Why trade in (instead of selling it yourself)
You can absolutely sell your old laptop on Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist and probably make $50–$150 more than we'd give you. The reason most customers still trade in:
- It happens at checkout. No listing photos, no haggling messages, no flaky buyers, no parking-lot meetups.
- The credit is applied immediately. The discount comes off your new Mac the moment you confirm the trade-in.
- Broken laptops still earn credit. Try selling a cracked-screen laptop on Marketplace. We take it.
- The whole thing is honest. We tell you what it's worth before you ship, send a prepaid label, and don't renegotiate after we open the box — unless the unit doesn't match what you described.
If your time is worth anything to you, the math usually favors trade-in.
Find your model number
Same-name laptops from different years can differ by $400. Here's how to find yours in 30 seconds:
Click the Apple logo (top-left corner)
On a working Mac, click the Apple logo in the very top-left of the screen. The first menu item is About This Mac. Click it.
Read the line that starts with "MacBook"
The window shows the model name, year, screen size, and chip family. Take a screenshot of the whole window and email it to [email protected], or paste it into the chat. That’s everything we need.
If the laptop won’t turn on
Flip it over and look at the bottom case. There’s engraved text with a model number starting with "A" — for example, A2338 or A2779. Photograph it and send it over. Rick can identify the exact model from that number alone.
Working, cracked, or dead — three condition tiers
We grade every trade-in into one of three tiers. Pick the one that matches honestly. Telling us it works when it doesn't results in a revised quote when the unit arrives — not in us paying you more.
Tier A — Working
Fully functional, no cracks
Boots up, screen has no cracks or dead pixels, keyboard and trackpad work, battery holds a charge, all ports tested. Maybe cosmetic wear on the bottom case, no structural damage. Top dollar.
Tier B — Cracked / partial
Boots, but something is broken
Cracked screen but still works. Dead key. Battery won’t hold a charge. One bad port. Big dent. Usable, with a known fault. Significant credit, but reduced.
Tier C — Dead / parts
Won’t power on
No power, no boot, no signs of life. Or extensive water damage. Or a cracked case exposing internals. Smaller credit, but still credit — we harvest parts for warranty repairs.
How the value is calculated
The quote is a function of three things:
- Model and year. Newer hardware is worth more — a 2022 laptop is roughly 2–3x a 2017 laptop at the same condition.
- Condition tier. Tier A pays ~100% of base value, Tier B ~50%, Tier C ~20–30%.
- What you're buying. Credit is applied as a percentage of your new purchase, capped at our published trade-in cap. A heavier purchase unlocks a higher cap.
Realistic ranges, so you have an honest expectation:
- Working, 2022 or newer: $250 to $600 depending on model.
- Working, 2018–2021: $120 to $350.
- Working, 2015–2017: $50 to $150.
- Working, 2014 or older: $30 to $80.
- Cracked or partial: about half the working price for the same year.
- Dead: about 20–30% of the working price for the same year.
We never show a "market median" or other anchor price on a trade-in quote — comparing your laptop to an abstract average isn't useful. We just tell you the credit. Take it or don't.
How to ship the laptop to us
Wipe your data first
Sign out of iCloud and iMessage, then erase the drive (System Settings → General → Transfer or Reset → Erase All Content and Settings, or Disk Utility in Recovery on older Macs). If your laptop is dead and you can’t wipe it, that’s fine — our techs do a second secure wipe at the bench. No customer data ever leaves the warehouse.
Find a sturdy box
The box your new Mac arrives in is perfect. Wrap the laptop in bubble wrap or a clean towel and pack it so it can’t slide around inside.
Print the prepaid label we email you
After your purchase clears, we email a prepaid UPS or FedEx label plus a one-page packing slip. Tape the label outside, put the slip inside.
Drop it off
Take it to any UPS or FedEx location, or schedule a pickup. Get a receipt (the tracking number is the receipt). The label is fully paid by us — nothing to pay at the counter.
That’s it
It arrives at our warehouse 3–7 business days later. We verify it matches your description. If it does, the transaction closes — you don’t do anything else. Your credit was already applied to your purchase up front.
What happens if we reject the unit
If your trade-in arrives worse than described — you said it powered on and it doesn't, or you didn't mention a giant screen crack — we email you the same business day with two options:
- Ship it back to you. We pay return shipping. Your credit stays at the original value and you keep your original payment.
- Accept a revised credit. We tell you what we'd pay in the actual condition; if you say yes, we refund the difference to your original payment method.
What we do not do is silently keep the unit and stay quiet. The point of a trade-in program with a real store behind it is that you don't have to worry about that.
Honest tips to maximize your credit
- Be specific in the quote request. "MacBook Air, 13-inch, 2020, fully working with light scratches on the bottom case" beats "MacBook from 2020."
- Include the About This Mac screenshot. It identifies the exact model in one image.
- Photograph any damage honestly. We won't reduce the quote for a crack you told us about. We will for one we discover ourselves.
- Don't bother polishing the case. We're going to refurbish it. A fingerprint on the lid doesn't change the value.
- Trade-in pairs with your purchase. A heavier purchase unlocks a higher trade-in cap.
Get a real quote in 5 minutes
Send Rick a screenshot of "About This Mac" plus a photo of the laptop. He'll come back with the exact credit before you commit.
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