Apple Not Giving More $$$ on Trade In for SSD and RAM Upgrades Anymore?

[avidfan451]

So a few years back I traded in my wife’s MBP on a newer one, and the Apple Trade In tool asked me for the RAM and SSD. I messed up and entered them wrong, so when I actually had the machine in front of me I did it again, and the price they offered me went up. I always liked this about Apple’s Trade In program, as it seemed you were getting better value for the upgrades you made at time of purchase.

Imagine my surprise when I traded in my 2018 15” MBP for a 2021 14” MBP and there was no selection for RAM or SSD size. After discussing with Apple Sales, I was told that they no longer pay extra on Trade In for upgrades — they’ve gone to the iPhone model of one price regardless of individual config. This is their prerogative, of course, but it was disappointing given how much I spent extra up front. And I guess the part that bothers me more is that if the machine is functional and in good shape, they’ll recondition it and resell it as a refurbished unit — and they *do* charge extra there. So they make extra money on upgrades multiple times, depending on how many times it is refurbished.

Not a big deal, I guess, but it does make it seem like Apple is bilking loyal customers a bit. It’s just another one of those changes that helps profitability and the bottom line at the expense of customer service. And I see Apple making a lot of those changes over the past few years, not for the better in my opinion.

 

[chscag]

Not a big deal, I guess, but it does make it seem like Apple is bilking loyal customers a bit. It’s just another one of those changes that helps profitability and the bottom line at the expense of customer service. And I see Apple making a lot of those changes over the past few years, not for the better in my opinion.

LOL, reminds me of what car dealerships do when you trade in.

 

[avidfan451]

LOL, reminds me of what car dealerships do when you trade in.

The similarities abound, yes. Just didn’t expect Apple to become a used car outfit…

 

[velocityg4]

That is messed up. If you want top dollar. Sell in person for cash on Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist or Letgo.

 

[avidfan451]

That is messed up. If you want top dollar. Sell in person for cash on Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist or Letgo.

I considered it. I’ve been burned on eBay sales before, and I didn’t want to interact with folks in person currently. I’ll definitely keep them in mind moving forward.

 

[TechRunner]

Back in October, I had a 2015 base spec MBA with a dying battery that I was considering trading in on a new Mac. Apple assigned it no value, and offered to recycle it for me. SellYourMac offered me $160 for it, so I shipped it off to them instead. Like you said OP, Apple doesn't seem to value used devices as highly as they used to. I had better trade-in offers from them a few years ago.

 

[pmiles]

To be fair, Apple is in the business of selling new devices not old ones. As far as Apple is concerned, every Mac they take as a trade in is basically headed to a landfill... *cough* recycling center. Apple is graciously throwing your old computer away for you.

Think about it. What new Apple computer doesn't have a soldered SSD or RAM? There's literally nothing in your old computer of any value to them. So whether it has 200 terabytes of RAM or 640 kilobytes in it doesn't make it any more valuable to them.

 

[avidfan451]

To be fair, Apple is in the business of selling new devices not old ones. As far as Apple is concerned, every Mac they take as a trade in is basically headed to a landfill... *cough* recycling center. Apple is graciously throwing your old computer away for you.

Think about it. What new Apple computer doesn't have a soldered SSD or RAM? There's literally nothing in your old computer of any value to them. So whether it has 200 terabytes of RAM or 640 kilobytes in it doesn't make it any more valuable to them.

Respectfully disagree. In addition to their commitment to recycling, Apple is 100% in the business of reusing and reselling as much as they can and their rich refurbished site speaks to that. Models come in and go out just as quickly on that site as they do on the main store page, and I know a ton of people who buy Apple only on the refurb site and never buy new anymore. (Refurbs actually go through more checks than new machines leaving the factory, making them a more reliable buy for a lot of folks.)

This was a 2018 Intel MacBook Pro — still a modern machine worth it for some buyer. If it’s in decent shape (and mine definitely was) there’s a better chance it won’t be recycled: it’ll be refurbished and Apple will again charge a premium for the RAM and SSD upgrades, even though (as you so perfectly point out) there was zero increased labor involved in them getting those components re-ready for sale as they’re soldered on and never moved.

I’m not blind to what the possibilities are here. I’m saying there’s a good chance my machine had some value to them which is why they gave me cash for it. That they are then increasing that value but paying me less and charging another customer more for the same upgrades is a great business and profit move… just not a great one from a customer service perspective towards that loyal customer who is using that cash on a new Apple product.

