If you have old phones, iPads, or Apple watches lying around the house that you’re no longer using, I need to fill you in on one of the little-known Walmart secrets: you can get Walmart gift cards for used devices with the Walmart trade-in program.
Just like how other stores reward you for recycling, Walmart is paying customers for their used tech gadgets. Walmart has been doing this since 2014, but in 2023 they rebranded their trade-in portal as “Gadgets to Gift Cards,” added more eligible electronics to the program, and included free shipping.
But before you get too excited — unless you have something that’s pretty new, you’re not going to get a huge payday through Walmart’s trade-in system. And you’re not going to be able to trade-in bigger electronics like TVs or drop off your device using Walmart curbside pickup. But if you follow the steps I’ve outlined below, it’s pretty easy to use Walmart trade-in and avoid the whole rigamarole of selling your old devices on Facebook Marketplace.
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How does Walmart Trade-In work?
To trade in an electronic device, visit the Gadgets to Gift Cards website, pick your device from their list, and describe its condition. Walmart will then give you an estimate of how much they’ll pay for your device. Sometimes, Walmart will only offer you $0 for your trade-in, but they’ll still take it and dispose of it in an “environmentally responsible way.”
If you agree to the trade-in offer, you can print out a prepaid shipping label and mail your device to CExchange, the company that runs the program behind the scenes.
Once they receive your device (and any required accessories, like chargers or controllers), CExchange will evaluate it and determine the final trade-in value — a process that could take two to four weeks. If the final value is less than the estimated value, you’ll be able to decline the offer and get your device back. If you accept the offer, you’ll be able to receive a Walmart eGift card immediately.
Current devices (and brands) they'll accept:
Cell phones: Apple, Asus, Google, LG, Microsoft, Motorola, Oneplus, Razer, and Samsung
Tablets: Amazon, Apple, Lenovo, Microsoft, and Samsung
Game consoles: Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony
Voice speakers: Amazon, Apple, and Sonos
Laptops: Apple, Dell, HP, and many others
Wearables: Apple, Garmin, Google, and Samsung
MP3 Players: Apple and Samsung
KCL TIP: TVs and car seats are missing from this list because you can’t currently trade those items in for Walmart credit. But with car seats, you can still take advantage of the Target Car Seat Trade-In event that pops up every April.
Got a used iPhone 15? You can get up to $615 from Walmart.
The biggest gift card you could receive from the Gadgets to Gift Cards program for a cell phone is $615 for an iPhone 15. On the Samsung side of things, you can get up to $535 for the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra – 1TB.
But if you have an old model — like an iPhone 6S, you’re only going to get about $10.20 for it. And they’ll take a Google Pixel 7A off your hands for a whopping $0.
Here are the cell phone brands Walmart accepts through their Trade-In portal, as well as the maximum payout for each:
Apple: up to $615
Asus: up to $224.10
Google: up to $425
LG: $0
Microsoft: up to $200
Motorola: up to $171
OnePlus: up to $81
Razer: up to $36
Samsung: up to $535.50
Walmart Trade-In will pay up to $675 for used iPads and other tablets.
Walmart used to accept a whole lot more tablet brands, but they’ve tightened their list of accepted devices since then. The biggest payday potential is with the Apple iPad Pro, where you get up to $675 with the 2 TB model. The smallest payday? The Lenovo X1 Tablet Gen 1 (you’ll get $0, but they’ll dispose of it properly).
Here are the various tablet brands they accept with Gadgets to Gift Cards and each brand’s maximum payout:
Amazon: up to $17.50
Apple: up to $675
Lenovo: up to $27
Microsoft: up to $369
Samsung: up to $346.50
You can get up to $832.50 for your old laptop.
There are more than a dozen brands of laptops that Walmart will exchange for gift cards, with the most lucrative being a 2023 Apple Macbook Air that can earn you up to $832.50.
For other brands, the payouts are under $50.
Here’s the list of laptop brands accepted by Walmart for their trade-in program, with each brand’s maximum potential payout:
Acer: up to $234
Apple: up to $832.50
Asus: up to $99
Dell: up to $329
Fujitsu: up to $10.50
Gateway: up to $21
Google: up to $24.50
HP: up to $495
Lenovo: up to $297
Microsoft: up to $562.50
Razer: up to $180
Sager: up to $44.80
Samsung: up to $669.38
Sony: up to $21
Toshiba: up to $31.50
Vizio: up to $21
Get $236 back for your new Apple Watch — but all the other wearables will earn you much less.
If you have an Apple Watch 45mm Series 7, you could get $330 for it from Walmart through the trade-in program. Otherwise, the best you can do is $38.11 for the Sony Smartwatch 3.
Here are all of the wearable brands the Walmart Trade-In program accepts:
Apple: up to $235.88
Garmin: up to $36
Google: up to $81
Samsung: up to $68.89
An Xbox Series X or PlayStation 5 could get you a Walmart gift card worth up to $189.
If you were thinking you were gonna cash in some major bucks on that old Xbox One, think again. Trading it in to Walmart will only earn you a $32.40 gift card — but that’s better than just giving it away.
Here’s are a few of the most valuable video game consoles Walmart Trade-In will accept, and the maximum payouts for each:
Microsoft Xbox: up to $135 (for the Xbox Series X)
Nintendo Switch: up to $87.30 (for the Switch OLED)
Nintendo Wii: up to $10
Sony Playstation: up to $189 (for the Playstation 5 Slim)
Can I trade in used video games for Walmart credit?
At the moment, it doesn’t appear that video games are an active category on the Walmart Trade-In website. But confusingly, video games are mentioned on both the FAQ page for the trade-in program and the terms and conditions page.
Here’s what the terms and conditions page says about video games:
“The CExchange video game trade-in program is intended solely for consumers, and is not a commercial wholesale outlet. As such, only two copies of the same video game title will be accepted per customer during a rolling 30-day window. Any orders in excess of the level set by this policy will be cancelled preemptively by CExchange. On orders shipped to CExchange physically containing more than two of the same title, the customer will only receive credit for two of the games.”
If you’re interested in trading in video games, I recommend calling the customer service number listed on the website (1-800-351-6864), though I didn’t have any luck getting to speak with anyone when I tried.
Voice speakers are some of the lowest-earning items with Walmart Trade-In, but hey, it’s something — most of the time.
You’ll definitely want to compare the Walmart trade-in estimates for voice speakers against the Amazon Trade-In program, as you don’t usually get much through the Walmart portal.
Here are the voice speakers that Walmart is currently accepting for trade that have the highest maximum payouts:
Amazon Echo: up to $19 (for the Echo Show 10 2nd Gen)
Apple Homepod: up to $18
Sonos Play:3 Wireless Speaker: up to $82.50
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