Condition is the one part of the price a seller controls, and most people guess at what it is worth. Some sellers knock $150 off for a few scuffs. Others list a worn phone as Mint and wonder why it sits. Swappa records the condition grade on every sale, so you don’t have to guess: this guide uses October 2026 sale data to show what Mint, Good, and Fair are actually worth, and where the real value cliff is.
Quick Answer
On Swappa, condition moves the price less than most sellers expect. In recent sales, Good devices sold for 86% to 96% of the Mint price, and Fair devices sold for 77% to 90%, a gap of roughly $45 to $95 on popular phones and the M2 MacBook Air. That is because every Swappa grade describes a fully working device; the grade covers cosmetic wear only. The big drop comes when something stops working. Cracked glass, water damage, or a dead port means the device can’t be listed, and Swappa Trade-In quotes for working phones already run about 43% to 68% of the average Swappa sale price.
What Condition Grades Mean on Swappa
Condition grades give buyers and sellers a shared language for wear. Instead of one person’s “like new” meaning something different from another’s, a grade sets the expectation before money changes hands.
Swappa uses four grades for most categories (full requirements here):
| Grade | Swappa definition |
|---|---|
| New | Unopened, factory-sealed retail packaging |
| Mint | Pristine condition, no signs of wear and tear |
| Good | Excellent condition, minor wear and tear |
| Fair | Noticeable wear and tear |
A few categories differ. GPUs, drones, and audio gear list only as New or Used. Accessory rules also vary by category: a phone can sell without its charger or box, but a laptop listing must include its charger, and a game console needs its power cord and controller.
The part most sellers miss is that all four grades describe a device that works. To be listed at all, a device has to meet Swappa’s listing criteria: fully functional (display, cameras, buttons, ports, and a battery that charges and discharges properly), no cracked or chipped glass, no water damage, a clean IMEI or ESN, no activation lock, and fully paid off. So on Swappa, a Fair phone is a scuffed phone, not a phone with a problem. That is different from marketplaces where “Fair” can include a weak speaker or a cracked back, so a Fair on one site is not always a Fair on another.
Real people approve Swappa listings before they go live, and the review includes the seller’s verification photos. That protects buyers from inflated grades and protects honest sellers from being undercut by overstated ones. For photo examples of each grade, see Swappa Condition Grades Explained: New, Mint, Good, Fair.
How Each Grade Moves the Price
Here is what each grade sold for on popular devices. The figures are the median of the 20 most recent Swappa sales in each grade for one model, carrier, and storage tier, pulled October 14, 2026. Most sales are from September and October; slower-selling grades reach back to July. Prices are Swappa listing prices, which include the 3% buyer fee.
| Device (unlocked) | Mint | Good | Fair | Fair vs. Mint |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| iPhone 16, 128GB | $578 | $543 (94%) | $512 (89%) | $66 less (11%) |
| iPhone 15, 128GB | $442 | $398 (90%) | $355 (80%) | $87 less (20%) |
| iPhone 14, 128GB | $311 | $287 (92%) | $266 (86%) | $45 less (14%) |
| iPhone 13, 128GB | $270 | $231 (86%) | $224 (83%) | $46 less (17%) |
| iPhone 15 Pro Max, 256GB | $599 | $575 (96%) | $525 (88%) | $74 less (12%) |
| iPhone 16 Pro Max, 256GB | $793 | $735 (93%) | $711 (90%) | $82 less (10%) |
| Galaxy S24 Ultra, 256GB | $620 | $531 (86%) | $538 (87%) | $82 less (13%) |
| Pixel 9, 128GB | $398 | $371 (93%) | $335 (84%) | $63 less (16%) |
| Pixel 8, 128GB | $289 | $260 (90%) | $222 (77%) | $67 less (23%) |
| MacBook Air M2 13″, 256GB | $670 | $611 (91%) | $576 (86%) | $94 less (14%) |
Percentages are the share of the Mint price. MacBook Air sales mix memory configurations. Source: Swappa recent sales, October 14, 2026.
A few patterns stand out:
- The steps are small. Mint to Good cost 4% to 14% of the Mint price, and Good to Fair up to another 13%. Nobody is paying half price for a scuffed phone.
- Older and lower-priced phones lose a bigger share. The Pixel 8 and iPhone 15 gave up 20% or more from Mint to Fair, while the iPhone 16 Pro Max gave up 10%. On a cheaper phone, a buyer weighs the same scuff against a smaller total price.
