Community Sales: How Schools Share the Value of Device Refreshes

Overview

When you refresh your school’s Apple devices, you capture value that goes back into your budget. That’s the primary benefit—and it’s significant.

But what if you could extend that benefit beyond your budget? What if your device refresh could also provide affordable, quality technology to the families and community members who support your school?

That’s exactly what Community Sales do.

It’s an exclusive benefit we offer to our education partners—a way to turn your device refresh into a community resource while adding even more value back to your school.

Here’s how it works and why schools are making it part of their refresh strategy.

What Is a Community Sale?

A Community Sale is essentially your school’s own Apple store—but with pre-owned devices at prices well below retail.

After we process your refreshed devices, we create a custom online storefront branded for your school. Your families, staff, alumni, and community members get access through a special code. They can browse available devices—iPads, MacBooks, iMacs—and purchase them at prices that make quality Apple technology actually affordable.

And here’s the best part: your school receives a percentage of every sale back into your budget.

It’s technology access for your community and additional revenue for your school. Both things matter.

Why Schools Are Doing This

We launched Community Sales as a pilot program a few years ago. The response from schools has been overwhelmingly positive—and it’s growing every year.

Schools tell us they love it because:

It helps families who couldn’t otherwise afford Apple devices. Not every family can buy new iPads or MacBooks at retail prices. Community Sales make that technology accessible.
It strengthens school-community relationships. You’re providing real value to the people who support your school through taxes, donations, and involvement.
It generates additional revenue. Beyond the funds from your initial device refresh, you’re earning additional budget from community purchases.
It’s easy to manage. We handle the storefront, the transactions, the shipping. Your school just promotes it to your community.

How the Process Works

Setting up a Community Sale is straightforward. Here’s the typical timeline:

Kickoff conversation: We talk about your goals, timing, and community size to plan the sale.
Storefront creation: We build a custom-branded page for your school with available devices and pricing.
Promotion period: You share the sale with your community through newsletters, social media, and parent communications.
Sale window: Your community shops using their unique access code. We handle all transactions and fulfillment.
Revenue distribution: You receive your percentage of total sales as additional budget.

The whole process typically runs over a few weeks, and we coordinate timing around your school calendar to maximize participation.

What Devices Are Available?

The devices in your Community Sale come from the broader pool of pre-owned Apple equipment we process—not exclusively from your school’s refresh (though some may be included).

This means your community gets access to a range of devices:

Various iPad models and generations
MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models
iMacs and other Apple equipment
Accessories and peripherals

Everything is graded, tested, and priced based on condition and specifications. And everything comes with the same quality standards we apply to all our devices.

Pricing and Access

One of the most common questions we get: “How much below retail are we talking?”

The answer is: significantly below. These are pre-owned devices, but they’re fully functional, professionally refurbished, and ready to use. Families can typically access quality Apple technology at price points that would be impossible with new devices.

And because access is limited to your school community through unique codes, it feels exclusive. It’s not a public sale—it’s a benefit of being part of your school community.

The Additional Revenue Component

Beyond making technology accessible to families, Community Sales generate additional budget for your school.

You receive a percentage of total sales—which means every device purchased by your community puts more funds back into your program.

This isn’t replacement revenue for your initial device refresh. It’s supplemental. It’s new money that wouldn’t exist without the Community Sale.

Schools use these funds for everything from technology upgrades to classroom supplies to program support. It’s flexible budget that you control.

Promoting Your Sale

The most successful Community Sales are the ones schools actively promote. We provide marketing materials—email templates, social media posts, flyer designs—but your voice is what drives participation.

Share it in your parent newsletter. Post about it on your school’s social channels. Include it in back-to-school communications. Talk about it at PTA meetings.

The more your community knows about the opportunity, the more they’ll take advantage of it. And the more they participate, the more value flows back to your school.

Real Impact

We’ve seen Community Sales make a real difference for families.

Parents who couldn’t afford new devices for their kids’ schoolwork can now get quality iPads. Teachers purchase MacBooks for personal use at prices they can actually manage. Alumni buy devices and feel good about supporting their former school in the process.

And schools see tangible budget benefits from sales they wouldn’t have otherwise captured.

It’s one of those rare situations where everyone genuinely wins.

Who Should Consider This?

Community Sales work particularly well for:

Schools with engaged parent communities who actively support school initiatives
Districts looking for creative ways to extend technology access beyond what they can provide directly
Schools in communities where affordability is a barrier to home technology access
Any school wanting to add an additional revenue stream from their device refresh

If any of those describe your situation, it’s worth exploring.

What’s Required from Your Team?

Honestly, not much.

We handle the storefront setup, inventory management, transaction processing, customer service, and fulfillment. Your role is primarily promotional—getting the word out to your community and encouraging participation.

Most schools assign one person as the point of contact for coordination, but the lift is minimal. This isn’t another major initiative for your already-stretched team.

Getting Started

If you’re planning a device refresh and want to explore adding a Community Sale, just let us know during your initial conversations.

We’ll walk through what’s involved, help you think through timing, and coordinate everything to make it as smooth as possible.

You’re already refreshing devices. You’re already capturing value for your budget. This is just a way to extend that value to your community while adding another revenue stream for your school.

It’s not required. It’s not for everyone. But for schools that do it, it’s become one of their favorite parts of the refresh process.

Because at the end of the day, it’s not just about technology. It’s about taking care of the community that takes care of your school.