Deals: Gazelle's Refurbished Sale Includes iPhones From $93.60 and Apple Device Trade-In Bonus

Gazelle is a bunch of crooks. Long story but sent them a pristine 12.9" WiFi iPad. They downgraded the value because it was "locked" and "Didn't Make Calls". Yeah, it's wifi you idiots. We rejected the new offer and they sent back our iPad with a shattered screen. I mean shattered, not just cracked. Thank heavens I still had another 2 moths of AppleCare Plus and was able to get it fixed to restore some value. These guys are crooks. Read reviews. My case is not an isolated one. It is rampant. Deal with them if you wish, but you have been warned.

If you're looking to trade in an Apple product, you can get an extra 10 percent bonus ('https://shareasale.com/u.cfm?d=659910&m=45652&u=63177&afftrack=') on trade-ins at Gazelle right now. The device will need to be valued at $125 or more, and this offer will last through April 27.

I had a couple of sketchy experience trading in iPads with Gazelle. It was disappointing because my trade in experience for my iPhone 7 was fine.

I had two separate trade-ins over several months last year. Both times, they were running extra incentives for trading in Apple devices. My first iPad was initially reported to have bad scratches on the rear of the device. I asked for a second-look and photos of the alleged damage.

The second-look email said there were no scratches on the rear, but scratches on the display. I sent a follow-up message requesting (again) photos.

The third email clarified that there were no scratches, but the display had dead spots. They attached a blurry photo that looked OK to me, except for what looked like bright spots from the overhead light.

Each time, they asked if I wanted to accept a reduction in the originally quoted trade-in value. Finally, I asked them to send it back. To their credit, they offer that option at their expense. I received it back (serial numbers matched, so no funny business) and took it to Best Buy to trade in with no issues and only a few dollars less than the original Gazelle offer. Downside is that it was a gift card vs. a check.

I tried them a second time to see if my experience was a fluke. Same thing happened — they reported scratches on the rear and offered a reduced amount. When I asked for photos and mentioned this was the second time they‘ve identified damage that they haven’t been able to prove, I promptly received a “second look” email stating that the trade in was fine and they were sending me the original trade-in value.

Not sure I’ll trust them for a third try, but fortunately not in the market for an iPad yet...

Buying a 6s at any price would be a bad idea. They will be end-of-lifed in just a couple months with the launch of iOS 14.

I have a 6, and you can't update to iOS13, but do I care? Nope. Do I care if it's end-of-life according to Apple? Of course I don't, it's way out of warranty, so if it needs repairing, I can take it to any third party repairer for cheaper (it's only ever needed a new screen). My phone works fine, and does everything I want it to. I scored a new battery not too long ago due to battery-gate, but even if I hadn't, I can get one put in by a third party repairer for cheap. Parts for old phones are waaaay cheaper than for new phones, simply because they can't charge that much for old phones, not because things like batteries or screens for old phones are somehow magically cheaper to make. I've yet to come across an app that I need that isn't iOS12 compatible. Sure, one day that will happen and I'll get a new phone. I'm not poor, I bought this phone from brand new. I just have zero need or desire to upgrade. I like the jack, and use it regularly. I hate bluetooth and it's complete incompetence. I'm temped by the SE, but it doesn't have a jack, so I'm not tempted enough. I'm tempted to get a new Android, but not tempted enough to go through the headache of trying to work out which model is the right one for me. So I'd say I'll have my 6 for a while yet.

buy a used iPhone 8 for $100 less than a new SE? uhhh...no