Rumored AT&T trade-in program could provide easy alternative to eBay
By Darren Murph 
posted March 1st 2009 2:29PM
posted March 1st 2009 2:29PM
posted March 1st 2009 2:29PM
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Ehh, sounds like it would hardly be worth it unless you are afraid of a two year commitment. I wonder if they will they take more then one phone and does it have to be yours?
Bull shit "deal." You may as well sell it on your own and buy an unlocked phone. It's better than getting bent over a barrel when you try to sell it to them and you still have to pay full-price minus trade-in.
Totally. This makes about as much sense as selling games to Gamestop to make money.
so you no longer get the contract discount if you do this?
if so, WOW
Of course not; when you pay the unsubsidized price, you don't have to sign a contract.
Something tells me there'll be no shortage of $99 iPhone refurbs this summer...
Yea, that's what I was gonna say. I wondered how they were going to facilitate all the iPhone people getting the new handset this year without having to pay $600. Looks like they've found a way..... It might be in their best interest too- otherwise in July there will be a whole lot of unlocked iPhone 3Gs flooding the market.
I actually just sold my iPhone on eBay (1st gen 4GB) for $300 USD with $27 shipping.. That was a 'buy it now' when the bidding action was around $200.. I just wonder how high it may have gone without the BIN.
P.S. After I sold that crap, I bought an unlocked G1 for $319US, free shipping to Canada :)
Radioshack actually has a trade-in program for cell phones already and you still get your subsidies with it.
I agree with Konstantin. Unless you are afraid of being haunted by that 2 year commitment deal, I don't see how it would be worth it. If they are going to do this, there has to be some sort of hook aside from that... right?
Chances are you will have to commit to another 2 year agreement sans subsidies too, that is if you arent eligible for the subsidies because you have had the phone for 1 year.
I think this will let people get a new phone without a new contract. Not a bad idea, but the trade in prices are going to be abysmal I am pretty sure.
Sounds unfair enough. Should be true then.
Those in Britain should use Fonebank.com.
I sold my N95 for £110; the cheque arrived 2 days after posting the phone. It had a fault with the battery and was out of warranty, so I bought a 5310 for £50.
Can't recommend highly enough.
Or carphone warehouse will take an old phone as trade-in.
Why is the story all excited about not having a subsidy on the new phone? I have no problem if someone wants to pay for part of my phone.
But I do care if the phone is SIM locked to the carrier, or if I am required to sign a contract.
So tell me, does this mean AT&T is going to sell me SIM unlocked, no-contract phones at a decent price? If so, it'd be amazing, since phones of this type are usually pretty expensive in the US.
Sprint has done this for a long time. $50 or $100, I think. Less than you could usually get on eBay but enough to consider it if you're in a bind.
yeah but spring takes sh1t flip phones for 50 bucks too. Its part of a recycle program I think probably about the environment. I recently did this with a friend and she got 50 bucks for her a crappy samsung flip and cashed it in towards a touch pro.
woops lotsa typos. I meant:
Sprint* takes shit flips...etc. Very convenient.
Yup, $50 IIRC. But it's a bit different. You always get to keep your old phones, even on upgrades and with re-contract discounts. So those discounts stay in tact. The bonus with Sprint is if you dump everything for your old phone in a return envelope instead of keeping it, they throw you an extra $50 account credit for it. As I recall Sprint said they're recycled, used for parts or donated to charities.
As for the $50 for any phone being kinda bogus... I can't speak for everyone but my power-phones get seriously punished in their time with me. Suppose that's true for dumbphones too, but those gotta be cheaper to fix.
Also (as I recall... it's been a while) their only condition was that it be "in working order." So I guess the phone you ran over with your car doesn't qualify.
If you can deal with all the problems Sprint has had, they actually have some good deals.
I bought an Instinct on Black Friday from NewEgg.com, for $99 w/o contract (I'm still trying to figure out how that worked). As soon as it arrived I activated it and went to the Sprint store by me and they bout back my LG Rumor for a $50 credit on my account.
I assumed all carriers had a buyback program by now, usually Sprint is the one behind.
I bet they're going to try and screw you over like Gamestop. I'm sure people with common sense in a recession will still flock to eBay/CL.
Actually there are already companies that provide these services through a third party company. I work for an ATT retailer, and offer trade in towards new purchases, sometimes its worth it, sometimes its not. but with this company any trade in value does not replace upgrade pricing, so you get both. This would be very stupid for att corporate to do, since there are already options available that are more convenient
So they get to make money off your used phone, AND keep the subsidy that you would otherwise get by signing a HUGE contract. Yeah, win for consumers right there........
Its not really a win or a lose. You could sell your phone on Ebay/CL and make maybe $50 more, depending on the phone, though you still have to buy the phone at retail price. Even junky flip phones that are new to the market are price $400+.
I think the win here is convince. You don't have to worry about a deal going sour. It happens all at once you trade in your old leave with a new. Furthermore you get off your contract. I think a lot of people are getting to the end of their contracts, pretty much everyone has now had a cell phone plan for at least two years and they are realizing they can switch pretty easily, though they don't want to get locked down for two more years. By letting you buy a new phone, that is still locked to the carrier (albeit, they will probably give you an unlock code pretty quickly too), it creates not only more of a bond between the company and the customer, though weak barrier for the customer if he/she considers bailing.
@Adam - There is a way to get unlock codes, but it's not known by the average customer.
Hey at least one of the clowns is thinking of something. But the service for the Iphone still sucks
Is that an AT&T store in downtown Chicago? (I know way outside the subject :D)
Yes I believe it is. You can tell be the theater's (I forget the name) lights reflected off of the windows. I pass that damn AT&T store everyday.
I think it might work if they do it right. Some people buy a new phone everytime something new that they like comes out. They're usually not eligible to upgrade so they pay full price. I do it a lot myself and usually I sell my phones to 3rd parties but if they're willing to buy my phone back and apply the money to no commitment phone I think it's ok. We'll see how it goes.
cingular
(the old att)
used to do this, but instead of getting money you'd be able to get the subsidy price
I got my first phone (SE T616) that way, my dad traded in an old startac (remember those??!)
seemed like a sweet deal then, but in hindsight it was just a way to dupe you outta twenty thirty bucks
p.s. i still have that t616, amazing phone way advanced for its time....
dude, that AT&T store is like right next door to my building in Chicago.
Typical carrier. Take something that is good for the customer, and make it useless. Retail prices on most phones are over $300, and they'll probably give you $25 for the average free phone. So you trade in a crappy phone, and get a new crappy phone for $275. Pass.
Damn! And I desperately need to swap that Vertu for something cooler...
Maybe the good news is that if people start selling their phones to ATT the Ebay prices will go up..
My Tilt + $200 for a Touch Pro2 on a 1yr contract and we and we have a deal..