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HammerMarx
User level: Level 1 (4 points)

MacBook Pro trade-in: Managing the 14-day window with international travel

Hi everyone,

My mother lives in the US and plans to order a new MacBook Pro from the US Apple Store online, adding a trade-in of my current MacBook Pro (M1 Pro) toward the purchase. Payment would be in full, so the credit would be applied to her original payment method after Apple receives and verifies the old Mac.

Here’s my problem. She will bring the new Mac to Mexico for a trip of about two weeks, and I’ll hand her the old Mac there. She’d then ship it back with the trade-in kit after returning to the US. As I understand it, the old device has to reach Apple within 14 days of receiving the kit, and the kit can arrive with the new device or a few days later. That could expire during the trip.

My questions:

  1. Does the 14-day window start when the kit is received or when the new device is received?
  2. Can Apple extend the window or delay sending the kit if the order is placed before a trip? Has anyone managed to do this by contacting support?
  3. If the old device arrives after the 14 days, is the quote automatically void, or is it re-evaluated at a new value?
  4. Is there any issue with the person placing the order being different from the owner of the device being traded in?

Any experience with something similar would help.

Thanks!

Posted on Oct 28, 2026 6:21 PM

6 replies

steve626
User level: Level 7 (20,243 points)

Oct 28, 2026 7:46 PM in response to HammerMarx

Apple says it needs to receive the trade in within 14 days. Not sure what the "penalty" would be if it is late, Apple says the credit it quotes for the trade in expires after 14 days.


You should read this carefully:


Legal - Apple Trade In - Apple


It does say: "You are not a reseller and you either own the trade-in device or have been authorized by such owner to trade in the device." So you will have to find out how to authorize your mother here.


I think you are making this overly complicated, which means there are more ways it can go wrong.


Why not just give her your old Mac in Mexico as planned, have her return home with it, and then she orders the new Mac and sets up the trade in? Then the 14 day part will be easy and all you have to do is figure out how to "authorize" her to use a Mac you own, not her Mac, to do the trade in.


By the way, as long there is an Apple Store (or AASP) nearby, she can pick up her new Mac at that store in person and also turn in the trade-in there in person. Seems that this would be much simpler.


Grant Bennet-Alder
User level: Level 10 (148,617 points)

Oct 29, 2026 7:37 AM in response to HammerMarx

Here's divergent thought:


I think if you trade in a Mac without buying a new one, you get Apple gift cards instead of purchase-credit. (The amount may be slightly less.)


If you traded the old one first, you could use the Gift Cards to complete the purchase of the new one.


Remember that Gift Card are delicate. Like cash, they are very vulnerable to Theft. Do not go sending them through the mail.


Also it is not clear that gift cards issued in one country are redeemable in a different country.

steve626
User level: Level 7 (20,243 points)

Oct 28, 2026 8:06 PM in response to HammerMarx

HammerMarx wrote:
The thing its I live in Argentina. So, its already complicated XD. And I can't go to US. Its just 2 weeks on Cancun and that's it. But thanks for the info!

Yes, understood. I figured this was a bit of a balancing act. Hence my suggestion for her to get your trade in laptop in Cancun from you, just bring it back to the US with her, then she orders her new Mac and trades in your old one (and I would still pick up the new Mac in person and take the trade in there in person if possible, otherwise she can pack that kit with the trade in Mac herself).

VikingOSX
User level: Level 10 (131,878 points)

Oct 29, 2026 5:00 AM in response to HammerMarx

Another question comes to mind. Can a U.S. purchase transaction receive a trade-in credit/credit card refund for a Mac purchased in another country? Apple would need to answer that before the U.S. purchase unless the online U.S. purchase process rejects the trade-in serial number of the non-U.S. Mac.

HammerMarx Author
User level: Level 1 (4 points)

Oct 28, 2026 7:51 PM in response to steve626

Thank you! I Will consider.

HammerMarx Author
User level: Level 1 (4 points)

Oct 28, 2026 7:53 PM in response to steve626

The thing its I live in Argentina. So, its already complicated XD. And I can't go to US. Its just 2 weeks on Cancun and that's it. But thanks for the info!

Originally posted at discussions.apple.com/thread/256384940