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New iPhones and Apple Watches coming; here’s how to get the most money for your trade-in

We know Apple is going to announce the iPhone 7/Plus and an updated Apple Watch next week and that’s really exciting. However, one small downside of the upcoming announcement is the impending drop in value of your soon-to-be-outdated Apple devices, whether they are your daily drivers or an older device that’s been sitting in your desk.

Every year newer models push the older iPhones, iPads, and MacBooks farther and farther down the path of obsolescence. But there’s good news: you still have time to sell your devices and we’ll help you maximize the money you get for them too...

There are several factors that affect how much a device drops in value. For example, phones on full cycle refreshes hold their value slightly better than their “S” counterparts. Also, broken devices won’t see their values fall nearly as dramatically as perfectly working devices will (this is the one time it’s OK that you’re a klutz.)

This year, predicting phone values is a little more interesting. Even though the iPhone 7 is a full cycle upgrade, it appears it will be received more like an “S” model due to a lack of cosmetic upgrades.

Similar feelings surround the AppleWatch 2. Many customers who were waiting for 3G support are primed for disappointment, but users looking just for GPS are lining up in anticipation. The final major device release for 2016 — a redesigned MacBook Pro — is expected to be the first release to significantly drop MacBook Pro prices since the first Retina model was released in 2012.

Our buyback partners at MyPhones Unlimited handle thousands of devices each year and they project the iPhone 6 and 6S to drop in value by 10% the week of the launch and then an additional 10% over the next 30 days. They also project Retina MacBook Pros to lose about 15% of their overall value in the month following the release, warning that any MacBook released before 2010 will be rendered nearly worthless by the end of the year.

Our buyback partnership program allows you to lock-in your price for 14 days — something we highly recommend during this period of tumultuous price drops. If you know you’ll get your new iPhone 7 in a week, go ahead and request a box now because the price will likely be lower by the time your phone comes in. Although some websites offer 30-day price lock-ins, they start with a lower overall price to protect themselves from the devices’ depreciating; our 14-day policy was established to offer consumers the highest possible price.

Selling your iPhone as soon as possible will help you afford the cost of an upgrade, so you can get the device/capacity you really want. And obviously you’ll lose a huge chunk of change if you wait. Get started now!

Update: We should have clarified but it was assumed that readers would know that this isn’t the same as ebay/craigslist/swappa/etc where you have to find the buyer yourself, and make the exchange (with all the risks involved there). This is a no hassle/no risk situation and in our checks almost always is the most money back.

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