Gazelle wants to buy your old MacBooks and is throwing in some extra cash for the next week
Gazelle this week is looking to help readers make the jump to one of Apple's newly announced MacBooks by offering to pay hundreds of dollars -- and in some cases over $1000 -- for previous generation MacBooks, with an added $20 bonus and extended 45 day price lock.
The industry's leading consumer electronics buyback serve and AppleInsider sponsor is offering the exclusive $20 bonus on any working MacBook trade-in that it values at $50 or more when you lock in a price quote by March 22. Additionally, those who lock in a quote by March 20th will also be able to take advantage of an extended 45-day window that allows you to lock in a cash payout offer now and still hold onto that MacBook for another month and half while you await delivery of your replacement MacBook and get it all set up. Normally, Gazelle's price lock guarantee stretches only 30 days.
The chart below gives examples of what Gazelle is currently paying for some of Apple's 2013 MacBook models, including up to $646 for a 13-inch 2013 MacBook Pro with a 2.4 GHz Core i5 processor and a 256 GB SSD, while a model with a 2.6GHz Core i5 and 1TB hard drive can fetch up to $1,080. A 13-inch MacBook Air from the same year, with a 1.3 GHz Core i5 and a 128 GB SSD, can be worth as much as $415, while an 11-inch Air with a 1.3 GHz Core i5 and a 256 GB SSD is valued as high as as high as $471. These prices and those in the chart are before the $20 bonus is factored in.
The 2013 MacBooks are just an example of some of the models Gazelle is looking to purchase, but is also interested in all other working MacBooks, dating back to the white polycarbonate "MacBooks" all the way up to current 15-inch MacBook Pros and the now defunct 17-MacBook Pros. Its trade-in service is a fast and convenient way readers, parents, and busy professionals to quickly turn their old electronics into cash without having to spend time setting up eBay auctions or venturing into a dark alley for a craigslist exchange with a total stranger.
A few days after locking in a price quote, a pre-paid shipping box will show up on your doorstep. Gazelle normally gives a 30 day grace period from the time you lock in your trade in offer to the time you need to drop your device securely into the pre-paid shipping box and drop it in the mail. Alternately, you can use your own shipping box and simply affix a pre-paid shipping label printed from Gazelle's site.
An example of one of Gazelle's pre-paid shipping boxes, in this case for an iPad.
Unlike some rivals, Gazelle handles all trade-in inspections itself, doesn't overly scrutinize the trade-in value of devices that arrive in good working order, and will even completely wipe a device of data before passing it along to its new owner.
Once Gazelle receives your old MacBook, the company will issue a check within 10 business days as long as the device's condition generally matches your online assessment. When locking in a price quote, customers can also elect to be paid even faster -- in about 2 days via PayPal or an Amazon Gift Card.
For those readers looking to pick up one of Apple's new MacBooks, our Mac Price Guides currently list dozens of new configurations available for shipping today (standard retail configurations) and pre-order (custom configurations). Several of our retail partners also offer the added benefit of only collecting sales tax on orders shipped to a handful of states. For instance, B&H Photo will only collect sales tax on orders shipped to NY; Adorama will only collect on orders shipped to NY & NJ; and MacMall will only collect on orders shipped to CA, CO, GA, IL, MN, NC, NY, TN, and WI. This will typically save most readers an average of $100 on their 2015 MacBook order.
The industry's leading consumer electronics buyback serve and AppleInsider sponsor is offering the exclusive $20 bonus on any working MacBook trade-in that it values at $50 or more when you lock in a price quote by March 22. Additionally, those who lock in a quote by March 20th will also be able to take advantage of an extended 45-day window that allows you to lock in a cash payout offer now and still hold onto that MacBook for another month and half while you await delivery of your replacement MacBook and get it all set up. Normally, Gazelle's price lock guarantee stretches only 30 days.
