Kevin Bostic
Best Buy this weekend will launch a one-day promotion giving iPhone 4 and 4S owners the chance to upgrade to the iPhone 5 for free, provided they're ready to trade in their existing devices.
On Saturday, Best Buy customers will be able to take advantage of a one-day deal to trade in either of the two previous iPhone models for the latest one, according to CNet. Trading in an iPhone 4 or 4S will result in a $150 trade-in credit, which will be applied toward the purchase of an iPhone 5.
Last week, the electronics retailer discounted the iPhone 5 to a price of $150 for a 16GB model. With the trade-in credit, the only costs customers will incur are applicable sales taxes and carrier activation fees.
In order to take advantage of the credit, customers must be eligible for an upgrade, and they must activate the iPhone 5 on a two-year contract with Verizon, AT&T, or Sprint. The trade-in credit isn't available online, either, so customers will have to enter a physical Best Buy store on Saturday.
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35 Comments
Get 'em hooked now so that they don't buy the 7th model in October. Great thinking, Best Buy!
$150 for your 4S. What a deal. The going rate is at least twice that.
Get 'em hooked now so that they don't buy the 7th model in October. Great thinking, Best Buy!
It is called clearing their old inventory, so when next model is released, Bestbuy are not sitting on a massive amount of stock. Of course shame on BestBuy for thinking about their own financial situation and not Apple. Most probably, Apple would be happy with this practice. Not everyone wants the latest and greatest version, since the person may not be able to afford the latest cost, but keeping them in the Apple brand is the next best thing.
Funny, the BestBuy site linked to in the article describes a "trade-in plus" program, where you can get the "full trade in value of your phone plus $50 when you upgrade your mobile phone". The links on their site say a iPhone 4S in "good" condition is worth $220 ($231 if perfect), so you'd end up with a gift card worth $270 - $281. An even better deal than the $150 promised in the AI story. Hmm.
On the other hand, $58 + $50 for an iPhone 4 in "poor" condition isn't quite as good a deal as promised by the above AI story. Not sure how to claim the $150.
Of course shame on BestBuy for thinking about their own financial situation and not Apple.
Who said anything about Apple or their financial situation?
Still upset that Apple couldn't care less about making a $50 phone, huh? Funny that you tiptoe around acknowledging the iPhone 4S would be great for that situation.