It wouldn’t bother me as much if they have one price for cash in your pocket and a second for if you’re using it towards another Apple purchase — kind of like some retail stores do with trade-in games or consoles. Oh well. It’s a minor bummer at best; I just wasn’t aware the policy had changed and they were penny pinching more, that’s all.

 

[MBAir2010]

I considered it. I’ve been burned on eBay sales before, and I didn’t want to interact with folks in person currently. I’ll definitely keep them in mind moving forward.

i would rather buy a 2012 mac thing here than thru ebay,
but seems to me that members are not gonna sell that era product.

 

[Buck987]

It’s think you have been given some misinformation from the sales team. Maybe for a 2018 model. However when I put in two 2020 M1 models of the same type but with different specs I was offered more for the one with more ram and a larger HD. its Done by serial numbers which show what the machine contains.

 

[avz]

Not a big deal, I guess, but it does make it seem like Apple is bilking loyal customers a bit. It’s just another one of those changes that helps profitability and the bottom line at the expense of customer service. And I see Apple making a lot of those changes over the past few years, not for the better in my opinion.

Sometimes I see people who ask $200 for their 10 year old unibody MacBook in damaged or non working condition and these people put in the description something like "no low-ball offers, cause I know how much money you can make by selling the spare parts from a damaged MacBook indvidually". Get this, they are smart, lol.

 

[avidfan451]

It’s think you have been given some misinformation from the sales team. Maybe for a 2018 model. However when I put in two 2020 M1 models of the same type but with different specs I was offered more for the one with more ram and a larger HD. its Done by serial numbers which show what the machine contains.

I punched in the serial number myself, and it came back “2018 MacBook Pro BTO” which means “build to order” according to Apple. I then contacted online sales, who told me that was all it showed for them, too, at the same value. They recommended I go in to an Apple Store, which I did. Same answer, but they recommended I talk to the Genius Bar for one last evaluation. Did that two days later (the earliest available appointment) and spoke to a supervisor at the Genius Bar. Same answer. If they gave me bad information, it was up and down the entire Apple Sales and Support structure, not just one person or department.

I’m inclined to think their policies have indeed changed. Maybe they only give more value for their own M1 models now and not for Intels anymore? That doesn’t make a lot of sense, though, since they also do this exact same thing on iPhones and iPads — extra storage gains you no extra cash on a trade in, but they still sell them for more on refurbished models. Maybe instead it’s only for models in the last year or two, and my 2018 was past the cut. Who knows?

And one more thing on the refurbished discussion: every Apple device that is refurbished gets a new outer case, so the internals are checked out and swapped into another case, anyway. Literally no reason why they wouldn’t reuse perfectly good components instead of recycling them. And absolutely no reason why they couldn’t give more cash for upgraded components.

 

[BreakYurAnkles]

I punched in the serial number myself, and it came back “2018 MacBook Pro BTO” which means “build to order” according to Apple. I then contacted online sales, who told me that was all it showed for them, too, at the same value. They recommended I go in to an Apple Store, which I did. Same answer, but they recommended I talk to the Genius Bar for one last evaluation. Did that two days later (the earliest available appointment) and spoke to a supervisor at the Genius Bar. Same answer. If they gave me bad information, it was up and down the entire Apple Sales and Support structure, not just one person or department.

I’m inclined to think their policies have indeed changed. Maybe they only give more value for their own M1 models now and not for Intels anymore? That doesn’t make a lot of sense, though, since they also do this exact same thing on iPhones and iPads — extra storage gains you no extra cash on a trade in, but they still sell them for more on refurbished models. Maybe instead it’s only for models in the last year or two, and my 2018 was past the cut. Who knows?

And one more thing on the refurbished discussion: every Apple device that is refurbished gets a new outer case, so the internals are checked out and swapped into another case, anyway. Literally no reason why they wouldn’t reuse perfectly good components instead of recycling them. And absolutely no reason why they couldn’t give more cash for upgraded components.

I was given a higher trade in value for my 2015 MBP 15" maxed out + 512SSD over a base model. (both retail configurations)

I traded in last week. I got the estimate from apples website. I selected specs & processor speed with SSD size AFTER I entered in my serial number.