- Grades overlap. The ranges cross: one Good iPhone 14 sold for $315, above the Mint median of $311. On the Galaxy S24 Ultra, Good and Fair sold for about the same. Price, photos, battery health, and seller history all move the number inside a grade.
- Sealed New units are their own market. Factory-sealed phones sell well above Mint, especially older models that are hard to find sealed. The last 20 sealed iPhone 13 units sold for a median of $370, versus $270 for Mint.
Tablets follow the same shape. On the iPad Air 11-inch (M2), Good sold for 89% of Mint ($433 vs. $484), though Fair sales were too few to call.
These figures are a snapshot, and prices move every week. For any model, carrier, and storage tier, the Recent Sales list on its Swappa price page can be filtered by condition, so you can see what your exact grade is selling for. For how grade stacks on top of age-based depreciation, see Used Tech Resale Value: The Complete Pricing Guide.
Cosmetic vs. Functional: Where Value Really Drops
Because Swappa grades only cover cosmetic wear, the two kinds of damage affect value in completely different ways.
Cosmetic wear is what you see: scuffs on the frame, micro-scratches on the glass, worn corners. It moves a device between Mint, Good, and Fair, and the table above shows what that costs, usually 10% to 20% from top to bottom. Most buyers accept it because a case and screen protector hide it.
Functional damage is what you feel in daily use: a charging port that only works at an angle, a speaker that crackles, a camera that won’t focus, a button that doesn’t click. On Swappa this isn’t a lower grade; it is a pass or fail. A device has to be fully functional to be listed, so one dead feature takes it out of the marketplace entirely. Cracked or chipped glass and water damage do the same, even if everything still works.
That is where the real value cliff sits. Once a device can’t be listed, the realistic option is a buyback company, and buyback prices are much lower than marketplace prices. The Trade-In quote on Swappa’s price pages shows the gap even for working phones:
| Device (unlocked) | Average Swappa sale | Trade-In quote | Trade-In as share of sale |
|---|---|---|---|
| iPhone 16, 128GB | $530 | $333 | 63% |
| iPhone 16 Pro Max, 256GB | $748 | $505 | 68% |
| iPhone 14, 128GB | $285 | $146 | 51% |
| Galaxy S24 Ultra, 256GB | $541 | $299 | 55% |
| Pixel 8, 128GB | $256 | $109 | 43% |
Source: Swappa price pages, October 14, 2026. Average sale is across all grades for that storage tier.
A cracked or water-damaged phone will be quoted lower than that. So a Fair iPhone 16 that sold for $512 on Swappa would have fetched about $333 or less as a trade-in, and a cracked one would get less still. If a cheap, quick repair (a new battery, a replaced charging port) gets a device back to fully working, it can be worth doing before you sell. For a full breakdown of which flaws buyers forgive, see Cosmetic vs. Functional Damage on Used Phones.
If your device is already broken or water-damaged, Swappa Trade-In compares offers from vetted buyback partners, and many of them buy broken and water-damaged phones. Pick the condition that matches the device so the offer holds up at inspection.
Battery Health and Other Hidden Condition Factors
Some factors don’t show in photos but still move the price inside a grade. Battery health is the biggest one on phones.
On iPhones, buyers check the Maximum Capacity percentage in Settings, under Battery Health. A battery in the high 90s reads as near-new. Apple designs iPhone 14 and earlier batteries to keep 80% of their capacity at 500 full charge cycles, and iPhone 15 models at 1,000. When a battery wears down far enough, iOS shows a message that the battery’s health is “significantly degraded” and recommends a replacement, and buyers price in that cost.
Swappa’s rule is simple. The battery has to charge and discharge properly, and there is no minimum percentage to list. If an iPhone’s battery health is below 80% and the Apple battery message is showing, the seller must disclose it in the listing (Swappa’s battery requirements). For how battery health plays out across devices, see Battery Health in Used Electronics: What to Know.
Other factors that move the price:
- Storage tier: Swappa prices each storage size separately, and a bigger tier usually sells for more. See Does Storage Size Affect Resale Value?
- Carrier: unlocked phones list and trade in for more than carrier versions of the same model. See Unlocked vs Carrier-Locked: Resale Value Impact.
- Included accessories: a phone doesn’t need its box or charger, but including them can make a listing stand out. Laptops must include a charger, and consoles must include the power cord and a controller.
