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Best Buy to Relaunch iPhone 4/4S Trade-Ins for 'Free' iPhone 5

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Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
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Back in June, Best Buy ran a single day promotion that allowed iPhone 4 and 4S owners to upgrade their phones to the iPhone 5. The company told USA Today that it was the most successful day ever for its trade-in program and as a result, Best Buy plans to launch the campaign again on Friday, June 21.

Customers will be able to trade in a working iPhone 4 or 4S, earning a credit of up to $150, which can then be put towards the purchase of an iPhone 5, which is priced at $149.99 for the 16GB version. The discounted price includes a $50 instant rebate that will last until the end of the promotion, on June 29.

best_buy_iphone_5.jpg
Prices include a two-year contract with Verizon, AT&T, or Sprint. Phones that carry a trade-in value over $150 will have the remaining value applied to a gift card, and the credit applied will depend on the phone's condition. Trade-ins over $150 cannot be applied to a higher capacity iPhone.

The promotion, which will begin on June 21 and last for nine days, is only good in Best Buy Stores or Best Buy Mobile locations.

Article Link: Best Buy to Relaunch iPhone 4/4S Trade-Ins for 'Free' iPhone 5
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2013/06/20/best-buy-to-relaunch-iphone-44s-trade-ins-for-free-iphone-5/
People can get more by selling their old phones unlocked.

Right now an unlocked iphone 4s is $340is used. A persin could buy the cheast iphone 5 and still have some money for other stuff.
 
Lylyluvda916 said:
People can get more by selling their old phones unlocked.

Right now an unlocked iphone 4s is $340is used. A persin could buy the cheast iphone 5 and still have some money for other stuff.
Click to expand...

Yes, but this is a pretty good deal if you have a 8gb very beat up iphone 4 and are still grandfathered in to the ATT original unlimited plan.
 
About $250

And a cdma iphone 4 is worth sh... Cause you cant connect it to gsm carriers(because it has no gsm slot) which are almost everywhere else in the world.

So if youve got one this is great:) but if not then this is just wrong.
 
Lylyluvda916 said:
People can get more by selling their old phones unlocked.

Right now an unlocked iphone 4s is $340is used. A persin could buy the cheast iphone 5 and still have some money for other stuff.
Click to expand...

You're the exact type of person who just reads what is the price on the internet and assumes everyone can get that same price OR MORE.

When you see it priced that high, it does not mean any joe blow or jane doe can sell theirs for that price as well. That's the misconception of these sales on the internet; used prices that are just ridiculously high and yet forum members post messages saying "hey, look, it goes for this price online so you are a fool to sell it for any less!" -

You do realize it takes a lot of effort to sell used. Sure amazon or any other buy back online will take it for more but this is not always the case and having bestbuy do this promotion makes it a safe and easy way for EVERYONE to get a new iPhone.

There's really no point in the USA to buy an unlocked phone either. You still pay monthly premiums AND most of the time you are on a contract. If you go out and buy an unlocked phone WITHOUT a contract you are just dumb or have too much money to throw around. Take the 2 year contract and get the phone discounted up front. Otherwise you just pay even more with the non-contract phone.
 
So, you give them an iPhone 4S, which cost up to $949 (64GB + AppleCare), and in return you get "up to" $150 and a contract with an evil company that will cost you thousands of dollars?

WHERE DO I SIGN UP?

Can I get them to spit in my face, as well?

----------
Anti-Lucifer said:
There's really no point in the USA to buy an unlocked phone either. You still pay monthly premiums AND most of the time you are on a contract. If you go out and buy an unlocked phone WITHOUT a contract you are just dumb or have too much money to throw around. Take the 2 year contract and get the phone discounted up front. Otherwise you just pay even more with the non-contract phone.
Click to expand...

You sure do like to assume.

T-Mobile doesn't force subsidies on you like AT&T and Verizon do.

Buying full price with T-Mobile = lower monthly bill.

Buying on contract with AT&T/Verizon = higher/subsidized bill.
Buying full price with AT&T/Verizon = higher/subsidized bill.

I still have the 2009 phones I got with AT&T. I'm still paying the higher/subsidized monthly prices. I don't want to get "new" phones with them and end up in a contract. That works out for me, because I can now switch my lines to T-Mobile.
 
