Apple Trade-In Guide: Getting the Most Money Back

 You can get some extra cash to spend on a new gadget by trading in an old iPhone, iPad, or Mac. You can get cash back or a gift card for a particular business, such as Apple, Amazon, or Best Buy, depending on where you plan to sell your device.

When trading in a computer, what's most important to remember is that no one is the best site or service. There are so many options out there and prices differ depending on the device and deals that may be running, so your absolute best bet is to spend 15 to 20 minutes doing price checks on some of the most popular trade-in sites listed below if you want to do a trade-in using a trade-in site.

When you want to do some shopping around to find the best price for your specific unit, it can also be useful to use a comparison platform like Flipsy, uSell, or SellCell to compare trade-in rates.

Trade-in Options

When you have an old gadget you want to get rid of there are usually three options: trading it via a business like Apple or a service like Gazelle, selling it individually through a service like Craigslist, or selling it online to a person through a service like eBay or Swappa.

It's always going to be easier to use a trade-in service than to sell to a person, but it will cost you the convenience of doing so. You can never get quite as much money from a trade-in service as you would get from direct sales, but before considering a trade-in, there are some tips and tricks worth learning.

Device Condition

The state of the unit would make a big difference in the amount of cash that you will get back on an iPhone, iPad or Mac. Most trade-in sites, such as Nice, Fair, and Bad, give tiered payback depending on condition.

A working computer with no scratches or other damage in good condition will get the most money. Some sites will allow minor wear and tear problems to slide, while others, if a system is not in perfect shape, will deduct cash.

Both trade-in sites will ask you detailed questions about your device's condition, ensuring it is turned on, fully functioning, has no monitor problems and no cracks.

The amount of money you will get for a computer will dramatically reduce scratches, display glitches, and other issues, and certain trade-in sites will refuse to take defective devices at all.

To ensure that the output of your product suits the way you presented it the services that receive your device will check it at their end. If the case does not match up or give it back to you, most providers have the option of paying less.

Activation Lock

By turning off Find My iPhone, which is the normal operating procedure when trading in a device, you will also be asked to make sure the Activation Lock has been disabled. Companies request this to ensure that once it's handed in the computer will be available.

Apple Trade-ins

It's a smart idea to go the Apple trade-in route if you're trading in an Apple product and want to upgrade to another Apple product. Apple offers fair prices—sometimes much higher than other trade-in sites—as seen in the price comparison listings below and provides money in the form of an Apple gift card for your old items.

However there's a caveat. You need to do the trade-in when buying another smartphone to get Apple's top deals when trading in an iPhone. For instance, by using the regular trade-in platform, Apple offers $349 for an iPhone X in good condition, but you can get $450 for the same iPhone when buying another smartphone.

For Macs, iPads, and Apple Watch models, there are no unique trade-in prices, so this only applies to iPhones. Apple changes the trade-in values it provides occasionally, so it's worth shopping around.

For a regular trade-in, the Apple gift card you receive can be placed towards a purchase from the Apple online store or an Apple retail store, but Apple trade-ins are limited in reach because cash can not be received. Apple will give you a complete trade-in package so that your gadget can be properly packed up and shipped in quickly without having to hunt for a box and shipping materials.

You can also do trade-ins right in the Apple retail stores if you do not want to have trouble sending a gadget in.

Major Retailer Trade-in Programs

Companies such as Best Buy, Amazon, and Target have trading services, but usually they are not as successful as the trade-in service of Apple and are not the best for Apple products.

The trade-in service of Best Buy offers Best Buy gift cards, Amazon offers gift cards from Amazon, and Target offers Target gift cards or cash through PayPal.

If you want to do a trade-in in person to get a gift card or cash right away for whatever reason, both Target and Best Buy offer in-store trade-ins. Other big box stores such as Walmart, Game Stop, and all carrier stores offer options for trade-ins. For carriers, when buying a new smartphone to get a discount, you can also trade your mobile in.

There are so many that we can't go through all of them, but it's worth knowing that they all sell identical device rates, although some shops do discounts occasionally.

Other Trade-in Sites

There are hundreds of places where you want to buy your old gear to trade in. We'll mention a few of the most popular ones below but remember, as mentioned above, shopping around and visiting a few sites is a good idea to get price comparisons for your particular computer.

Gazelle - Gazelle is one of the best-known independent trading sites, perhaps. Gazelle's rates are not always the cheapest, but at times when new devices come out it provides discounts and it is streamlined with a free shipping label offered. At different locations where you can get cash back instantly, Gazelle has trade-in ecoATMs.

SellYourMac - With strong reviews and rates that are affordable and sometimes better than other trade-in sites, SellYourMac is a solid option if you need to trade-in or sell a Mac. SellYourMac also takes on iPhones, iPads, and other Apple devices, despite the name. Readers of MacRumors will get an additional $10 when entering the promo code "macrumors." on any trade-in worth $25 or more.

