You Can Trade Your Apple Device for a Costco Gift Card!
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We’ve covered Apple’s trade-in program numerous times. In addition to trading your device with Apple towards a new purchase or Apple Store credit, other retailers, like Best Buy, have their own trade-in programs. There are also a few good third-party sites like Flipsy, Swappa, and Gazelle where you can sell or trade your device, although the process isn’t often as simple as it is with Apple.
Today, we discovered yet another alternative to Apple’s traditional trade-in approach. You can trade in your device via Costco.com in exchange for a Costco gift card!
The best part of Costco’s program is that it’s not limited to Apple devices—other manufacturers are included, too. Costco accepts Apple, Samsung, LG, Motorola, Google, Huawei, and OnePlus phones, Apple, Lenovo, and Microsoft tablets, and Apple and Samsung smartwatches. Desktops, displays, and media players are limited to Apple-only devices.
Here’s how to access Costco’s electronic trade-in program for Costco gift cards.
- Visit Costco.com and type Phobio into the search bar. Phobio is Costco’s trade-in partner.
- You’ll see an overview of the process. It includes inputting device information, printing a shipping label or receiving a prepaid label and box in the mail, sending in your device for inspection, and ultimately receiving a physical or digital Costco gift card.
- Select Start Your Trade-In Now or Get Started Now to begin.
- You’ll be prompted to leave Costco’s site and visit a third-party’s website.
At first glance, it seems that Cotsco’s program offers less credit for products than Apple’s. For example, Apple offers $340 of trade-in value on a 128 GB iPhone 13 Pro towards a new iPhone or a $315 Apple gift card. Costco, on the other hand, is offering $265. The only conditions are that the device powers on, functions correctly, and is in good cosmetic condition.
Although my iPhone 13 Pro is worth $85 less with Costco than Apple towards a new iPhone, Apple doesn’t sell anything I can eat. If you’re looking to sell your existing or older device and you want some flexibility in how you can spend those proceeds, Costco could be a great option. Sometimes, life’s basic necessities take priority. Maybe you’d rather have less money to spend at Costco than more at Apple or another electronics manufacturer. Either way, if you want to trade or sell your device, check out Costco’s trade-in program.
