Friendly reminder: We have not tested this third-party platform, Gadgetgone, ourselves. Please use your own judgment before deciding whether to use it.
Earlier we briefly introduced Macmeanoffer, a third-party trade-in platform for Apple devices. Reader helloimvx mentioned another third-party trade-in platform: Gadgetgone.
This platform supports trade-ins for the following products:
- Phones: Apple, Samsung, and Google phones
- iPad tablets
- MacBooks
- Apple Watch
- Game consoles: Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo consoles
- Printed pet photos — yes, you read that right.
For iPhones, both locked and unlocked devices are eligible for trade-in. For locked phones, only the carriers below are supported; it is unclear whether flanker/MVNO carriers are accepted. Using a brand-new iPhone SE2 as an example:
- Locked: $195 cash
- Unlocked: $210 cash
Based on that, for locked phones it may be more convenient to trade them in directly through Apple instead ($205 online, or a $210 Apple gift card in store).
They also accept pet photos, but they need to be printed. You could print some during free photo-print promotions; as long as they are funny or interesting, they seem to take them.
Personally, if it is a phone — especially an unlocked one — it is probably better to trade it in through Apple online or at an Apple Store. For example, from this deal:
As for these third-party platforms, they may make sense for trading in electronics you no longer use and otherwise cannot easily get rid of.