The chart below gives examples of what Gazelle is currently paying for some of Apple's 2013 MacBook models, including up to $646 for a 13-inch 2013 MacBook Pro with a 2.4 GHz Core i5 processor and a 256 GB SSD, while a model with a 2.6GHz Core i5 and 1TB hard drive can fetch up to $1,080. A 13-inch MacBook Air from the same year, with a 1.3 GHz Core i5 and a 128 GB SSD, can be worth as much as $415, while an 11-inch Air with a 1.3 GHz Core i5 and a 256 GB SSD is valued as high as as high as $471. These prices and those in the chart are before the $20 bonus is factored in.
| 2013 MacBook Pros | Flawless Contion | Good Condition |
| MacBook Pro (2013) 13" 2.4GHz Core i5 128GB | $573 | $512 |
| MacBook Pro (2013) 13" 2.4GHz Core i5 256GB | $646 | $578 |
| MacBook Pro (2013) 13" 2.6GHz Core i5 256GB | $725 | $649 |
| MacBook Pro (2013) 13" 2.6GHz Core i5 512GB | $826 | $740 |
| MacBook Pro (2013) 13" 2.6GHz Core i5 1TB | $1080 | $968 |
| 2013 MacBook Airs | Flawless Contion | Good Condition |
| MacBook Air (2013) 11" 1.3GHz Core i5 128GB | $391 | $348 |
| MacBook Air (2013) 11" 1.3GHz Core i5 256GB | $471 | $420 |
| MacBook Air (2013) 13" 1.3GHz Core i5 128GB | $415 | $370 |
| MacBook Air (2013) 13" 1.7GHz Core i7 512GB | $672 | $601 |
How it Works
The way Gazelle's trade-in service works for MacBooks is identical to how it works for iPhones and iPads. You first lock in a trade-in price, where you will be asked to gauge the condition of your device by rating it in one of four tiers: broken, fair, good, or flawless. The ratings include factors like whether the device's screen is cracked or if it has ever been damaged by liquids.A few days after locking in a price quote, a pre-paid shipping box will show up on your doorstep. Gazelle normally gives a 30 day grace period from the time you lock in your trade in offer to the time you need to drop your device securely into the pre-paid shipping box and drop it in the mail. Alternately, you can use your own shipping box and simply affix a pre-paid shipping label printed from Gazelle's site.
An example of one of Gazelle's pre-paid shipping boxes, in this case for an iPad.
Unlike some rivals, Gazelle handles all trade-in inspections itself, doesn't overly scrutinize the trade-in value of devices that arrive in good working order, and will even completely wipe a device of data before passing it along to its new owner.
Once Gazelle receives your old MacBook, the company will issue a check within 10 business days as long as the device's condition generally matches your online assessment. When locking in a price quote, customers can also elect to be paid even faster -- in about 2 days via PayPal or an Amazon Gift Card.
For those readers looking to pick up one of Apple's new MacBooks, our Mac Price Guides currently list dozens of new configurations available for shipping today (standard retail configurations) and pre-order (custom configurations). Several of our retail partners also offer the added benefit of only collecting sales tax on orders shipped to a handful of states. For instance, B&H Photo will only collect sales tax on orders shipped to NY; Adorama will only collect on orders shipped to NY & NJ; and MacMall will only collect on orders shipped to CA, CO, GA, IL, MN, NC, NY, TN, and WI. This will typically save most readers an average of $100 on their 2015 MacBook order.
Comments
You can probably sell your MacBook for much more on eBay. Macs hold on to their value very well.
Gazelle's prices are only for those who are desperate to sell their MacBooks despite the huge loss.
You can probably sell your MacBook for much more on eBay. Macs hold on to their value very well.
That's just your opinion. Nothing more.
Services like these are great for those that don't want to deal with the hassles and security of driving around to meet some stranger, dealing with carrying cash, and worrying about being mugged or your laptop stolen. In addition, people value their time and prefer not to waste it with posting the ad, dealing with response, flakes, cheapskates, etc.
So your remark stating Gazelle buying your Macbook at a "huge loss", and "You 'probably' can sell you Macbook for more on EBay" just means you don't know.
That's just your opinion. Nothing more.
Services like these are great for those that don't want to deal with the hassles and security of driving around to meet some stranger, dealing with carrying cash, and worrying about being mugged or your laptop stolen. In addition, people value their time and prefer not to waste it with posting the ad, dealing with response, flakes, cheapskates, etc.
