So I have the iPad Pro 11 inch 256Gb. I got it at the beginning of this year and I have barely used it. It does not even have a blemish or a scratch on it. Now I see the new iPad Pro is out and I am interested in upgrading but the trade in isn’t very high. I chatted with Apple and they said if I go In Person to an Apple Store, they will potentially offer more for it.

How true is this? And how much more do you think I could get if they determine it is perfect.

Question for the people that have done in-store trade-in, I have seen multiple comments saying that they have gotten a better value going directly to the store. How much (approx) is the increase compared to online trade-in offers?

I bought the iPhone 15 Pro via pre-order. In general, I love the phone, but--and here's the dumb part--after the no-hassle return period, I've decided I really want one of the bigger screen models.

But, as mentioned, I'm passed the "return" period, and the 15s are not eligible for trade-in through the website.

So, might I have luck trying to trade in in-store? If not, does anyone (maybe a store employee or previous employee) know when Apple usually begins to allow trade-ins for current year models?

I just pre ordered the new iPhone and selected the trade in as well. Im picking up the phone from a nearby apple store and wanted to know if I can do the trade in at the store as well or do I have to use the kit that they mail out to me.

My husband and I pre-ordered the new iPhone 17 Pro Max online. We’re on the Next Up Anytime program, so we used that to upgrade. One thing we wanted to clarify is about the trade-in process. When we checked out, it didn’t give us the option to trade in our phones at a local store. it seemed like we’d have to ship them in.

We’d feel more comfortable trading in at a store, so we just wanted to check if that’s still possible or if shipping is the only option.

Update 2:

Maybe this policy is different among stores. Some people said that Apple refused to apply their trade-in value to the original purchase. When I picked my iPad mini 6 at the Apple store (in the US), I asked Apple's Specialist whether if I could trade in later, and they said yes. So when I went there yesterday (13 days later), they processed it right away without any problem.

Therefore, you should ask Apple's Specialists first to confirm whether if they allow you to trade in your old device later.

Update 1:

If you choose the mail-in option for online trade-in, the Apple store will refuse to process your trade-in at stores.

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TLDR:

Trade-in your old devices at the Apple Store within 14 days of a new purchase. Never trade-in online. Ask Apple’s specialist to confirm this trade-in policy just in case they change it later.

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Original post:

When you purchase a new device at Apple Store or on the Apple website, you don't have to trade in your old device to get the credit right away. You can do that within 14 days when you are satisfied with your new device. That's what Apple employee told me.

When you bring your old device to the Apple Store to trade in later, just show the Apple Specialist the invoice along with the serial number of the new device that you bought, so they could apply the credit to the device in that order. Moreover, they will ask you to give them your credit card/debit card so they can send the credit to that card. It takes 3 days for the credit to be applied to your card.

I just finished traded in my old iPhone after 14 days since the day I have bought my new iPad mini, and they accepted that without any problem. So I think this info is useful for people who want to try a new device before they decide whether if they should sell/trade in their old device.

If you decide to trade in your device to Apple, please do it in person at the Apple Store. The process is quick and easy, and you get the maximum value of the trade-in right away. Never apply for the trade-in on the Apple website because Apple will assign a third-party company to serve you. They will send you a box so you can send your old device to them. It is a sketchy company. You have to wait in 2 weeks then they will tell you that your device has a problem, so they offer you a very bad quote with a lower value. When you ask them to send your device back to you, you will receive a “broken” device with problems that you have never seen.

Edited: Fix typos.

Has anyone traded in their mac instore? I know I can get more on ebay but I'll rather do instore for the instant savings / tax savings. Comes out to be around the same.

Hey all. After reading reviews on here, I'm a bit nervous about sending my iPhone 12 and my wife's iPhone 12 Pro via the trade-in program. I've read it's through a 3rd party called Phobio. Is this still the case? I'm also concerned because my iPhone has very superficial scratches on the back (front has a glass protector so it's flawless). The scratches on my phone are those kind you can only see in the right light/angle, so not super obvious or detrimental to performance and function. So in summary, has anyone had a good experience with trade-ins via mail as opposed to the store? I already have an order online and expect to receive my new iPhone's tomorrow. Apple support let me know that I can just return those new phones at the store and just ignore the trade-in. Is it worth the 1 hour drive to go to the Apple Store instead for the trade-in?

I’ve never done an upgrade through Apple before. If you upgrade at an Apple Store, are you given the trade in value there on the spot? Is there an advantage with Apple over doing it through T-Mobile?

I want to trade in my iPad Air 3 and get the new iPad Air but I don’t want to deal with mailing my device in to Apple. Can I trade it in at Apple Store if I pickup the iPad in store too?

I feel silly posting this but I can't seem to find any documentation on it. I want to order an Apple Watch for pickup at my local Apple Store. At the same time, I want to trade in my old Apple Watch to get credit. On the website, I can place the order for my new watch, pick a pickup location and also specify I want to trade in my old watch. But despite doing a local pickup, all the instructions are for mailing in the watch. I know they do trade in's, in-store but how does this actually work?

There are instructions on what to do before shipping your watch - removing it from your device list and erasing it. Should I come into the store with my old watch already wiped? Or do they want to inspect it first to see if it's working (beyond the physical inspection)? Will they stand around and wait for me to log in to iCloud to delete/erase my device? I'd much rather do this in person so I can get my credit right away rather than risk their 3rd party partner denying my trade-in for some bad reason.

Will the Apple store know that my trade-in is the same one that I specified during the online order (that's tied to this new Apple Watch)? I don't want to trade in my old watch and then have Apple later claim they never received it in the mail.