It was a great deal for my parents who had Verizon iPhone 4's with 8GB of space and wanted something with more memory and faster. Not a huge fan of BestBuy, but this was a great deal. Very painless. Backup their old phone on iCloud, wipe and trade in, then restore back to the new phone. I wouldn't recommend for GSM phones due to resell value, but Verizon? TRADE IT NOW!
 
now that AT&T is making you wait 24 months for an upgrade i'll probably go t-mobile next year.

i'll take keeping an iphone for 3-4 years and buying an ipad more often than having a newer iphone all the time

Xenomorph said:
So, you give them an iPhone 4S, which cost up to $949 (64GB + AppleCare), and in return you get "up to" $150 and a contract with an evil company that will cost you thousands of dollars?

WHERE DO I SIGN UP?

Can I get them to spit in my face, as well?

----------



You sure do like to assume.

T-Mobile doesn't force subsidies on you like AT&T and Verizon do.

Buying full price with T-Mobile = lower monthly bill.

Buying on contract with AT&T/Verizon = higher/subsidized bill.
Buying full price with AT&T/Verizon = higher/subsidized bill.

I still have the 2009 phones I got with AT&T. I'm still paying the higher/subsidized monthly prices. I don't want to get "new" phones with them and end up in a contract. That works out for me, because I can now switch my lines to T-Mobile.
Click to expand...
 
Anti-Lucifer said:
You're the exact type of person who just reads what is the price on the internet and assumes everyone can get that same price OR MORE.

When you see it priced that high, it does not mean any joe blow or jane doe can sell theirs for that price as well. That's the misconception of these sales on the internet; used prices that are just ridiculously high and yet forum members post messages saying "hey, look, it goes for this price online so you are a fool to sell it for any less!" -

You do realize it takes a lot of effort to sell used. Sure amazon or any other buy back online will take it for more but this is not always the case and having bestbuy do this promotion makes it a safe and easy way for EVERYONE to get a new iPhone.

There's really no point in the USA to buy an unlocked phone either. You still pay monthly premiums AND most of the time you are on a contract. If you go out and buy an unlocked phone WITHOUT a contract you are just dumb or have too much money to throw around. Take the 2 year contract and get the phone discounted up front. Otherwise you just pay even more with the non-contract phone.
Click to expand...

People who usually buy unlocked in us are a lot of the time people who travel and dont want to pay their carriers a lot of money or international customers who have iphones being sold in contract sold for than us unlocked cost say for example mexico customers. I often buy these unlocked here and ship to relatives in mexico. And yes it is much cheaper online than there. Just purchased two iphone 4s's last week from amazon.
 
This seems ok but I don't want to fall for this "deal" then when the iPhone 5S shows up later regret getting the iPhone 5 because the iPhone 5S is better internally.

Ill wait for the iPhone 5S.
 
Huh? Not so much ....

First of all, it doesn't take THAT much effort to sell used, over the net.
Yeah, it's not as convenient as just handing your old phone to some Best Buy rep. and getting an instant credit -- but you pay dearly for that convenience.

I have no problem with these kinds of things being offered ... but no way I'd do it!

The price you see the used phones going for on eBay really IS a pretty accurate indicator of what they're selling for. The trick is to look at the average selling prices of the COMPLETED auctions though -- not just the ASKING prices of auctions in progress (which often have no bidders yet).

People keep forgetting that there's a healthy market for unlocked phones not bound by any contracts, because only these can easily be used with the cheaper, second-tier carriers like Straightalk, Virgin Mobile or Cricket Wireless -- where monthly fees are as low as $45 or so for unlimited text and talk, plus some sort of data package.

I agree that it doesn't normally seem to make any sense to buy a new unlocked smartphone at full price. But that really is the price the phone sells for, new. When you do a 2 year contract and get the phone for a lot less money up-front, you're going to wind up paying for it eventually anyway.


Anti-Lucifer said:
You're the exact type of person who just reads what is the price on the internet and assumes everyone can get that same price OR MORE.

When you see it priced that high, it does not mean any joe blow or jane doe can sell theirs for that price as well. That's the misconception of these sales on the internet; used prices that are just ridiculously high and yet forum members post messages saying "hey, look, it goes for this price online so you are a fool to sell it for any less!" -

You do realize it takes a lot of effort to sell used. Sure amazon or any other buy back online will take it for more but this is not always the case and having bestbuy do this promotion makes it a safe and easy way for EVERYONE to get a new iPhone.

There's really no point in the USA to buy an unlocked phone either. You still pay monthly premiums AND most of the time you are on a contract. If you go out and buy an unlocked phone WITHOUT a contract you are just dumb or have too much money to throw around. Take the 2 year contract and get the phone discounted up front. Otherwise you just pay even more with the non-contract phone.
Click to expand...
 
Will Best Buy give the $150 iPhone 5 price to people still under contract? Or is this only for out of contract customers?

