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Trade in Values for m1 macs?

M

m1mini

macrumors member
Original poster
Nov 17, 2020
58
144
Hello, I decided to get a m1 mini (16gb / 1tb ) because my desktop died a couple months ago, and i was wondering what would my devices trade in value be after apple released a m1x or m2 computer? I really dont want to miss out on power but i also have to get a computer asap.

Can you guys with M1 macs check your devices trade in value in apples website?

Is my route of getting the m1 > trade in 3-6-9 months later logical?
 
The M1 Mac Mini doesn’t show up there after entering my serial. I imagine it’s the same with other M1 devices right now. Probably have to wait a bit for them to add the new devices.
 
Apple is offering me $1400 for trade-in on my 16" higher end model. (2.3GHz 1TB, 5500M w 4GB, no warranty left). This will reduce the amount on the M1 MBP 13" 16/1TB leaving an out of pocket expense <$400. Without tax or trade-in of my 2018 I paid $2443, $2645 w/ tax. Over the course of a year this computer lost about 43% of its initial value. This is after waiting a full year along with an architecture change. I suspect the M1 machines will hold their value slightly better.

When buying the 2019, my Mid 2018 15" 512GB/2.6 also generated $1400 at trade-in. I paid a lot less for it though, got it as an Apple certified refurb for about $2k about 7 months earlier. If you save buying either as a refurb, or through a 3rd party reseller with no tax you end up losing a lot less on a trade.
 
Apple's 3rd party subcon offers TERRIBLE trade in values. There are other more reputable companies to deal with that offer more.
 
ght56 said:
Apple's 3rd party subcon offers TERRIBLE trade in values. There are other more reputable companies to deal with that offer more.
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You have a point. The plus is it does offset the new item price with tax so ~8-9%. I may sell my device through sellyourmac.com. I was quoted 1687 for like new condition, almost 20% more than Apple. They seem to process payment more quickly as well.
 
Iconoclysm said:
Are there any you'd recommend?
Click to expand...

The one I have experience with is Mac Me an Offer. Prices are very fair and provided the description is accurate you will get a check in the mail for what they quote. There are others that have gotten great feedback but I cannot speak first-hand to them. Phobio (Apple's partner) has somewhat of a mixed reputation to say the least...
 
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ght56 said:
The one I have experience with is Mac Me an Offer. Prices are very fair and provided the description is accurate you will get a check in the mail for what they quote. There are others that have gotten great feedback but I cannot speak first-hand to them. Phobio (Apple's partner) has somewhat of a mixed reputation to say the least...
Click to expand...
I looked into it and there was about a $200 difference between what Apple's crappy buyer was taking and most of the sites like that one for my 2020 13" MBP. It's significant enough that some might take it but I am probably going to just go with Apple for the convenience.
 
ght56 said:
The one I have experience with is Mac Me an Offer. Prices are very fair and provided the description is accurate you will get a check in the mail for what they quote. There are others that have gotten great feedback but I cannot speak first-hand to them. Phobio (Apple's partner) has somewhat of a mixed reputation to say the least...
Click to expand...

Thanks for this! I just put in mine and I am happy with the estimate. I am going to go with this company. :)
 
If you sell online through a service like eBay.

Let’s say your old Mac sells for $1700 instead of $1400.
For PayPal you have a $0.30 fee and 2.9% of the sale. So that’s $49.60 dropping it to $1650. For the Laptops & Notebooks category eBay gets 4% so that’s an additional $68. Now we are at $1582. Depending on how you’ve listed the item you may have to pay additional dollars out of pocket to ship the item. Let’s say with insurance that’s $35. So now we’re at $1547. Sometimes if you’re a new seller your payment can be held up to 2 weeks. There also is the risk of a buyer who tries to rip you off. Rare but it does happen. Still an extra $147 is a nice gain over Apple.

Craigslist or FB Marketplaces are options but there is a risk of being ripped off, robbed, or worse... Maybe you’ll get a bad check, or counterfeit bills. I don’t trust strangers much these days but that’s me.
 
FYI -- I checked today and Apple provided a trade-in value for my M1 MacBook Air. That wasn't the case when I checked last week.
 
You could buy a five year old Mini off eBay, limp over the finish line, then buy an M1X and sell the old machine.

Alternatively, you could buy a refurbished M1 Mini and repeat the above steps.
 
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Argon_ said:
You could buy a five year old Mini off eBay, limp over the finish line, then buy an M1X and sell the old machine.

Alternatively, you could buy a refurbished M1 Mini and repeat the above steps.
Click to expand...
This is sort of what I did. I have been keeping my eyes out for a really good deal on an M1 air or pro on offerup and facebook marketplace. The intention was to find something that I could resell and get most of my money back for an M1X, but also to hang on to the laptop for a year or two instead if the M1X doesn't deliver what I want. I ended up scoring a 13 M1 macbook pro with 512gb for $900 cash.

If you are patient, you can find a good deal. Trading in might not be as bad of an option if you are uncomfortable with ebay or local sales on offerup. You might just find though that the M1 is enough for your needs and end up keeping it. The price on them is great and I am sure the M1X will come with a solid price tag.
 
GrindedDown said:
This is sort of what I did. I have been keeping my eyes out for a really good deal on an M1 air or pro on offerup and facebook marketplace. The intention was to find something that I could resell and get most of my money back for an M1X, but also to hang on to the laptop for a year or two instead if the M1X doesn't deliver what I want. I ended up scoring a 13 M1 macbook pro with 512gb for $900 cash.

If you are patient, you can find a good deal. Trading in might not be as bad of an option if you are uncomfortable with ebay or local sales on offerup. You might just find though that the M1 is enough for your needs and end up keeping it. The price on them is great and I am sure the M1X will come with a solid price tag.
Click to expand...

There's also the option of keeping it around if you can afford to do so. Having a spare computer is a first world solution to a first world problem, but if you need a computer for your work, preventing a single day of downtime could pay for it.
 
According to specialist from Apple, all M1 Macs won't be available for Trade-in until the next gen comes out.
 
Argon_ said:
There are plenty of M1s on sale in the refurbished section.
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I directly spoke with them and that's what they said. Also, refurbished products doesn't mean they were being trade in. They're other reasons for being refurbished.
 
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sunny5 said:
According to specialist from Apple, all M1 Macs won't be available for Trade-in until the next gen comes out.
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At least in the case of my M1 MacBook Air, the person you spoke with is misinformed. I already initiated a trade and am dropping it off at FedEx today.

drop-off.png
trade-m1.png
 
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I see no M1 Macs for sale on my local Craigslist so my assumption is that resale is quite strong for these. Probably a bit lower than refurb prices.
 
I did some research using the trade-in tool on the Apple website, and they offer trade quotes for MacBook Air M1, MacBook Pro M1, and Mac Mini M1. The iMac M1 isn't listed at this time.
 
Last edited:
Lava Lamp Freak said:
At least in the case of my M1 MacBook Air, the person you spoke with is misinformed. I already initiated a trade and am dropping it off at FedEx today.

View attachment 1832904View attachment 1832903
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Apple just offered me £520 trade in on my M1 MBA with 8C/16GB/512GB.
So basically a third of what it cost - and this is a replacement one too so probably only 6 months old.
Not good.
Fortunately I'm very happy with it and don't want a change.
I just though I'd ask the question :)
 
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