Hi everyone, I’m planning to trade in my 2020 MacBook pro directly at an Apple Store when buying a new one. Has anyone done this before? Do they inspect the device on the spot, or is there a waiting period? Were there any unexpected issues or delays during the process? Also, was the trade-in value accurate compared to what Apple estimated online? Thank you very much 🫶🏻🫶🏻

When I go through the Apple Store and select Trade In for my device (a 14 Pro Max), then choose AT&T monthly financing (and link my account), my bag shows:

• iPhone price minus Apple’s trade-in value ($400)

• A final total reflecting the Apple trade-in, not the AT&T carrier promo.

My confusion:

• Shouldn’t the total reflect AT&T’s advertised deal ($0.00/mo for 36 months after trade-in)?

• And shouldn’t the “Trade-In Amount” be AT&T’s ($1,100) rather than Apple’s ($400)?

Extra context:

• I still have 2 payments left on my current phone.

• Once I “link” my AT&T account, is the Apple Store just seeing that my phone is still tied to an installment plan—so it only applies Apple’s trade-in instead of the carrier promotion?

Has anyone else run into this? Am I misunderstanding how Apple Store + carrier trade-in promos work?

I recently purchased an iphone 16pro online thru the apple store and received the apple trade in promo as well as Tmobile's.

On launch day, I got the new phone thru the mail along with a box to return my old device. Unfortunately, i ended up losing the return box so I decided to return the trade-in phone in person at an Apple store. When I got there, the device was inspected and then and there I was refunded $315 back into my bank account.

Fast forward to today, I get an email saying they had not received the phone yet and that I was gonna get charged the $315 I was originally credit when i pre ordered the phone.

I called Apple and was told that I should have returned the device via mail and that I will be charged $315 since another company and/or department handles mail-in trade-ins.

The rep said that I had initially been given the $315 as an instant credit by Apple when I first pre-ordered the phone and that in essence, I had been credited twice.

Does this make sense and will I lose Tmobile's own discount by having it done this way?

Apple appears to have made a significant change at some point to how some standalone (not with a purchase or upgrade!) iPhone trade-ins work. I haven't seen this covered elsewhere. It used to be that Apple would either automatically send a trade-in kit or you could easily request it by clicking a button. Now, Apple says that if you want the kit, you have to call customer support to specifically request it. Apple won't even provide it via iMessage support, you literally have to get on the phone and wait on hold if you want the kit. That's some egregious dark pattern nonsense, like trying to cancel a newspaper subscription. They're just intentionally making it more difficult to use this convenient option.

Edit: per the discussion below, it looks like this policy change applies to some (but not all) standalone trade-ins for Apple credit that you can use later, and not to other kinds of trade-ins (e.g., credit against a purchase that you're making at the same time or an upgrade). It also might only apply to certain types of devices. Updated the text above to reflect that. Still bad!

Edit 2: I don't quite understand why this is getting downvoted to oblivion. It's a real and user-hostile policy decision by Apple! Folks below confirm that they've had the same experience.

I was trusting that Apple was doing device trade-in, not a third-party. I wish that I had come to Reddit and the internet before I had traded.

I sent a pristine 11 Pro Max that had never left its case. I even took video of it before I sent it. The third-party is claiming that the camera is broken, when it was fully functional before I sent my phone. Now, they’re sending me back a broken phone that was once totally perfect.

Does anyone happen to know if there’s any way to seek legal recourse? This isn’t right.

Either way. ONLY trade in your device in-person. I would never do or recommend this method ever again.

Edit: Thank you to everyone who has solid advice and info. I’m truly glad for the people who had good experiences, because that is what I expected for myself, but I’m also confused at all of the flippant responses and downvotes. I did originally believe that Apple was doing the trade-in in-house, which I will accept as my own oversight. I’m not afraid to drive to trade-in, but my purchase was a gift that I was using my trade-in for and my closest store was sold out of the device. Not only that, many people live hundreds and hundreds of miles away from Apple Stores. It’s definitely up to personal preference and what is available to you; I will ONLY do in-store trades from now on, but may my experience be a cautionary tale to the next person who needs to trade-in online: take photos, videos of functionality, and get your serial number prepared just in case! I am not the first person who has experienced this issue, and I’m sure that I will not be the last. Ounce of prevention, as it were.

Can I just walk in and find a specialist to trade in my MacBook Air m1 for a gift card or an Apple Watch S10?  My estimated value was 370$ 8gb/256gb

Because I can’t find the appointment section in the Apple.com website for my local store. And I only want to trade in in person. I don’t want to send the item through FedEx.

After hearing the woeful stories about trade-ins gone bad, I decided to go another route. I went to an AT&T store and they tried to sell me all kinds of services that I didn't want, so I left. I went on apple.com to see their trade-in values, and sadly my iPhone 12 Pro was only worth $360 to them, whereas AT&T was going to give me $1,000.00 towards a new phone. But, I found this on Apple's website and that changed everything: https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-iphone/carrier-offers. Basically, go through Apple's website and pick your phone's configuration. On the part of the page that deals with paying for it, you will see an option to pay for it in full, or finance it. On that finance button, there is some blue text that says something about Carrier Financing. Click that and your AT&T $1000.00 trade-in shows up. Complete the purchase and set up an appointment at your Apple store.

At the store, they took my old phone, asked me if I was ready to erase it, and then they ran some diagnostics and other verification stuff (I saw him take pics of the front and back of the phone etc.), and that was that. They brought me my new phone, walked me through the setup and data migration, allowed me to ask any questions, etc. My old phone was placed into a brown envelope with a label, and an email was sent to me to say that they received my old phone. When I clicked that email later that day, it showed me that my trade-in was approved because the old phone was already verified in the Apple store.

That's it!

TL:DR: Go to https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-iphone/carrier-offers and buy your phone there. Do the whole experience with Apple and have a hassle-free trade-in experience.