So your remark stating Gazelle buying your Macbook at a "huge loss", and "You 'probably' can sell you Macbook for more on EBay" just means you don't know.
If Gazelle offered good money for electronics, they wouldn't be in business. Their entire model is lowballing ignorant/impatient/desperate owners and then collecting the difference between that and the full aftermarket value. Nobody is "meeting someone in a parking lot" in order to complete an eBay transaction. What you are describing is Craigslist, which most folks know is not an ideal means for higher-value stuff like computers. Gazelle offers pennies on the dollar for iPhones, and I don't doubt for a minute they do the same with laptops. How else are they going to earn the profits to fund their considerable marketing presence?
You sound like a Gazelle customer who just got served and are still in shock about it.
Very few would I imagine... I still own my maxed-out early 2011 MBP 13" i7, now with 16GB RAM and a 512GB Samsung 840 Pro SSD, and it still goes like stink. Bought it on launch day, and it's been, by far, the best machine I've ever had. I still figure I can hold onto it for another 2 years before parting ways, but I have to admit, some of the new models are making me want to trade up early :smokey:
How many people feel they need to replace their laptop every year?
Based on annual Mac sales numbers and growth, it's very few. Apple has already divulged basic sales patterns, and there's a massive number of first-time Mac buyers at bricks-and-mortar Apple Stores. That's basically why they keep building new stores: new customers.
The numbers clearly indicate that Mac owners tend to keep their devices for years.
Anecdotally, I just recycled an 8-year-old MacBook. Still in my household are a 5-year-old Mac mini and a MacBook Air that will be two years old this July.
I used to think that hanging onto an obsolete Mac was viable, and it was, for a while.
That's not the case today if you are invested in iCloud services. You really need to be on the current operating system. I had a perfectly serviceable MacBook (2006 vintage) whose functionality degraded rapidly not because of hardware limitations, but because it was stuck on OS X 10.7 Lion and many of the recent OS X improvements weren't being carried over.
Yes, I could still use it for Microsoft Remote Desktop, e-mail, basic web browsing, but so more contemporary usage instances weren't readily accessible. Apple stopped developing Safari for 10.7 systems which was a near death blow. Yes, you can use a different browser, but if you're committed to Safari on your newer devices, running an alternate browser on a old Apple device doesn't integrate smoothly.
I'm all for keeping one's Apple devices for as long as they're useful, but iCloud compatibility is now a major issue, at least for me.
How many people feel they need to replace their laptop every year?
Feel they need to? More than actually do. For example, I'm writing (and surfing -- thank you, TenFourFox) on a 1.33GHz G4 PowerBook. (Last manufactured in January 2005, for the record.) I don't deal much with video, which would be unacceptable on this, of course, but Office and CS3 work fine, and MacTubes renders tolerably for the little YouTube I bother with.
Hearing of people complaining they "make do" with their 3-year-old MacBook makes me chuckle.
If Gazelle offered good money for electronics, they wouldn't be in business. Their entire model is lowballing ignorant/impatient/desperate owners and then collecting the difference between that and the full aftermarket value. Nobody is "meeting someone in a parking lot" in order to complete an eBay transaction. What you are describing is Craigslist, which most folks know is not an ideal means for higher-value stuff like computers. Gazelle offers pennies on the dollar for iPhones, and I don't doubt for a minute they do the same with laptops. How else are they going to earn the profits to fund their considerable marketing presence?
You sound like a Gazelle customer who just got served and are still in shock about it.
Never used Gazelle. I've used Craigslist to sell my prior MacBooks. I don't use Ebay due to bad experiences in the past. Again, sites like Gazelle offer a service that is popular with many people. Obviously, it's not popular with you, but you seem to believe what is not good for you surely must apply to everyone else.
I value my time immensly. A lot of people think the exact same way. I would rather get a "fair" amount for my used-macbook and save the time and hassle of selling it privately, than to get top dollar for it but lose on the ending by spending my time and hassles with the buyer/shipping/packing/drama/etc.. The first has value, the latter does not.
If people want to sell their MacBooks through Gazelle, and they're happy about it, good for them. It's a win-win. Just because people like you have a problem with it, well.. guess what.. 0.0% of people couldn't care any less what you think.