- Repairs and replacement parts: an iPhone XS or later with a non-genuine battery shows “Unable to verify this iPhone has a genuine Apple battery,” and buyers notice. Devices that were repaired more than once for functional issues, or that have an altered IMEI, can’t be listed on Swappa at all.
For a broader look at what used tech sells for by category, see Used Electronics Resale Data: What the Numbers Show.
How to Grade Your Device Honestly Before You Sell
Overstating condition is the fastest way to a slow sale or a return. Buyers compare the photos to the grade, and so does the person who approves your listing. Since the price gap between grades is small, rounding up rarely earns enough to be worth the risk.
Work through it in order:
- Check it in good light. Wipe the screen and frame, then tilt the glass to catch scratches you miss head-on. Note any dents, chips, or worn corners.
- Test every function. Charging, speakers, mics, front and back cameras, buttons, Wi-Fi, cellular, Face ID or fingerprint, and battery health. If anything fails, the device can’t be listed until it’s fixed.
- Confirm it is clean to sell. Fully paid off, signed out of iCloud or Google so there is no activation lock, a clean IMEI or ESN, no water damage, and no cracked or chipped glass.
- Match the grade to the wear. No signs of wear is Mint. Minor wear is Good. Noticeable wear is Fair. When in doubt, pick the lower grade.
- Price against real sales. Filter your model’s Recent Sales by carrier, storage, and condition rather than anchoring to what you paid. For a step-by-step walkthrough, see How Much Is My Used Device Worth? and How to Grade Your Own Device Accurately for a Listing.
Listing on Swappa is free. When the device sells, the seller pays a 3% fee and the buyer pays a 3% fee that is added to the listing price, plus standard PayPal or Stripe processing (Swappa fees). That is lower than eBay’s seller fees on the same sale.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does condition affect a phone’s resale value?
Less than most people think, as long as the phone works. In October 2026 Swappa sales, Good phones sold for 86% to 96% of the Mint price and Fair phones for 77% to 90%, a gap of roughly $45 to $90 on popular models. The bigger drop comes from functional damage: a phone that can’t be listed usually goes to a buyback company, where quotes are far below marketplace prices.
Does cosmetic damage or functional damage hurt resale value more?
Functional damage, by a wide margin. On Swappa, cosmetic wear only moves a device between Mint, Good, and Fair, which typically costs 10% to 20% from top to bottom. Functional damage, cracked or chipped glass, and water damage mean the device can’t be listed at all, and Trade-In quotes for even working phones run about 43% to 68% of the average Swappa sale price.
How does battery health affect resale value?
On iPhones, buyers check the Maximum Capacity percentage in Settings. A battery in the high 90s reads as near-new, and a worn one signals a replacement is coming, so it sells for less within its grade. Swappa has no minimum battery percentage, but the battery must charge and discharge properly, and if an iPhone shows below 80% with the Apple battery message, the seller must disclose it in the listing.
What condition grade should I list my device as?
Test every function first, since only fully working devices can be listed. Then grade the cosmetic wear: no signs of wear is Mint, minor wear is Good, and noticeable wear is Fair. When in doubt, pick the lower grade. The price difference between neighboring grades is usually small, and an overstated grade slows the sale.
Can I sell a broken or water-damaged device?
Not on the Swappa marketplace. Devices must be fully functional, with no cracked or chipped glass, no water damage, no activation lock, a clean IMEI or ESN, and no unpaid balance. For a broken or water-damaged device, Swappa Trade-In compares offers from vetted partners, and many of them buy broken and water-damaged phones.
Why do two devices in the same condition sell for different prices?
Grade is only one factor. Battery health, storage tier, carrier, included accessories, past repairs, listing photos, and the seller’s history all move the price. Older models also sell for less over time, so a sale from July can be higher than one from October. Swappa’s sale data shows real overlap: some Good phones sell for more than some Mint ones.
The Bottom Line
Condition matters, but less than most sellers fear, as long as the device works. On Swappa, Good and Fair devices sold for roughly 10% to 20% less than Mint in October 2026, and pricing a scuffed phone at half its value leaves money on the table. The real cliff is functional damage, which takes a device out of the marketplace and into much lower buyback prices.
For sellers, that means testing everything, grading honestly, and pricing against recent sales in your grade. For buyers, it means a Good or Fair device is often the smartest deal: you give up some cosmetic polish you won’t see behind a case, and you still get a phone that has to work.
