You don't have to "trade" your Exotics in if you want to upgrade them! The spending of 7000+ glimmer, plus the purchasing of an Exotic Shard, then spending that Exotic shard, and a reset of your stats on Exotic weapons/ gear doesn't seem to be a fair trade for the upgraded version. It's almost not worth it. Oh, but there's a solution! In fact, if you do this, you could even gain a little from this strategy! Here it is: - For Xur, you would have to wait and see what he's selling. If he has your weapon/ armor when he shows up, this strategy is perfect: 1. Purchase the weapon/ armor that you already have (make sure you have enough strange coins of course!) 2. Once you obtain the item, then BREAK DOWN THE OLD ITEM! ** MAKE SURE YOU BREAK DOWN THE OLD ITEM AND NOT THE NEW ONE! - For the Exotic Bounties: 1. You would have to do them all over (I know, it sucks, BUT the alternative is to lose glimmer and an Exotic Shard) 2. Once you obtain the item, then BREAK DOWN THE OLD ITEM! ** MAKE SURE YOU BREAK DOWN THE OLD ITEM AND NOT THE NEW ONE! * doing this will not only put glimmer in your pocket, but you will also get weapon parts, and an Exotic Shard! Since the stats are going to reset anyway, you may as well get something for it! I know it's not a perfect strategy; Xur may never sell your item again, of that one Exotic bounty may never show up, but at least this is the solution I came up with and it worked for me. Good Luck to all! CHB