Based on annual Mac sales numbers and growth, it's very few. Apple has already divulged basic sales patterns, and there's a massive number of first-time Mac buyers at bricks-and-mortar Apple Stores. That's basically why they keep building new stores: new customers.
The numbers clearly indicate that Mac owners tend to keep their devices for years.
Anecdotally, I just recycled an 8-year-old MacBook. Still in my household are a 5-year-old Mac mini and a MacBook Air that will be two years old this July.
I used to think that hanging onto an obsolete Mac was viable, and it was, for a while.
That's not the case today if you are invested in iCloud services. You really need to be on the current operating system. I had a perfectly serviceable MacBook (2006 vintage) whose functionality degraded rapidly not because of hardware limitations, but because it was stuck on OS X 10.7 Lion and many of the recent OS X improvements weren't being carried over.
Yes, I could still use it for Microsoft Remote Desktop, e-mail, basic web browsing, but so more contemporary usage instances weren't readily accessible. Apple stopped developing Safari for 10.7 systems which was a near death blow. Yes, you can use a different browser, but if you're committed to Safari on your newer devices, running an alternate browser on a old Apple device doesn't integrate smoothly.
I'm all for keeping one's Apple devices for as long as they're useful, but iCloud compatibility is now a major issue, at least for me.
Same here.
My 2007 MacBook was stuck at 10.7 and that was a problem, so I gifted it a little over a year ago and replaced it with an MBA. It was a basic MB.
My 2007 iMac, however, is still performing beautifully. I replaced the 6 year old HDD a year ago with an SSD. Didn't want to push my luck. That computer I ordered with upgraded CPU and RAM. Running 10.9 on it, but about to install 10.10.
Gazelle's prices are only for those who are desperate to sell their MacBooks despite the huge loss.
You can probably sell your MacBook for much more on eBay. Macs hold on to their value very well.
There is no doubt you can make more. Problem is everyone that shills for selling on your own -- never mentions how much effort is actually needed, the costs, and pitfalls. That is selling is difficult. Perhaps you paid $650 for your iPhone 5S 16 GB unlocked, when it was new, and you've keep great care of it and consider it in perfect / flawless condition.
If you go with eBay -- first thing you'll find out is there are a lot of other people selling Apple products. So finding a buyer could be difficult, your item could get lost in the sea of identical items being sold. Next you'll find many are very willing to undercut your desired price. Perhaps you want $500 for your pristine iPhone. But a quick look at prices shows a median price of around $330. Good luck selling for more then that. Next, even if someone does find your listing for your iPhone they might not consider your iPhone if you don't offer free shipping and accept PayPal. Accepting Paypal might not be a problem if you don't transfer the balance to your checking account. But there is a limit to how much PayPay will let you accept for free and / or transfer for free. Next, do you even have an appropriately sized box and padding material many don't. That problem can be solved, especially if the buyer is paying for shipping, but to get the sale they may not want to pay shipping. Then eBay will take 10% of the final value -- If it sold for $330, that's $33 or $297 before PayPal or free shipping.
Now that might all be for naught because even after the sale the buyer changes there mind -- they don't want it anymore. Your item doesn't get sold and you have to relist it. Or if the buyer is a scammer, maybe they pay with a stolen credit card, which after that's discovered would mean paypal would reclaim the funds from you. Or they could dispute the condition of the item received. Even if you can disprove their claim its still a big hassle. Or maybe they write you a bad check. Or something else, there are lots of ways to get scammed.
Or you could skip that and take the no hassle guaranteed $220 from Gazelle.
Clearly if you have someone you know or can sell to someone locally and individually for maybe $400 cash, that'd be great. But it rarely works out like that.
I switched from "PCs" to Macs in 2008. Before 2008, I bought a new laptop almost every year out of necessity because that's about how long they would last until the battery died or the hinges cracked despite careful usage. I sold them for very little, gave them away, or just tossed them in the garbage because they retained so little value.
