How and where to trade in your old iPad for the most cash or store credit

Posted:
in iPad edited February 2014
On the heels of Friday's iPad Air launch, AppleInsider has compiled an iPad trade-in program roundup that compares the different buy-back services that offer to pay you cash (or with gift cards) for your old iPad, thereby helping you offset the cost of your new device.

iPad Trade-in Chart


When looking to swap your old iPad for credit toward a new one, you have many choices --?but which is best? AppleInsider maintains a trade-in guide year-round as part of its Price Guides, which lists the many popular services and real-time price quotes. Here's how they break down in more detail.

Mail-in for cash:

Gazelle, NextWorth & USell are three of the leading online-only shops that make it easy to mail in your old device and receive cash in return --?they are a popular option since they do not require a time-consuming trip to a brick-and-mortar store and provide flexibility in what you can do with the money you receive, as opposed to retailers who offer only store credit.

Gazelle, the largest and most established of the mail-in vendors, has gone to great lengths to make the trade-in process as painless as possible. To begin, you first lock in your trade-in price by visiting Gazelle's website, where you will be asked to assess the physical and operational condition of the device by rating it in one of three tiers --?broken, good, or flawless. The ratings include factors like whether the device's screen is cracked or if it has ever been damaged by liquids.

For example, the tablet below lists current payouts for iPads by Gazelle as of Nov. 1st, 2013:
MacBook Pro


Flawless


Good

Broken
Current iPad Trade-in Payouts (Nov 1st 2013)
iPad 16GB WiFi $80 $70 $0
iPad 32GB WiFi $80 $70 $0
iPad 64GB WiFi $80 $70 $0
iPad 16GB WiFI + 3G $80 $70 $0
iPad 32GB WiFi + 3G $80 $70 $0
iPad 64GB WiFi + 3G $80 $70 $0
iPad 2 16GB WiFi $175 $160 $60
iPad 2 32GB WiFi $195 $180 $60
iPad 2 64GB WiFi $215 $200 $60
iPad 2 16GB WiFi + 3G (AT&T) $180 $165 $60
iPad 2 32GB WiFi + 3G (AT&T) $200 $185 $60
iPad 2 64GB WiFi + 3G (AT&T) $220 $205 $60
iPad 2 16GB WiFi + 3G (Verizon) $175 $160 $60
iPad 2 32GB WiFi + 3G (Verizon) $195 $180 $60
iPad 2 64GB WiFi + 3G (Verizon) $215 $200 $60
iPad 3rd generation 16GB WiFi $200 $180 $75
iPad 3rd generation 32GB WiFi $230 $210 $75
iPad 3rd generation 64GB WiFi $250 $230 $75
iPad 3rd generation 16GB WiFi + 4G LTE AT&T $205 $185 $75
iPad 3rd generation 32GB WiFi + 4G LTE AT&T $235 $215 $75
iPad 3rd generation 64GB WiFi + 4G LTE AT&T $255 $235 $75
iPad 3rd generation 16GB WiFi + 4G LTE Verizon $200 $180 $75
iPad 3rd generation 32GB WiFi + 4G LTE Verizon $230 $210 $75
iPad 3rd generation 64GB WiFi + 4G LTE Verizon $250 $230 $75
iPad 4th generation 16GB WiFi $245 $230 $100
iPad 4th generation 32GB WiFi $255 $240 $100
iPad 4th generation 64GB WiFi $275 $260 $100
iPad 4th generation 128GB WiFi $355 $330 $100
iPad 4th generation 16GB WiFi + 4G LTE AT&T $260 $245 $100
iPad 4th generation 32GB WiFi + 4G LTE AT&T $270 $255 $100
iPad 4th generation 64GB WiFi + 4G LTE AT&T $290 $275 $100
iPad 4th generation 128GB WiFi + 4G LTE AT&T $370 $345 $100
iPad 4th generation 16GB WiFi + 4G LTE Verizon $250 $235 $100
iPad 4th generation 32GB WiFi + 4G LTE Verizon $260 $245 $100
iPad 4th generation 64GB WiFi + 4G LTE Verizon $280 $265 $100
iPad 4th generation 128GB WiFi + 4G LTE Verizon $360 $335 $100
iPad 4th generation 16GB WiFi + 4G LTE Sprint $260 $230 $100
iPad 4th generation 32GB WiFi + 4G LTE Sprint $270 $240 $100
iPad 4th generation 64GB WiFi + 4G LTE Sprint $290 $260 $100
iPad 4th generation 128GB WiFi + 4G LTE Sprint $360 $330 $100
iPad Mini 16GB WiFi $170 $160 $50
iPad Mini 32GB WiFi $205 $190 $50
iPad Mini 64GB WiFi $245 $230 $50
iPad Mini 16GB WiFi + 4G LTE AT&T $195 $185 $50
iPad Mini 32GB WiFi + 4G LTE AT&T $230 $215 $50
iPad Mini 64GB WiFi + 4G LTE AT&T $270 $255 $50
iPad Mini 16GB WiFi + 4G LTE Verizon $175 $165 $50
iPad Mini 32GB WiFi + 4G LTE Verizon $210 $195 $50
iPad Mini 64GB WiFi + 4G LTE Verizon $250 $235 $50
iPad Mini 16GB WiFi + 4G LTE Sprint $170 $160 $50
iPad Mini 32GB WiFi + 4G LTE Sprint $205 $190 $50
iPad Mini 64GB WiFi + 4G LTE Sprint $245 $230 $50
Gazelle box