I played around with the specs to see if the values were different, and THEY ARE.

I went to my local apple store and got the online estimated value in the form of an apple gift card.

easy peasy.

 

[avidfan451]

I was given a higher trade in value for my 2015 MBP 15" maxed out + 512SSD over a base model.

I traded in last week. I got the estimate from apples website. I selected specs & processor speed with SSD size AFTER I entered in my serial number.

I played around with the specs to see if the values were different, and THEY ARE.

I went to my local apple store and got the online estimated value in the form of an apple gift card.

easy peasy.

Glad it worked out for you. Mine offered no ability to adjust RAM or SSD values — and it had 32GB RAM and a 2TB SSD. Traded in early November. Even more confused and curious now.

 

[avidfan451]

I was given a higher trade in value for my 2015 MBP 15" maxed out + 512SSD over a base model.

I traded in last week. I got the estimate from apples website. I selected specs & processor speed with SSD size AFTER I entered in my serial number.

I played around with the specs to see if the values were different, and THEY ARE.

I went to my local apple store and got the online estimated value in the form of an apple gift card.

easy peasy.

Still have the serial number from the old machine. Just went to the Apple trade in site and punched it in again — same response. Pops up a “Is this your Mac?” screen that lists the right year and processor but the wrong SSD size. My only options below that are “Yes” or “Try another serial number.” No way to change the SSD size. ??‍♂️

 

[omeletpants]

It's worth what they offer. Stop adding a moral component to it

 

[BreakYurAnkles]

Still have the serial number from the old machine. Just went to the Apple trade in site and punched it in again — same response. Pops up a “Is this your Mac?” screen that lists the right year and processor but the wrong SSD size. My only options below that are “Yes” or “Try another serial number.” No
Way to change the SSD size. ??‍♂️

I don't remember it.

you can find listings on Ebay that show serial numbers and use those.

 

[avidfan451]

I don't remember it.

you can find listings on Ebay that show serial numbers and use those.

Apologies — I wasn’t asking, I was telling. I had my old serial number and the site doesn’t allow me to change those values.

 

[BreakYurAnkles]

Apologies — I wasn’t asking, I was telling. I had my old serial number and the site doesn’t allow me to change those values.

use one of them from Ebay and see if its different. I checked a few newer 2019 16" intel models and they get different values depending on configuration.

Im going off on a limb here that BTO/CTO get less because resale is easier with retail configurations, because those configurations are what apple deems "most user optimized". but that's just me guessing.

 

[BreakYurAnkles]

Apologies — I wasn’t asking, I was telling. I had my old serial number and the site doesn’t allow me to change those values.

Apple really kicked all of the 2016-early 2019 Touch Bar users right in the nuts the past few years.

late 2019 redesign.

2020 m1

late 2021 M1 pro/max.

I definitely understand your pain *metaphorically* as I've never been kicked in my jewels.

 

[MBAir2010]

this worn-out, obsolete  user is on the side of
more memory, ssd
more $!

 

[Sheepish-Lord]

Had this happen on my M1 Air about 6 months ago except it did ask for ssd not ram, which I had upgraded. Gave me the same quote regardless of ram amount so I saw the writing on the wall and only buy base model configs now. They’ll charge more for upgraded refurbished models but won’t give me more…hard pass.

 

[MedRed]

Still have the serial number from the old machine. Just went to the Apple trade in site and punched it in again — same response. Pops up a “Is this your Mac?” screen that lists the right year and processor but the wrong SSD size. My only options below that are “Yes” or “Try another serial number.” No way to change the SSD size. ??‍♂️

Are you sure the SSD wasn't upgraded after the build? My CTO 2015 MPB was maxed out on everything except SSD size. A couple of years later I swapped in a larger OEM SSD. The serial shows the smaller size even though it's equipped with a much larger one.

 

[avidfan451]

Are you sure the SSD wasn't upgraded after the build? My CTO 2015 MPB was maxed out on everything except SSD size. A couple of years later I swapped in a larger OEM SSD. The serial shows the smaller size even though it's equipped with a much larger one.

Positive. I purchased it directly from Apple with the increased RAM and SSD, both soldered to the motherboard (as they all are in that model year MBP).

 

[MedRed]

Positive. I purchased it directly from Apple with the increased RAM and SSD, both soldered to the motherboard (as they all are in that model year MBP).

Gotcha... weird.