Getting a new Apple or Samsung watch? Here's what you can get for your old one
Just like for used phones, a cottage industry is emerging to resell old Apple and Samsung watches.
Apple and Best Buy offer trade-in programs, but they pay less than dedicated trade sites like Trademore and DeCluttr, which offer about 40% of the original price, depending on the condition of your device.
The Series 5 Apple Watch, first released in 2019, originally sold for $399 with a 40mm watch face, or $499 with cellular connectivity, while the Series 3 originally sold for $329 when it was released in 2017, with $399 for the cellular version. Last year, Apple dropped the price to $199, just for the standard version. A cellular option isn't available.
This year's Series 6 replaces the Series 5 for the same price as last year's model, and has a few new features, most notably a blood oxygen reader.
How much is my Apple Watch worth?
DeCluttr says it will offer $200 cash for an Apple Watch Series 5 with cell connectivity, or $190 without, while Trademore offers $214 on a Series 5 with cellular, or $191 without it.
Series 3 gets $103 from Trademore or $75 from DeCluttr.
The caveat is that the devices must be in good condition. The sites pay less for ones that aren't in the best shape.
Samsung offers a $116 discount for trade-ins of Galaxy phones, tablets and previous watches for the new Galaxy Watch 3, which starts at $369.
(DeCluttr offers from around $50 for the Galaxy Watch to as high as $137 from Trademore.)
Apple offers trade-ins on the price of a new device, and says it pays up to $240 for the Series 5 with cell connectivity, or "up to" $100 for Series 3. Best Buy offers less, $150 for a Series 5 with cellular or $75 for Series 3.
Gazelle, one of the top sites for buying used smartphones, doesn't pay cash for watches. Swappa, a site for buying and selling, is like a Craigslist in that it connects buyers and sellers and takes a cute. It says the 40mm Series 5 Watch averages a resale price of $359.
Sold! Before you send that watch off...
Before shipping your watch to send back to Apple, the company says "You are solely responsible for removing all data, including confidential and personal data, from the device prior to shipping."
How to do that: On its website, Apple says to open the Watch app on the iPhone, go to the My Watch tab, tap All Watches, then the info button next to the Watch and choose Unpair Apple Watch.
An easier way to do it might be just to get it done on the Watch itself by clicking Settings > General > Reset > Erase All Content and Settings.
To wipe an old Galaxy Watch clean:
On the Watch, press the Home button and go to the Apps screen.
Tap Settings, then General and Reset.
Click the "reset networks," button, which will revert the unit back to its factory settings.
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