Best Places to Sell Your iPhone, iPad, or Mac for Cash

The best place to sell your old Apple device depends on whether you want cash or store credit. For spendable cash, use a buyback service that pays you directly, such as Gazelle, now run by ecoATM, or an ecoATM kiosk. For credit toward your next Apple purchase, use Apple Trade In. Because iPhones, iPads, and MacBooks hold their value well, a device in good condition is still worth a meaningful amount.

Table of contents

• The circular economy of used tech
• The best places to sell your Apple device for cash in 2026
• How a buyback or trade-in works
• Apple devices and the e-waste problem
• FAQ

The circular economy of used tech

A circular economy keeps products in use for as long as possible through sharing, reuse, repair, refurbishing, and recycling. It is a direct answer to climate change, biodiversity loss, waste, and pollution.

When you sell your iPhone or any Apple device through a buyback or trade-in program, you feed that loop. Your old phone gets a second owner instead of a slow death in a drawer.

The simplest thing you can do as a consumer is this: do not leave unused tech collecting dust. Sell it, recycle it through a responsible program, or repair it and keep using it.

RefurbMe stands behind the Right to Repair movement. Selling and repairing devices saves both the planet and your wallet, and buying refurbished instead of new does the same.

The best places to sell your Apple device for cash in 2026

You have two main routes: cash buyers, which pay the original owner directly, and trade-in for credit.

• Gazelle, mail-in cash, run by ecoATM. Gazelle gives you an instant online quote, then emails a free prepaid shipping label. You have 30 days to ship. After inspection, you are paid by PayPal, usually within about 48 hours, by check within about two weeks, or by an Amazon gift card code that adds a 1.5% bonus. It buys iPhone, iPad, and MacBook. ecoATM owns Gazelle, so the mail-in brand and the kiosks below now sit inside the same company.
• ecoATM kiosks, instant cash in person. ecoATM runs more than 7,000 self-service kiosks inside stores like Walmart, Kroger, and Dollar General. You place your phone or tablet in the machine, it inspects the device and checks the IMEI against theft databases, then pays cash on the spot if you accept the offer. Kiosk offers tend to run lower than mail-in, but you walk away with money the same day. Kiosks take phones and tablets, not Macs.
• Apple Trade In, credit not cash. Apple Trade In gives you credit toward a new purchase or an Apple Gift Card. It is the easy choice if you are buying another Apple device, but it never pays cash. If your device has no trade value, Apple recycles it for free.
• Other cash buyers. Apple specialists like ItsWorthMore and SellYourMac also send a prepaid label and pay by PayPal or check, and they often quote strongly on Macs. Pulling two or three quotes is the surest way to find your best price.

Values shift with model, storage, and condition, so a number that is best this month may not be next month. For a deeper look at credit versus cash, read our guide on Apple Trade In versus buying refurbished.

A quick comparison of the three main routes:

If you would rather buy than sell, RefurbMe compares refurbished prices across sellers so you can compare refurbished iPhone deals and pay well below the price of a new one.

How a buyback or trade-in works

The process is similar across every reputable buyer. You lock in an online quote, ship the device, and it goes through a quality assessment. The buyer confirms that the model, storage, color, and condition match what you described in the quote.

Your working and cosmetic condition set the final price. With Gazelle you have 30 days from locking a quote to ship the item. If the inspection finds a mismatch, you get a revised offer by email and about five days to accept or decline. If you decline, Gazelle ships the device back at its own cost. Most buyers treat no response as acceptance, so read those emails.

Before you sell, wipe the device. Sign out of your Apple Account, turn off Find My, and erase all content and settings so none of your personal data leaves with the phone. If a buyer finds a device reported lost, stolen, or blocked, they quarantine it and contact the relevant authorities.

One practical tip: lock in your quote and ship quickly. A locked price is only honored for a set window, and electronics keep losing value the longer you wait.

The good news for Apple owners: iPhones still hold their value better than most Android rivals. In a 2025 SellCell value-retention study, the iPhone 15 kept about 52% of its value after 12 months, while the Samsung Galaxy S23 kept roughly 39%. The gap is narrowing, but a well-kept iPhone still commands a strong buyback offer years after launch.

This is the same reason a refurbished Apple device is worth buying. Strong resale value on the back end means a refurbished unit on the front end is a smart, lower-cost entry into the Apple ecosystem.

Apple devices and the e-waste problem

The world generated 62 million tonnes of electronic waste in 2022, according to the UN Global E-waste Monitor 2024, and that figure is on track to reach 82 million tonnes by 2030. Only 22.3% of it was formally collected and recycled.

Selling or trading in your old device keeps it out of that pile. Reputable buyers repair and resell most of what they receive, and recycle the rest responsibly for parts and materials. Every phone given a second life is one less phone in a landfill and one less mined for new minerals.

That is the case for treating your old tech as an asset rather than trash. Sell it for cash, trade it in for credit, or recycle it for free if it has no resale value left. Whichever you choose, you keep working materials in circulation and cut the demand for new manufacturing.

When you are ready to replace what you sold, RefurbMe helps you find the best deal. Our list of refurbishers lays out warranty, shipping, and return policy for each seller, so you can buy refurbished with confidence and close the loop.

FAQ