Education IT Reporter

Most buyback companies have a grading scale for devices that take deductions for things like scratches, dents and cracked screens. For example, in a recent buyback scenario the buyback price for a used iPad 6th Generation ranged from $205 for a “Grade A” device in top condition, to $20 for a “Grade F” device with a broken screen or other component, a $185 difference. Multiply that by dozens or even hundreds of devices, and it can add up to a significant financial loss for schools.

Some school districts charge parents for devices that are badly damaged, which is difficult to enforce and can create some unpleasant interactions. Yet there’s a little known secret in the industry that can net school districts some serious money for very little effort: Apple Care+.

Districts that have iPad under warranty with Apple Care+ and don’t have a deductible can send damaged devices to Apple Care+ before the fleet is refreshed and Apple Care+ will replace the broken devices with brand new same generation iPad. The great news is that it doesn’t cost school districts anything to do this; they’ve paid for the service with their Apple Care+ fee.

A school district on the east coast of the United States refreshed a large number of Apple iPad and MacBook Air last spring. Before the refresh took place, the district’s director of technology asked a local Apple Authorized Service Provider to send approximately 1,000 broken iPad in to Apple Care+ for replacement. The school received new-in-box same generation iPad in return.

When traded in with other devices, these iPad were worth top dollar and brought the school district an additional $140,000 at trade-in.