This season has seen dazzling new flagship phones as the best samsung phones and best iPhones hit the market, all at dazzling prices. Of course, if you already own a (working) smartphone (which isn’t cracked), you have some value in your pocket that you can trade in for a new device. Be careful, though, because trade-in values vary wildly and phone makers are just as tribal as you might think.
Apple pays much less for Samsung phones than for iPhones. Samsung pays very well, but mostly for its own devices. Sometimes it’s even better not to trade in your phone at all. We’ve done the research and we’ll show you the best way to recover the value of the phone you own so you can get the phone you want.
If you have an Apple iPhone…
- Apple offers you a fair price
- Samsung sometimes gives you more than Apple for an iPhone trade-in
- Selling your iPhone on Swappa is always a better idea
If you own an Apple iPhone and want to buy a new iPhone, Apple will give you a fair price, but it won’t be the best value you can get for your phone. If you have your eye on iPhone 14 Pro Max as an upgrade to your iPhone 13 Pro Max, Apple will give you $720 in exchange. If you are upgrading from a iPhone Xyou should expect a measly $130 for the phone that introduced the notch and killed the home button.
What’s odd is that Samsung will give you more for an iPhone X than Apple will. If you want to buy a Samsung phone, you can get $300 for the iPhone X. Samsung is also offering the same $720 for the iPhone 13 Pro Max. If you have a iPhone 13 to trade, Apple will give $470 for this phone, but Samsung is only worth $370.
If you’re considering trading in your iPhone to Google for a new Pixel phone, Google’s trade-in values are very close to Apple’s, usually around $50. However, if you want to earn hundreds more for your phone, your best bet is to sell the device independently on a site like Swappa.com.
Swappa’s sales will earn far more than a comparable trade for an Apple iPhone. This iPhone 13 will net you $470 in exchange for Apple, but on Swappa you can sell it for an average of around $700, if it’s in good enough condition. If you keep your phone in a case and your screen isn’t cracked, you can usually ask someone to increase the average site value.
If you have a Samsung Galaxy phone…
- Samsung gives you the best value for money of all
- Apple gives you half of what the phone is worth
- Swappa is good, but Samsung’s loyalty pays
If you own a Samsung phone, Samsung values your loyalty and will give you far more business value than Apple will give you. In many cases, the difference is so stark that it looks like Apple is preying on Samsung buyers by devaluing their trade-in devices.
For example, a galaxy note 10 It’ll only get you $120 from Apple, but Samsung will thank you with a retail value of $425 for this device. For the Galaxy S21 UltraApple is offering a paltry $370, but Samsung will throw you $775. That’s a considerable distance across the price gap for a new device. Apple doesn’t even recognize the Galaxy Z Fold 3 as a business opportunity. Samsung will give you $900 for making last year’s biggest foldable phone.
These are very good trade-in values, and if you have a Samsung phone to trade in, it is better to sell it to Samsung than to sell it on Swappa. If you are looking to get an iPhone after dumping your Samsung, you should sell your Samsung phone on Swappa first. A Swappa sale is a better way to gain value than trading in your Galaxy phone to Apple.
While Samsung is offering a generous $425 for this Galaxy Note 10, Swappa says you’ll get around $264 on average for this phone. If you have a Note 10 and want an iPhone, Swappa is much better value than Apple’s $120. The Galaxy Z Fold 3 will net you just over $800 on Swappa, which is way better than what Apple is offering for this phone – bupkus.
Better than negotiating with carriers
Mobile carriers will offer a lot more for your trade-in phone, often up to $1,000 or more when the phone launches. There is a catch in their offers. They don’t give you the full value of your device at once. They divide this value into installments in a contractual agreement.
If T-Mobile says they’ll give you $960 for your trade-in, that actually means they’ll give you $40 per month for the next 24 months, as long as you remain a customer.
If you trade in a phone with a carrier and decide to switch within a year, you’ve now lost half the value of your trade-in and owe your carrier money. You bought a $1,200 phone and agreed to pay T-Mobile $50 per month, while they agreed to reimburse you $40 per month for your trade-in.
If you trade in a phone with a carrier and decide to switch in a year, you’ve now lost half the value of your trade-in.
As long as you are a customer, you only owe them $10 a month for the phone. When you leave, you still have 12 months left on your contract, so you owe them $600 for the second year of the contract. You have lost the rest of your business value. Instead of $960 for the trade, you only accrued $480.
If you are 100% sure that you will stay with the same operator for the entire payment plan, it is definitely a good deal. If there’s a chance you’ll change, it’s far better to own a phone and then resell it to a manufacturer or, even better, resell it independently to recoup what the phone is really worth.
Negotiate the same, sell before you change
Trading in a phone is the best way to reduce the cost of a new device, and knowing how to trade in pays off. If you’re an iPhone owner buying a new iPhone from Apple, trading in your phone is a great bet, but you can often get a bit more by selling your phone on Swappa.
If you’re a Samsung or Google owner going back to your favorite Android phone maker, your best bet is to give the phone to whichever company you prefer. Samsung will give you more for your Samsung phone than you’ll get from selling it, and Google will do the same for Pixel phones.
If you want to change, however, your best bet is to take matters into your own hands. Clean your phone, take some nice pictures of it, and sell it on a site like Swappa. You will earn more than what Apple will offer you, and in some cases almost twice as much.
If you’re still unsure which phone to buy after the trade-in or sale, check out our list of the best smartphones for 2022.
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