Upgraders jumpstart Apple's 'iPad Christmas' with 175% surge in trade-ins of old iPads for cash

Posted:
in iPad edited January 2014
iPad trade-ins through Gazelle grew a whopping 175 percent over Black Friday weekend as presumed upgraders sought cash for their older models, supporting Apple's belief that the iPad will be the hottest holiday gift this year.

Retina iPad mini review


The trade-in service industry leader -- and AppleInsider partner -- Gazelle shared new data on iPad trade-ins Friday, revealing that the period between Black Friday and Cyber Monday saw a massive increase over the same period last year, up 175 percent. That exceeded the increase in overall traffic, which was up 74 percent year over year for the same period.

The increase in trade-ins suggests that customers are selling their old iPads for cash to services like Gazelle as they upgrade to Apple's latest models. Both the thinner and lighter full-size iPad Air and the new iPad mini with Retina display were launched in November.

Apple has high hopes for its new tablet duo, with CEO Tim Cook referring in October to this holiday season as an "iPad Christmas." Cook's confidence suggests the company believes this could be a record setting quarter for iPad sales -- a presumption supported by the new record trade-in figures.

Separately, in an interview on CNBC, Gazelle Chief Executive Israel Ganot said Friday that his company has seen a relatively even mix of trade-ins of third- and fourth-generation full-size iPads, as well as the first-generation iPad mini.

Though iPad trade-ins grew significantly, the most popular item traded in at Gazelle last weekend was actually Apple's iPhone. Customers seeking cash for their Samsung phones also turned out in droves, with a 177 percent year over year increase.

Readers interested in trading in their old iPhone, iPad or Mac for cash or gift cards can compare offerings from Gazelle and other partners in AppleInsider's Trade-In Guide. The company has also been running a promotion, which ends this evening, that tacks on an additional $10 to each cash payout. The promotion is automatically activated when using the Trade-In Guide, the iPad portion of which is included below:

Current iPad cash payouts

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 10
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post



     Customers seeking cash for their Samsung phones also turned out in droves, with a 177 percent year over year increase.

    From what I see, cash value for used Android products are much less than that for iOS devices.  And when I hear ATT/T-Mobile/Verizon sales people say things like Android and Apple products are the same, I really want to speak up and educate customers about the resale/sell back differences.

  • Reply 2 of 10
    jfc1138jfc1138 Posts: 3,090member
    Yep, the jump in capability from my (flawless) 3 to the Air was compelling so I made the switch and did the trade-in.

    Lessened my operating costs a smudge because I'd found little to no use for LTE so I didn't get that with the new one. Maybe with a mini some time in the future%u2026.
  • Reply 3 of 10
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    Loving the new iPad Air. Best product Apple has ever made.
  • Reply 4 of 10
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,796member

    I'm surprised you don't see the same thing with iPhones. People have to pay for these things somehow. 

  • Reply 5 of 10
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    ireland wrote: »
    Loving the new iPad Air. Best product Apple has ever made.
    Yep, it's up there for me for sure. I think Appleis coming into its own under Cook. I can't wait to see what they have planned for 2014.
  • Reply 6 of 10
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,090member

    I helped contribute.  I'm loving my iPad Air.  Just a fantastic piece of engineering.  I also like that I can grab it edge-to-edge with one hand. :)

  • Reply 7 of 10
    philboogiephilboogie Posts: 7,675member
    sflocal wrote: »
    I also like that I can grab it edge-to-edge with one hand. :)

    Maybe that's why Samsung tablets are faring better in Asia¿
  • Reply 8 of 10
    hmmhmm Posts: 3,405member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by drewys808 View Post

     

    From what I see, cash value for used Android products are much less than that for iOS devices.  And when I hear ATT/T-Mobile/Verizon sales people say things like Android and Apple products are the same, I really want to speak up and educate customers about the resale/sell back differences.


     

    That's an easy division point, but it's probably a smaller subset of Android products that are considered valuable on the used market. In terms of resale value in general, you do have to look at what you spend and how much you can likely reclaim, as well as factor in how long they are likely to keep any of these devices. After some point, none are worth very much. There is no booming market for 3G iphones, and definitely not one for early Android devices, as it took longer to stabilize as an OS.

     

    I got a little off track there. I wouldn't recommend a smartphone as an investment to anyone. The same goes for cars. Buy it to use it. Do not pay more based on an prediction of residual value unless you can afford it either way, and it will make you happier with the device.

  • Reply 9 of 10
    vtwovtwo Posts: 14member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by hmm View Post

     

     

    That's an easy division point, but it's probably a smaller subset of Android products that are considered valuable on the used market. In terms of resale value in general, you do have to look at what you spend and how much you can likely reclaim, as well as factor in how long they are likely to keep any of these devices. After some point, none are worth very much. There is no booming market for 3G iphones, and definitely not one for early Android devices, as it took longer to stabilize as an OS.

     

    I got a little off track there. I wouldn't recommend a smartphone as an investment to anyone. The same goes for cars. Buy it to use it. Do not pay more based on an prediction of residual value unless you can afford it either way, and it will make you happier with the device.


     

    I don't think anyone buys smartphones as an investment per se since their value only goes down.  But resale value should be considered.  And Apple does have better resale value than Android.  And not just with the old models, the 4S/5 resales better than the S2/S3/Note 2.

     

    I think people have to consider the scenario.  The customer likes phone X and phone Y equally, however, phone Y is $100 cheaper.  So obviously, the customer will buy phone Y.

     

    However, in 2 years time, phone X is likely to resell for $150 then phone Y.  So it might be better in terms of cost to buy phone X.  The cost of ownership for 2 years is lower for phone X and that has to be taken into consideration.

  • Reply 10 of 10
    hmmhmm Posts: 3,405member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by vtwo View Post

     

     

    I don't think anyone buys smartphones as an investment per se since their value only goes down.  But resale value should be considered.  And Apple does have better resale value than Android.  And not just with the old models, the 4S/5 resales better than the S2/S3/Note 2.


     

    That is interesting. Did you find that somewhere or is it personal experience?



     

    Quote:


    I think people have to consider the scenario.  The customer likes phone X and phone Y equally, however, phone Y is $100 cheaper.  So obviously, the customer will buy phone Y.

     

    However, in 2 years time, phone X is likely to resell for $150 then phone Y.  So it might be better in terms of cost to buy phone X.  The cost of ownership for 2 years is lower for phone X and that has to be taken into consideration.

     



     

    I would typically encourage people not to convince themselves that they'll get their money back when purchasing a technology item, given the potential for latent hardware issues, although that's more prevalent with lower end phones. Over two years I wouldn't put too much thought into an amortized $100 vs $150, as it's hard to predict, especially with the potential that you might break or lose a phone. It's also a bit different depending on whether they intend to sell or trade in a phone. The difference in tradein value is often much less. Note the Gazelle tradein payouts on something like a 4 or 4S. Usually whenever the topic of tradeins comes up, the site gets comments about people being ripped off, when it's not really the case with a voluntary transaction.

Sign In or Register to comment.