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I know Apple will not re-sell devices obtained in a buyback/trade-in deal, but being confronted with the reality of it like this makes me think. After boiling

I know Apple will not re-sell devices obtained in a buyback/trade-in deal, but being confronted with the reality of it like this makes me think. After boiling off the pragmatic trade offs, I'm left being slightly baffled by discounts Apple has decided are still economic with a trade-in. Either the margins are that big that it is worth the points with consumers, or there is actually an equal advantage to the discount in removing a perfectly fine device from the second hand market. The economics of "platform-providers" are very interesting and quite relevant.

z3t4 6y ago
The aftermarket for electronics is very cheap. They dont want to compete with their own/old products that cost 1/10 the price but for almost the same value.
jeffbee 6y ago
If Apple doesn't resell trade-ins, why do they buy them and where do refurbished iphones come from?
- jeromegv 6y ago
  Refurbished look as new, which isn't hte case for trade-ins. Refurbised will typically be new products that were returned within the return window, or may be customers that brough something for repair and were offered a new device to speed up the process.
- TAForObvReasons 6y ago
  iPhone 11 Pro Max is estimated to cost $500 [1], but retails at $1100 for the 64GB model [2]. Based on their public numbers [3], the most you can get is $450, so they're still ahead if they offer a trade-in discount and just dispose of the old phone. More importantly, they either get to accelerate a potential sale (if the phone is still working) or they get to compete more aggressively on price with high-end android phones [1] https://www.nbcnews.com/now/video/how-much-does-it-cost-to-make-an-iphone-11-70289989901 https://www.nbcnews.com/now/video/how-much-does-it-cost-to-m... [2] https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-iphone/iphone-11-pro https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-iphone/iphone-11-pro [3] https://www.apple.com/shop/trade-in https://www.apple.com/shop/trade-in
  - baybal2 6y ago
    This costing is way off, given that iPhone 4 era iphones did cost like 40 bucks.

z3t4 6y ago

The aftermarket for electronics is very cheap. They dont want to compete with their own/old products that cost 1/10 the price but for almost the same value.

jeffbee 6y ago

If Apple doesn't resell trade-ins, why do they buy them and where do refurbished iphones come from?

jeromegv 6y ago
Refurbished look as new, which isn't hte case for trade-ins. Refurbised will typically be new products that were returned within the return window, or may be customers that brough something for repair and were offered a new device to speed up the process.
TAForObvReasons 6y ago
iPhone 11 Pro Max is estimated to cost $500 [1], but retails at $1100 for the 64GB model [2]. Based on their public numbers [3], the most you can get is $450, so they're still ahead if they offer a trade-in discount and just dispose of the old phone. More importantly, they either get to accelerate a potential sale (if the phone is still working) or they get to compete more aggressively on price with high-end android phones [1] https://www.nbcnews.com/now/video/how-much-does-it-cost-to-make-an-iphone-11-70289989901 https://www.nbcnews.com/now/video/how-much-does-it-cost-to-m... [2] https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-iphone/iphone-11-pro https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-iphone/iphone-11-pro [3] https://www.apple.com/shop/trade-in https://www.apple.com/shop/trade-in
- baybal2 6y ago
  This costing is way off, given that iPhone 4 era iphones did cost like 40 bucks.