A few days after locking in your price, a pre-paid shipping box will show up on your doorstep. Gazelle gives a generous 30 day grace period to pack the device securely in the box and get it back into the shipping company's hands, or you can use your own box and simply print and affix a pre-paid shipping label instead.

Once Gazelle receives your old handset or tablet, Gazelle will issue a check within 10 business days as long as the device's condition matches your online assessment. Alternatively, you can choose to be paid more quickly via PayPal, receive an 5 percent bonus by accepting payment in the form of an Amazon Gift Card, or donate the proceeds entirely to charity.

Gazelle box


Of the other cash programs, USell offers the most value for iPad 2 and iPad 4 owners, while NextWorth takes the crown for the iPad 3 and iPad mini.

Mail-in for credit

Meanwhile, Apple, Amazon, Wal-Mart and Best Buy offer alternatives for consumers who are frequent shoppers of one of those stores. These services work similarly to those that pay you in cash for your device, though in lieu of cash you will receive a physical or electronic gift card from the retailer. Unlike iPhone trade-ins, you can often get a higher valuation from one of their cash competitors, like Gazelle.

Amazon wins the value sweepstakes for all four devices in this category, followed closely by Apple with Best Buy in third place and Wal-Mart offering the lowest valuations.

In-store

With Apple making its in-store trade-in program exclusive to the iPhone, Wal-Mart and Best Buy are the only options for receiving credit for your device on the same day. There is a catch, however --?Wal-Mart's in-store credit can only be used toward the purchase of a new device, while Best Buy's in-store program runs only until Nov. 9.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 15
    I sold my ipad 4 64 Verizon to macofalltrades for $425; $140 more than Gazelle offered. This article reads like a free ad for gazelle
  • Reply 2 of 15
    Get the most money by selling on Craig's List. A bit more trouble, but not that much. There are lots of buyers trolling for them to resell overseas, and you'll get top dollar by cutting out the middle man.
  • Reply 3 of 15
    eideardeideard Posts: 428member
    PowerMax matched the Amazon price for my iPad 4 16gb wifi - $271 store credit. As they did when I traded in my 2 for a 4.

    Just traded in my 4 yr old iMac, as well - for the latest iMac - same place, same service I've been getting for years. They been doing trade-ins as long as has anyone.
  • Reply 4 of 15
    cash907cash907 Posts: 893member
    My 4th Gen 32GB + cellular is currently going for double what Gazelle lists it at, with 55 minutes left in the auction. Even after shipping and seller fees, I'll be making a lot more for minimal effort than any of these methods offer.
  • Reply 5 of 15
    Bad Experience with Nextworth!! Seller be Wary!! I sold my iPhone 4S to Nextworth. Sent it in fully functional, factory (refurbish) new%u2014had just gotten it 2 days prior from the Apple Store%u2014and they claimed it was nonfunctional when received. After a little threatening on my part (including mentioning that I knew the serial number of the device I sent in) they relented and made a %u2018one time exception,%u2019 and paid out the full price. If it had really not worked, they would have sent it back as I requested. Your mileage may vary, but be careful if you go the Nextworth route.
  • Reply 6 of 15

    There's an unspoken message underpinning this article: iPads have tremendous resale value. What this means is that, with proper care, the owner of an iPad has an intrinsic resale value that can dramatically lower the cost of a new iPad.

     

    How many other tablets can say the same? And if they can't, then doesn't it make sense to look at the true cost of a new iPad in light of its value on the resale market?

     

    Recently, J.D. Powers declared that Samsung topped Apple in their latest Customer Satisfaction Survey. Clearly, they didn't take resale value into account.

