As much as we love our iOS devices, we are always looking to upgrade when a new version comes out. There are a variety of ways to get rid of that old device. One of those ways is to trade it in. We can now officially add Amazon to one of those trade in sites. There are a variety of trade in websites, but a lot of them don’t come with the reputation that a company like Amazon does. Which makes this story that much more interesting.
When you first go to the Amazon Trade In site, you are asked to type in the device that you are looking to trade in. At this point, Amazon is taking iPhones up to the iPhone 3GS. They are also taking all versions of the iPod Touch.
They make it pretty painless for you to go through the process of trading in your device. Either search for your specific device or click on one that is popular that you have. From there, you are asked to evaluate what condition the device is in.
Once you are done here, you are then given the option to ship it for free using UPS or shipping it on your own using the carrier of your choice.
Then Amazon does something nice here where they let you decide that if your device isn’t worth what was estimated, you have the option to have the device sent back to you or just get an Amazon gift card for a lower price. This option definitely comes in handy if you are wanting to try to get the most money as possible.
Amazon does a good job of giving you this option to trade in your device. But there are a couple of caveats here. One, you are given an Amazon gift card, not cash. This can be somewhat cumbersome, especially if you are looking to upgrade your iPhone. For example, if I trade in my iPhone 3GS and get an Amazon gift card, there are no iPhone 4’s to buy on Amazon, unless you are willing to pay full price for one. Now, with the iPod Touch, this is a different story. You can buy an iPod Touch through Amazon so this will be fine. The other caveat is that you are not guaranteed anything. Amazon, like all the other trade in websites, gives you an estimate of what the device will trade in for. To be honest, it is a crap shoot. You could get lucky and get the full amount, which for trade in value goes, is pretty good coming from Amazon. But you could also get unlucky and not get the full amount. Basically, you are letting another person make the decision, which when we let people make decisions like this, you never know what could happen.
All this to say, it is a step in the right direction that Amazon is now offering trade in for our iOS devices. It gives us another site to see if we can get the best deal. And as we all know, with competition between sites for your device, the value of your device can only get higher. If you have tried to trade in your iOS device with Amazon, let us know in the comments. Would love to hear your experience.