Apple Trade in Worth It?

Hi All,

Looking at purchasing a new M1 2020 Macbook Air. I'm thinking about trading my Mid 2014 Apple Macbook Pro (with a dead battery). The system is in good physical condition and works fine however requires a new battery (only operates when plugged in). The apple website has offered me $330 for it and I'm considering just taking it.

Gumtree/FB Marketplace has them for sale for about $500 however I have no idea if these listing are even selling.

Should I just accept $330 and avoid the hassle of changing the battery and reselling (or selling notifying the buyer it needs a new battery)?

I also plan to get the free AirPods and sell them (as I already have some). So it should take a total of 430-530 off my overall price.

Thanks all.

Poll Options expired

  • 28
    Trade In
  • 2
    Sell Private with busted battery
  • 3
    Sell Private with fixed battery

Related Stores

Apple
Apple

Comments

  • Stick it up on gumtree for a few days and see what happens. But I personally would trade it in

  • +1

    I traded in 3 things in December cause I didn't want to deal with Ebay/Scumtree and was happy with an apple voucher.
    Ipad was quoted for $70 got $70.
    Macbook was quoted $300 got $300
    Newer Macbook was quoted $440 got $0. They sent it back to me no problem. It unfortunately was the 2017 Macbook which had the flexgate problem so I will be surprised if you get anything for yours.
    Decided to use the voucher for the Homepod Mini which has fantastic sound for my room and have some left over for something in the future. Currently using the 2020 M1 Macbook Pro and its a fantastic upgrade.

    • So it's not a refund like the site states? Flexgate was 2016 so I don't think mine would be effected. Would they likely deduct money due to the battery issue? I'm aware they swap out batteries when they refurb anyway.

      Did you wipe your devices before trading in?

      • Did you wipe your devices before trading in?

        Always wipe your data, which isn't very hard to do.

      • The payment is an apple store gift card, not cash.
        You must wipe your device as per the instructions, otherwise they will offer you nothing.
        No harm in sending it in, they post you a return kit and you book the pickup via star track. If they offer you nothing then you can either ask for it to be shipped back (mine took a month) or they can scrap it.

        • +1

          It is a credit back to the payment method you use to buy the new device, or if you are only trading it in, then a gift card.

  • +2

    The Gumtree/fb m prices have built in margin of negotiation. So I'd take the Apple offer for hassle free transaction

  • -5

    Apple, worth it?
    No

  • Apple isn't worth it, but the convenience might be useful if you can't be bothered with second hand sales. But you will almost certainly find someone paying more. Unfortunately, the trade-in values in Australia can also be extremely different to the US. For my Mac, US offered $1000, vs Australia offered "free recycling." Generous.

    • My quote was in Australian on the Australian site

  • +1

    I traded my daughter’s MacBook (1 year old) and upgraded her to the M1. They offered me $700. The process took a few weeks, but the money was returned to my account about 2 days after they confirmed the process was completed.

    I have a MacBook the same vintage as hers (purchased within two weeks) and I considered doing the same, as I use mine for work, and the extra battery life would be absolutely brilliant. But now the trade-in value has dropped to around $500 I think. I only did this several weeks ago!!

    The process works well, but it is not instant, and does not reduce what you pay, just gives you a credit back to the payment method you use to buy the device.

    • So you did get cash? Other people in this thread said it’s Apple store credit?

      • I purchased the new MacBook with credit card, they charged me for the AirPods (education discount deal), deducted that value from the cost of the MacBook and charged me that, then a few weeks afterwards when the trade-in device had been received, checked and verified, the trade-in was credited to my credit card.

  • Just make sure to get the Apple Góngora with your refund money, they don’t work well, if at all, with 2nd party dongles. Lots of bricked M1 MacBooks around already, clicking their hearts away.

Login or Join to leave a comment