  • Reply 7 of 15
    akqiesakqies Posts: 768member
    cash907 wrote: »
    My 4th Gen 32GB + cellular is currently going for double what Gazelle lists it at, with 55 minutes left in the auction. Even after shipping and seller fees, I'll be making a lot more for minimal effort than any of these methods offer.

    :no: Why always with the asinine comments? Of course you can make more selling it to another person but your "minimal effort" is more effort than those services offer and it's more complexity than some people can be bothered doing. Grow the **** up!
  • Reply 8 of 15
    All Apple products always sell very well on eBay. You always get low balled on these trade-in programs because they need to make a profit when they re-sell the products.
  • Reply 9 of 15
    I traded my iPad 2 in Today thru Target%u2026 (NextWorth)%u2026. The process, for a reasonably large corporation - Target- WAS ABSOLUTELY ABYSMAL !!! I went to SEVEN Target stores before I could actually turn my iPad 2 into a %u201CTrade in%u201D care%u2026 Worth an alleged $200%u2026.

    Now, the purpose of Target giving you a %u2018Trade in%u2019 card, is for the ease of use in Target%u2019s system so when you supposedly turn around and order a NEW iPad Air thru the Target.Com on-line web engine, the process will go smoothly.%u2026 HAHAHAHAHAHAHA !!!! That%u2019s where the troubles REALLY start.

    The %u2018Trade-In card is an UNKNOWN entity in the Target.Com world.. It also implies that you want to use MULTIPLE FUNDING sources for payment of your %u2018new%u2019 order, since the $200 card won%u2019t cover the whole cost of the new iPad. Well, try using a %u2018Trade-In%u2019 card%u2026. Target.Com vomits all over you%u2026 So, you spend the next 15 minutes trying to find someone to talk to in the Target organization that has ONE - a single - CLUE what Target.Com does and what a %u201CTrade-In%u2019 card actually is !!

    Without more chalkboard/nail screeching, you have to use the %u2018Trade-In%u2019 card to buy a Target %u2018Gift%u2019 card%u2026 You can do this on-line because it turns out the %u2018Trade-In%u2019 card is actually a pre-paid Master Charge card%u2026 You can do that on the Target.Com web site%u2026. AFTER you receive the Target %u2018Gift Card%u2019, you can then proceed to use Target.Com to order your iPad Air and use a Target %u2018Gift-Card%u2019 as a second funding source on the on-line order%u2026

    WHAT A FRIGGING MESS !!! But the above DOES WORK.. I ordered my iPad air%u2026 Got it shipped to arrive Friday. It will be the LAST electronics transaction I EVER DO with a Target store%u2026. AARRGGhhhh%u2026%u2026
  • Reply 10 of 15

    very good, I like it

  • Reply 11 of 15
    aaronjaaronj Posts: 1,595member

    Just got my confirmation from Gazelle this weekend.  They sent my payment, $230 for iPad3 32GB.  That seems like a good deal to me.

  • Reply 12 of 15
    I wanted to make a note about USell as an option for selling your mobile device. I had a flawless iPad 2 16GB Wifi unit. USell's partner TopBuyBack offered $50 more than Apple or Gazelle for the unit and I accepted the offer. The shipping box arrived a few days later and I packed the iPad, charger and cable in the box. I hand delivered it to the post office, using the prepaid shipping label.

    A week later, I received an email from TopBuyBack that they received the shipment. Then, I received an email saying the box only contained the charger and cable - no iPad! To say I was distressed is putting it lightly. I tried to contact TopBuyBack and uSell to see what condition the box was in, if they see this happen often, etc... there is no phone number to reach either at and they DO NOT respond to your emails.

    I filed a claim with the postal inspector office for mail theft.

    Now, there are reports that the CEO of TopBuyBack has previously been indicted for mail fraud in the past. I would caution anyone to be wary of using USell or their "partners". Supposedly, they insure the product shipments for at least $100, but they have not offered to file the claim nor responded to my requests for the insurance payment.
  • Reply 13 of 15
    Another place thats kind of a sleeper in all this but they will give you cash or store credit is GameStop. I priced the trade for my grandparents old iPhone 4 and they came out ahead of Gazelle.com actually and thats cash in hand if you want it. Obviously even more if you want store credit to GameStop.
  • Reply 14 of 15

    any UK comparison tool? or know where i can find one??

  • Reply 15 of 15
    Here is another interesting take on the subject, about the potential reasons behind companies' trade-in programs:

    http://youngsday.com/2013/12/18/a-speculation-over-some-companies-recycle-policies/
Sign In or Register to comment.