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Apple Watch trade in values are appalling.

L

lewchenko

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 8, 2004
464
688
Bought a Series 10 Titanium Cellular 46mm last year for £799 mainly for the sapphire screen. (Ridiculous how much Apple charges just to get sapphire). It's in mint condition too.

I was curious how much Apple would offer as trade in for it now the new ones are released.

Only £160.

Less than 1yr old at this point. Not worth trading in at all.
 
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I want to trade my Series 8 when I pick up my Ultra 3 on Sept 19. However before I place my order, I have a few questions that maybe someone on here can answer:
- if I do the trade in as part of my order, can I trade it into the store when I pick up my Ultra Watch 3 or do I have to send it in for the trade? I'd rather do it in person for instant credit. FYI, I'm in Canada in case that changes anything.
- if I order the watch without the trade in on the order, will the trade in value drop before the release date on Sept 19? Currently they're offering me $105 for my watch. I would like to put the trade in towards Apple Care. If it's going to drop I guess I should process my order with trade in to lock in my trade in value. Is that how it works?

Thanks!
 
I tried doing a trade in when purchasing with store pickup.. Note said I couldn’t trade in at the store but had to use mailing in the old phone. Cancelled and purchased with store pickup and no trade. Will trade in at store when I pitch up my new phone.
 
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Pierre535 said:
I tried doing a trade in when purchasing with store pickup.. Note said I couldn’t trade in at the store but had to use mailing in the old phone. Cancelled and purchased with store pickup and no trade. Will trade in at store when I pitch up my new phone.
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Thanks. That's what I'm thinking of doing as well so long as Apple doesn't change the trade in value just before release date. Not sure what they've historically done.
 
My original Ultra was a $255 trade-in when I ordered on Tuesday; I was pleasantly surprised it was that high.
 
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doogm said:
My original Ultra was a $255 trade-in when I ordered on Tuesday; I was surprised it was that much.
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Trade-ins have always been low for the past 10 years, Ultra is different, my U2 was $370 before the event and $335 after, still good, though I’m not upgrading.
 
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As I’ve said, it’s their worst resale value then iPads next. Regardless of it being the best selling smartwatch it’s still niche and redundant for most.
 
The fact that the Ultras trade in is so much more, is incentive enough to go with the ultra over stainless.
 
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Another ultra owner here pretty happy with trade in value. My wife’s stainless steel? Wow!!! lol. Nope.
 
I don't think there's much of a market for second-hand Apple watches.

I'm guessing its down to the lack of features in the older watches, the limited future OS support, and the cost of replacing their depleted batteries.
 
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I traded my Ultra 2 in a week before the keynote for £325. Post keynote it is £275. I am lucky I have a S10 to wear whilst I wait for my U3, and why I traded in early.
 
I tried to get a trade in price on the series 10 before the announcements but Apple doesnt let you as its the current model. Only when they release a new one will it give you a trade in value.
Im probably going to just keep the 10 Titanium Cellular.
I bet the regular s10 trade in isn't far off the £160 they offered me. It's almost like they aren't taking into account the fact that it's the high end Titanium sapphire LTE version. Oddly last year I traded in a really old series 7 GPS and they gave me £100 for it.

People often say Apple kit makes sense (in premium priced) because the trade in values are so good.

I don't think so anymore.
 
Trade in is better for the cheaper version of all products. Although the Watch SE value is too low as well. In any case, are you aware the S11 is virtually identical to the S10? It doesn’t have new sensors or a bigger better battery, the blood pressure alarm uses existing sensors and it’s the way Apple measures battery life that was changed. The only thing you’re missing out on is 5G and possibly some battery life improvements due to this new 5G modem but only when cellular is actually active. Keep the S10 and check back in 2030. I have the same model as you and that’s what I’ll be doing.
 
Measly $130 trade in for my AW9.

At least the positive side was that I paid almost nothing for the S9 as I used a fintech health credit card that paid for it as long as you kept in shape....
 
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- There is no reason to trade in any Series 10 watch. Those models will be good for three to four more years. Plus - the reason you bought the titanium and sapphire screen is longevity, so why not keep it for a few more years.

- The best value in terms of Apple Watches is the plain series watches in aluminum (I am excluding the SE, which is even a better value). The main reason is that you can get them for $100 off from Amazon or Best Buy. You are into the watch for $299 or $329 depending on your size. In two or three years, the trade in value will probably be $100. So you basically pay $80 per year for the watch.

- This is actually why I am interested in the Series 11, despite it getting no real upgrades. The upgrade it did get - the supposedly more scratch resistant screen - should increase the longevity of the watch. An aluminum Series 11 at $329 from Amazon is a good entry point.

- This is how many people like me end up with multiple Apple Watches. Instead of trading in your watch, you can just keep it and swap out the watches based on what you need that day. The benefit of this is that all your watches last longer because you don't wear the batteries out.

My AWU1 value is $255. I *may* trade it in depending on the reviews for the AWU3. But I would plan to keep the AWU3 for four years at least.
 
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When I checked on trade-in value for my S8 last year to buy the AWU2 Black, it was $135. I kept it as a spare instead, it still works fine and I couldn't buy a replacement/backup for that much if something happened to my Ultra 2.
 
QCassidy352 said:
$70 for my mint condition S7 Ti. 🤮
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Yea, that's why I kept my S7 Ti...
After 4 years, just over 8% of original purchase price.
My 13PM has a trade in of $320, that's about 26% of the original price (the 256 since storage has no impact on trade in value). I feel that's ok for a 4 year old phone so trading it in for a 17 PM
 
Adelphos33 said:
- There is no reason to trade in any Series 10 watch.
Click to expand...
I hear you re: the resale value being low and the S11 “features” being minimal, but…


Adelphos33 said:
Those models will be good for three to four more years.
Click to expand...
—-^ Not for me, the crown press has been finicky, the side button is spongy (not stuck but feels almost stuck sometimes) and the finish (jet black) is coming off … all issues that should not be happening after just 6 months (and now 12 months) and all issues that show every sign of being worse each coming year.


To the OP and thread title, yes, it’s true, but as many folks have commented about that in the past, you pay for the convenience basically. I have gone the ebay resale route for several devices like iphones, laptops, ipads, and mayyyybe I got back $50 or $100 more than Apple would have offered as trade-in value, but after the cost of my time, taking photos, writing the item post, packaging the item carefully, worrying about “what if” scenarios with postal carriers… ebay’s 12% or more seller fees, it often feels not worth it.
it depends on the device and the situation, but overall I am exasperated by the efforts vs. reward ratio of trying to get more money back via selling used items myself.
 
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Sort of off topic but maybe not. Now when you go to actually trade in your old watch there is no Apple website checkout available option to do so in person in-store. Only mail-in trade pack. I've had a couple bad experiences with mailing in things to apple for trade and don't want to go down that path again, even with the low stakes $130 trade-in value of my watch. I just want to upgrade my series 9 silver to an 11 space gray and preferably do so in person but given that there's no online option I assume this is new policy to avoid the barrage of people coming in swapping their old watches at launch? Or do they still do this in store on the sly if you just want to buy in person?
 
I have the same issue with my S7. Would be interested in the updated gestures and improved sensors.However there are couple of points that keep me from upgrading.
- S7 working fine
- Resell/Trade-In Price is low
- S11 uses cpu from last year
- Looks like old watch on my arm
- AirPods getting more useful for workouts
 
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