Richard Servello
Banned
There's a 3rd party that Google is actually contracted with to acquire the devices - at least the non-Google ones. If they're picking up the Pixels as well, I suspect the value being given on those trade-ins is being partially subsidized by Google to maintain the appearance that the residual value is higher, or to encourage direct upgrades, as no 3rd party would give more for a Pixel XL than an iPhone 7+...
I think it's being subsidized to encourage annual upgrades. My XL still runs beautifully. I'm mainly upgrading because after the $410 trade in it's only $449. That's actually about the same as selling it on eBay next year... So totally worth it.