Since 2008, I buy a new Mac whenever a new model comes out that I feel is a significant upgrade. My personal experience has been that I average about 75-80% of their original value after one year and about 50% after three years. The most recent example was a late-2010 11" MacBook Air that I paid $1,000 for. Three years and six months later, I sold it on eBay for $585. It's so easy to take a few pictures, submit an eBay listing, then sit back and collect fair market value that I would never consider using Gazelle or any similar service.
I've owned three Macs, four MacBooks, four iPhones, several iPads, Apple TVs, and lots of Apple accessories. Thankfully, I've never had a "crash" or hardware failure. So far, life in the Apple ecosystem has been blissful compared to all the waste, frustration, and compromises I experienced before I switched.
I switched from "PCs" to Macs in 2008. Before 2008, I bought a new laptop almost every year out of necessity because that's about how long they would last until the battery died or the hinges cracked despite careful usage. I sold them for very little, gave them away, or just tossed them in the garbage because they retained so little value.
Since 2008, I buy a new Mac whenever a new model comes out that I feel is a significant upgrade. My personal experience has been that I average about 75-80% of their original value after one year and about 50% after three years. The most recent example was a late-2010 11" MacBook Air that I paid $1,000 for. Three years and six months later, I sold it on eBay for $585. It's so easy to take a few pictures, submit an eBay listing, then sit back and collect fair market value that I would never consider using Gazelle or any similar service.
I've owned three Macs, four MacBooks, four iPhones, several iPads, Apple TVs, and lots of Apple accessories. Thankfully, I've never had a "crash" or hardware failure. So far, life in the Apple ecosystem has been blissful compared to all the waste, frustration, and compromises I experienced before I switched.
I've sold stuff easy on eBay, but I've also had major headaches. Buyers change their mind half the time on me. I realize I have to pay eBay, and Paypal, and USPS for their services, but it gets to be bit much. Moreover, I don't get any interest when I exclude PayPal as a payment option. Even when I charge the buyer for shipping I typically have to subtract that from the item price. I sell mostly small stuff like movie DVDs or video games, because I don't want to get scammed selling high value items. I'd never sell an iPhone, or iPad, or any laptop or desktop on ebay.
Quick example: I want to sell a movie DVD which bought it new for $20-25 (on a retail price of $29.99). I think that $10-$15 is a reasonable used price for a nice scratch free disk. As do buyers. But if the bidding ends at $15 and they have to pay ~$3 for media mail (8 days or less) or $5.75 priority (3 days or less) they realize they've paid $18-$21 for a used copy and make up a story about how they can't pay.
So I have to accept ~$5-10 and charge shipping. Or accept $10-15 and pay the shipping. I could have sold it to Amazon.com for $6.50 without the hassle. That's half as much i'd like for it, but for a lot less trouble.
Video games are the same way, just bump the prices a little.
I'm open to how you protect yourself from getting scammed selling your laptop. Or do you just blindly take it on faith they're not going to scam you? Buyers don't want hassle or delay. No one has ever offered to wait while they mail a check, wait while my bank clears the check, and then waited while the item ships.
If I have family or friends, or friends that know someone who wants my electronic gear (iPhones, iPads, iMac, etc) then we can make a cash deal. But, that is very rarely the case.
I've sold stuff easy on eBay, but I've also had major headaches. Buyers change their mind half the time on me. I realize I have to pay eBay, and Paypal, and USPS for their services, but it gets to be bit much. Moreover, I don't get any interest when I exclude PayPal as a payment option. Even when I charge the buyer for shipping I typically have to subtract that from the item price. I sell mostly small stuff like movie DVDs or video games, because I don't want to get scammed selling high value items. I'd never sell an iPhone, or iPad, or any laptop or desktop on ebay.
Quick example: I want to sell a movie DVD which bought it new for $20-25 (on a retail price of $29.99). I think that $10-$15 is a reasonable used price for a nice scratch free disk. As do buyers. But if the bidding ends at $15 and they have to pay ~$3 for media mail (8 days or less) or $5.75 priority (3 days or less) they realize they've paid $18-$21 for a used copy and make up a story about how they can't pay.
So I have to accept ~$5-10 and charge shipping. Or accept $10-15 and pay the shipping. I could have sold it to Amazon.com for $6.50 without the hassle. That's half as much i'd like for it, but for a lot less trouble.