Decluttr - Decluttr provides trade-in rates on Apple devices that are higher than most other trade-in sites based on our pricing spot checks. However with claims that Decluttr often lowers price deals or takes several days to provide payment, there are a few mixed reviews to be aware of.

BuyBackWorld - Another platform offering better than average trade-in rates is BuyBackWorld. As with Decluttr, most reviews are positive, but there are some negatives, such as concerns about controls that take a long time to arrive. It is also said that the site's customer service is lacking.

Trade-in MacRumors - Several tech platforms, including MacRumors, have trade-in services that will give you cash back for your devices. Usually, these websites are similar to buyback sites such as Gazelle, but are not usually the best offer you can find. The software of MacRumors is unlimited via MyPhones and while it is easy and quick because a box is delivered right to you, if you want to put in more effort, you can do better.

It's Worth More - It's Worth More is comparable to Decluttr, offering better prices than you can get from big box trading systems than average prices. Reviews for It's Worth More seem to be mostly optimistic, but as with all of these trade-in schemes, once the devices are tested, there are some concerns about deals being lower than anticipated.

There are literally thousands if not hundreds of other places outside the list here that will purchase your old devices, but most of them are pretty identical. If we come across any excellent trade-in services that are worth highlighting, we'll add them to this list.

Selling a Device Outright

For an older computer, you will still get the best price to sell it yourself either in person using a forum such as Craigslist to organise a meeting or via a service such as Swappa or eBay.

Your best bet is to look for similar devices to your own while using one of these platforms to arrange a deal, so you can see what the general price is, which will allow you to set your own price. In general, in the vicinity of the asking price of other products, you may want to price your product so it will sell in a timely manner.

EBay - eBay has an Instant Sale feature for smartphones and other devices that predicts how much you can buy on the web, which is helpful. With Instant Sale, right away from eBay, you can get an eBay voucher (rather than cash). Not all devices are available for Instant Sale, so a typical listing will need to be done and delivered directly to a customer. You can also do a regular listing if you want cash.

Craigslist - Craigslist is designed to allow you in your local area to find buyers so that you can easily cash for your devices. It can be a challenge to set up an in-person deal, as it will include meeting up with the prospective buyer. Without having to ship, Craigslist will let you sell your things, and since it's a direct sale, you also get a lot more money than using a trade-in platform.

Swappa is essentially like eBay, except that you can advertise your device for sale and sell it to an individual directly to make more money than you're going to sell to a trade-in platform. Your devices need to be completely working, ready to unlock (not disabled or blacklisted) and without any cracks in order to sell to Swappa.

Sample Price Comparisons

Below, we have two devices priced out. To give you an idea of the discrepancies you can find on distinct trade-in pages, a newer iPhone and an older iPad. Note, every computer can differ from site to site in price, so it's best to shop around. Prices can even vary from day to day and a few days after getting a price quote, we didn't always get the same price check.

A 64GB ‌iPhone‌ X in silver color from Verizon in good or excellent condition, equating to no damage but some minor scratches from general use.

• MacRumors - $390
• Amazon - $357
• Target - $330
• Best Buy - $360
• Verizon - $370
• Gazelle - $352
• It's Worth More - $516
• BuyBackWorld - $480
• Decluttr - $517
• Apple - $349 ($450 w/ purchase)
• Craigslist - ~$600
• Swappa - ~$600
• eBay - ~$550

A 32GB Wi-Fi only ‌iPad‌ mini 2 in good or excellent condition, equating to no damage but some minor scratches from general use.

• MacRumors - $35
• Amazon - $55
• Target - $59
• Best Buy - $70
• Verizon - $45
• Gazelle - $48
• It's Worth More - $65
• BuyBackWorld - $70
• Decluttr - $63
• Apple - $76
• Craigslist - $75 - $100
• Swappa - ~$100
• eBay - ~$100

How to Get Your Device Ready to Sell or Trade-in

Before you trade it in, you will want to uninstall your iPhone, iPad or Mac to ensure that your personal data is gone and safe, and you will also need to disable Locate My iPhone and remove it from your iCloud account to make sure it is no longer locked for activation.

Bottom Line

Going with Apple's trade-in service is a smart idea if you're selling an Apple device to purchase another Apple device. To make it quick, Apple sends you a package, offers good rates that beat out several other trade-in sites, and gives you an Apple gift card to put towards another purchase from Apple.

A site like Gazelle or Decluttr is worth checking out if you want cash and convenience, but if you want the most money, use eBay, Swappa, or Craigslist to sell a gadget directly to an individual.

Many carrier trade-in services may be worth checking out just for convenience when you need to purchase a new phone from a carrier, but no carrier or big box store is going to give the best deals.