Apple will lowball you hard on trade-in value. Let's not do that. Here's exactly where to sell, when to sell, and how to squeeze every last dollar out of your old gear.
Every September, Apple stands on stage, shows you a slightly better camera, and suddenly your current iPhone feels like a rotary phone. You want the new one. But first, you need to offload the old one — and this is where most people leave real money on the table.
Selling old devices across every platform imaginable teaches you a few hard lessons fast. Here's what usually gets learned the hard way.
Let's start with the worst option so we can get the rage out of our systems.
Apple's trade-in values are, to put it diplomatically, insulting. Recent generations of Pro and Pro Max iPhones all show the same pattern: Apple's trade-in offer sits well below what the same phone fetches on a peer-to-peer marketplace like Swappa, where competing buyers — not one company with every incentive to lowball you — set the price.
Apple's trade-in for a MacBook Pro tends to be even worse than for phones — a serious haircut versus what the same machine fetches on the resale market.
Apple trade-in is the convenience tax, and the tax rate is brutal.
My personal favorite. Swappa is a marketplace specifically for used tech, and it's brilliant because:
A 128GB iPhone 15 Pro in good condition sells for noticeably more on Swappa than Apple's trade-in offer for the exact same phone.
Higher prices than Swappa sometimes, but eBay takes ~13% in fees (final value fee + payment processing). Say you're eyeing a hypothetical $700 sale — those fees eat close to $90 of it. Still beats Apple, but factor those fees into your listing price.
Pro tip: Use eBay's "Sell Similar" feature on a completed listing for your exact model. It pre-fills everything and you can see what price actually worked.
Zero fees for local sales. Cash in hand. No shipping hassles. The downside? You have to meet strangers, deal with the "is this still available?" crowd (yes, it's always still available, that's why the listing is up), and endure lowballers who think your iPhone is worth a fraction of your asking price "because it's used."
Meet at a police station lobby. I'm not kidding — many stations have designated safe trading spots.
Ship your device, they inspect it, they pay you. Simple. But their offers are only slightly better than Apple's. It's the "I literally cannot be bothered" option.
Similar to Apple's values but sometimes slightly better, and you get Best Buy gift cards. Useful if you're buying your next device there anyway. They also occasionally run trade-in bonus events (a bonus toward a new Samsung, that sort of thing).
Sell your phone BEFORE Apple announces the new model. Not after. BEFORE.
Here's why: The moment Apple shows the next iPhone in September, the outgoing generation's resale value drops noticeably overnight. Supply floods in, demand shifts to the new hotness.
The sweet spot: List your phone in July or August. Prices are highest because supply is low (everyone's waiting) and the new phone hasn't been announced yet.
Yes, this means going phoneless for a few weeks or using a beater — a cheap burner phone from Walmart. What you save by timing the sale right is worth the temporary downgrade.
Before you sell:
1. Factory reset — Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Erase All Content and Settings. Sign out of iCloud FIRST or you'll brick it with Activation Lock.
2. Remove from Find My — Do this before the reset, or the new owner will haunt your support inbox forever.
3. Clean it — Microfiber cloth, maybe a tiny bit of isopropyl alcohol. Make it gleam.
4. Take good photos — Natural lighting, all four sides, screen on. Include any scratches (honesty sells). A well-lit photo increases your selling price by 10-15%.
5. Include the box and accessories — Original box adds meaningfully to the price. Keep your boxes, people.
MacBooks hold value like a tank. A 2-year-old MacBook Air M2 still fetches a strong price on the resale market. But:
For maximum money: Swappa or Facebook Marketplace, sold in August before new models drop, with great photos and original box.
For maximum laziness: Decluttr or Apple Trade-In, accepting that convenience costs you real money.
Your old iPhone is worth more than you think. Don't let Apple or anyone else tell you otherwise.
More from the staff, same rigor, different products.