Video games are the same way, just bump the prices a little.
I'm open to how you protect yourself from getting scammed selling your laptop. Or do you just blindly take it on faith they're not going to scam you? Buyers don't want hassle or delay. No one has ever offered to wait while they mail a check, wait while my bank clears the check, and then waited while the item ships.
If I have family or friends, or friends that know someone who wants my electronic gear (iPhones, iPads, iMac, etc) then we can make a cash deal. But, that is very rarely the case.
I've only sold a few dozen items on eBay - most were "high dollar" items (It's not with my time to sell a Blu-Ray or the like - I'll just trash it or give it away), but I've been selling for over a decade. So far, I've never had a buyer change their mind, although one didn't pay once. There was another instance where someone's kid bid $10,000 on an iPhone. I just re-listed both without a problem. I always use the same procedure - I don't offer refunds, I only accept PayPal, and I always start my auctions at $0.01 with no reserve, and always offer free shipping. Yes, I run the risk of having to sell a one year-old iMac for $5.00 if that's the highest bid I get, but that's never happened and is highly unlikely.
To some people losing out on 1/3rd of the value of the sale would be too much to give up but there are people who just want some value back without the hassle. This is where companies cash in on used games. Selling items like games is too time-consuming for the amount so you take a pile into a store and they give you hardly anything back but it's hassle-free and you get some value back.
I always wondered why Apple didn't do this. They'll want to keep pushing new hardware but this would let them target the high volume buyers at the low-end without building a low-spec machine.
They'd offer a similar amount of money as Gazelle, say 60% of what the machine is worth used and then mark it up to 80-90% of what it's worth and they make 20-30% profit on a machine they already sold in the past and they can provide a 1 year warranty but without the possibility to get AppleCare. They wouldn't buy hardware older than 5 years old but it would be all products - iPhones, iPads etc. They'd have limited stocks like refurbs but it achieves two goals: expanding their products to a wider audience while offering a hassle-free incentive to people to upgrade.
If they build up some inventory that is hard to shift, they can unload it in a major sale like Christmas or Black Friday.
I've only sold a few dozen items on eBay - most were "high dollar" items (It's not with my time to sell a Blu-Ray or the like - I'll just trash it or give it away), but I've been selling for over a decade. So far, I've never had a buyer change their mind, although one didn't pay once. There was another instance where someone's kid bid $10,000 on an iPhone. I just re-listed both without a problem. I always use the same procedure - I don't offer refunds, I only accept PayPal, and I always start my auctions at $0.01 with no reserve, and always offer free shipping. Yes, I run the risk of having to sell a one year-old iMac for $5.00 if that's the highest bid I get, but that's never happened and is highly unlikely.
Perhaps this is a bit personal, but when was your last sale? For how much? $500? $1000? Paypal pretty much gives buyers unbridled privilege to dispute transactions. Now as a buyer -- if I choose to buy someones $1000 laptop or whatever and I was sent a box of rocks, I would want that coverage. But as a seller, just as you mention, once I've been paid for my item and it has been shipped I don't want the buyer to be able to defraud me. I mean, i've just shipped them my laptop or whatever.
I've heard many terrible stories about sellers getting screwed, not just in an individual transaction, but PayPal freezing all of the assets in their account over a buyers dispute. For that matter withdrawing funds that have already been transferred / deposited into the sellers own checking account.
Perhaps my skepticism is unfounded obviously it has to work for many people. But I don't want to have to deal with one of those horror stories. I imagine many people don't.
Perhaps you paid $650 for your iPhone 5S 16 GB unlocked, when it was new, and you've keep great care of it and consider it in perfect / flawless condition.
Or you could skip that and take the no hassle guaranteed $220 from Gazelle.
The problem is that Gazelle will almost never rate a phone as flawless. That $220 just dropped to $185 for a "good" condition phone. That phone should fetch around $290 locally. When I'm in the market for a used iPhone my first stop is Craigslist. There are plenty of good deals there.
Perhaps this is a bit personal, but when was your last sale? For how much?
In June when I sold a late-2010 MacBook Air for $585.