Why trade in (instead of selling it yourself)
You can absolutely sell your old laptop on Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist and probably make $50-$150 more than what we'd give you. The reason most customers still trade in:
- It happens at checkout. No listing photos, no haggling messages, no flaky buyers, no meeting strangers in parking lots.
- The credit is applied immediately. You don't wait for a buyer to show up. The discount comes off your new Mac the moment you confirm the trade-in.
- Broken laptops still earn credit. Try selling a laptop with a cracked screen on Marketplace. We take it.
- The whole thing is honest. We tell you what it's worth before you ship. We send a prepaid label. We don't try to renegotiate after we open the box (unless the unit doesn't match what you described — see below).
If your time is worth anything to you, the math usually favors trade-in.
Find your model number
Before we can give you an accurate quote, we need to know exactly which laptop you have. Same-name laptops from different years can have $400 of price difference between them. Here's how to find the model in 30 seconds:
Click the Apple logo (top-left corner)
From any screen on a working Mac, click the Apple logo in the very top-left corner of the screen. The first menu item is About This Mac. Click it.
Read the line that starts with "MacBook"
The window that opens shows the model name, the year, the screen size, and the chip family. Take a screenshot of this whole window and email it to rick@luxuriouscomputers.com, or paste it into the chat. That's everything we need.
If the laptop won't turn on
Flip the laptop over and look at the bottom case. There's small text engraved into the metal that includes a model number starting with the letter A — for example, A2338 or A2779. Photograph it and send it over. Rick can identify the exact model from that number alone.
Working, cracked, or dead — three condition tiers
We grade every trade-in into one of three tiers. Pick the one that matches your laptop honestly. Telling us it works when it doesn't will result in a revised quote when the unit arrives — not in us paying you more.
Fully functional, no cracks
Boots up, screen has no cracks or dead pixels, keyboard and trackpad work, battery holds a charge, all ports tested. Maybe some cosmetic wear on the bottom case but no structural damage. Top dollar.
Boots, but something is broken
Cracked screen but still works. Dead key. Battery doesn't hold a charge. One port doesn't work. Big dent in the case. The laptop is usable, but with a known fault. Significant credit, but reduced.
Won't power on
No power, no boot, no signs of life. Or extensive water damage. Or a cracked case that exposes internals. Smaller credit, but still credit. We harvest parts off these for warranty repairs.
How the value is calculated
The trade-in quote you get back is a function of three things:
- Model and year. Newer hardware is worth more. A 2022 laptop is worth roughly 2-3x what a 2017 laptop is, even at the same condition tier.
- Condition tier. Tier A pays roughly 100% of base value. Tier B pays roughly 50%. Tier C pays roughly 20-30%.
- What you're buying. Trade-in credit is applied as a percentage of your new purchase price, capped at our published trade-in cap. Trading in a working 2022 laptop against a $1500 new Mac maxes out the credit; trading the same unit against a $400 Mac gets you a smaller credit because we cap the trade-in at a percentage of the purchase.
Realistic ranges, just so you have an honest expectation:
- Working laptop, 2022 or newer: $250 to $600 depending on the exact model.
- Working laptop, 2018-2021: $120 to $350.
- Working laptop, 2015-2017: $50 to $150.
- Working laptop, 2014 or older: $30 to $80.
- Cracked or partial unit: About half of the working price for the same year.
- Dead unit: About 20-30% of the working price for the same year.
How to ship the laptop to us
Wipe your data first
Before anything ships, sign out of iCloud, sign out of iMessage, and erase the drive. On newer Macs: System Settings → General → Transfer or Reset → Erase All Content and Settings. On older Macs: boot into Recovery (hold Command-R at startup) and use Disk Utility to erase the drive, then reinstall macOS. If your laptop is dead and you can't wipe it, that's fine — our techs do a second wipe at the bench as a matter of policy. No customer data ever leaves the warehouse.
Find a sturdy box
The box your new Mac arrives in is perfect. Wrap the laptop in a couple layers of bubble wrap or in a clean towel, then put it in the box with packing material around it. The laptop should not be able to slide around inside the box.
Print the prepaid label we email you
After your purchase clears, we email you a prepaid UPS or FedEx shipping label, plus a one-page packing slip. Print both, tape the label to the outside of the box, and put the packing slip inside.
Drop it off
Take the box to any UPS or FedEx location, or schedule a pickup if that's easier. Get a receipt (the tracking number is the receipt). The label is fully paid by us. There is nothing to pay at the counter.
That's it
The package arrives at our warehouse 3-7 business days later. Our techs verify the unit matches your description. If it does, the transaction is closed. You don't have to do anything else. The trade-in credit was already applied to your purchase upfront.
What happens if we reject the unit
If your trade-in arrives in worse condition than you described — for example, you said it powered on and it doesn't, or you didn't mention a giant crack on the screen — we email you the same business day with two options:
- Ship it back to you. We pay the return shipping. Your trade-in credit stays at the original value, and you keep your original payment.
- Accept a revised credit. We tell you what we'd pay for it in the actual condition, you say yes or no, and if yes, we refund the difference between your original credit and the revised credit to your original payment method.
What we do not do is silently keep the unit and stay quiet. The whole point of a trade-in program with a real store behind it is that you don't have to worry about that.
Honest tips to maximize your credit
- Be specific in the quote request. "MacBook from 2020" is not enough. "MacBook Air, 13-inch, 2020 model, fully working with maybe a few light scratches on the bottom case" is. The more specific you are, the more accurate the quote, and the less likely we'll come back with a revision.
- Include the screenshot from About This Mac. It identifies the exact model in one image.
- Photograph any damage honestly. If there's a crack, photograph it. We won't reduce the quote for a crack you already told us about. We will reduce the quote for one we discover ourselves.
- Don't bother polishing the case. We're going to refurbish it. A fingerprint on the lid does not change the value.
- Trade-in pairs with your purchase. A heavier purchase unlocks a higher trade-in cap. If you were planning to buy a higher-tier Mac anyway, the trade-in math is a little better there.
Get a real quote in 5 minutes
Send Rick a screenshot of "About This Mac" plus a photo of the laptop. He'll come back with the exact credit before you commit to anything.
Talk to Rick →