$$ and was offered $ instead $ post-inspection.
However, there are times when Apple puts on trade promotions in the Apple Store, usually in conjunction with the launch of a new iPhone, which gives you additional changes for your device. It will still not be as good as selling it to a third party, but I will understand if you hesitate to do it. Shipping your iPhone to some random website might seem a little less reliable than Apple itself.
If you can wait, I recommend doing so. Apple’s stock is not the most generous, but getting an extra hundred dollars for your old iPhone is half the Airpods Pro? Additional charging pad (and some changes)? There are worse things.