Update, Never mind:

"To qualify, buyers must be eligible for an iPhone upgrade with their wireless carrier, and are still on the hook for a new two-year data plan, plus sales tax of around $35. You can get a phone from Verizon Wireless, AT&T or Sprint."
 
Last edited:
alent1234 said:
now that AT&T is making you wait 24 months for an upgrade i'll probably go t-mobile next year.
Click to expand...

To be fair you can always upgrade before that 24 months is up, you just have to pay full price. ;)

At least with TMO any time you want to upgrade, just pay off any remaining balance on your phone payment plan then buy a new phone with payment plan. Sell the old phone to recoup most of the payoff.

Or if you don't have to have the latest / newest phone all the time you save serious coin once your phone's paid off. AT&T just sticks it too you with no reduction in your bill.
 
I was interested in this until

Trade-ins over $150 cannot be applied to a higher capacity iPhone
Click to expand...

I'm done with 16 GB phones. I'll never go back. Plus I have vzw unlimited, so no more subsidies for me!
 
Anti-Lucifer said:
There's really no point in the USA to buy an unlocked phone either. You still pay monthly premiums AND most of the time you are on a contract. If you go out and buy an unlocked phone WITHOUT a contract you are just dumb or have too much money to throw around. Take the 2 year contract and get the phone discounted up front. Otherwise you just pay even more with the non-contract phone.
Click to expand...

Ever heard of Straight Talk? Net10? T-Mobile? Contracts are so 2 years ago (pun intended). Some of can do math.
 
Do the time and the math

Taking a quick look at what iphone 4s 16gb black models have sold for the past couple of weeks, it would be safe to assume you could get $300 plus shipping for it on ebay -- If it is in good condition and includes a box and the accessories.

You might get lucky and bring in a little more, but for the sake of argument, let's say $300. Your net after ebay and paypal fees is approximately $260.

A new 16gb 5 will run you $217 including tax if you sign up for the 2 year contract.

That leaves you a whopping $43 in profit, after spending the time taking pics of the phone, creating an ebay auction, boxing it up, waiting in line at the post office and finally shipping it.

Or... Walk in to Best Buy and get a new one for free (or maybe $17 if you have to pay tax on top of the promotion).

You do the time and the math.

p.s. Regarding T-Mobile: That is a good option. But have people had a good experience with network speeds and coverage? I also am lucky to be grandfathered into a (semi)unlimited AT&T plan with a 10 or 15% discount on top and a ton of roll over minutes. My total monthly bill is $75, so I'd be reluctant to give that up to jump ship to T-Mobile.
 
Last edited:
Tiger8 said:
Ever heard of Straight Talk? Net10? T-Mobile? Contracts are so 2 years ago (pun intended). Some of can do math.
Click to expand...

Absolutely right. I ditched AT&T and my "unlimited data" plan for Straight Talk last year with no regrets. I passed up on the iPhone 5 for a 4S on Craigslist at the same time. The money I've saved and freedom I have don't seem so "dumb".
 
dburges said:
Absolutely right. I ditched AT&T and my "unlimited data" plan for Straight Talk last year with no regrets. I passed up on the iPhone 5 for a 4S on Craigslist at the same time. The money I've saved and freedom I have don't seem so "dumb".
Click to expand...

If you can afford to pay up front for the straight talk 6 month service and the new phone, then you will save approximately $450 over a 2 year period v. AT&T grandfathered unlimited service (with my 10% discount) by selling old phone and upgrading to new phone every 2 years.
 
Xenomorph said:
So, you give them an iPhone 4S, which cost up to $949 (64GB + AppleCare), and in return you get "up to" $150 and a contract with an evil company that will cost you thousands of dollars?

WHERE DO I SIGN UP?

Can I get them to spit in my face, as well?

----------



You sure do like to assume.

T-Mobile doesn't force subsidies on you like AT&T and Verizon do.

Buying full price with T-Mobile = lower monthly bill.

Buying on contract with AT&T/Verizon = higher/subsidized bill.
Buying full price with AT&T/Verizon = higher/subsidized bill.

I still have the 2009 phones I got with AT&T. I'm still paying the higher/subsidized monthly prices. I don't want to get "new" phones with them and end up in a contract. That works out for me, because I can now switch my lines to T-Mobile.
Click to expand...

People should learn how to read. You get a minimum of the $150 price which is what they are selling the i5 for. If your phone is worth more, you get the difference on a gift card.

The no contract plan w/ T-Mobile is a valid option for those who travel in and out of the states frequently and like most, service is contingent upon location. Difference with TM is, that if you live in a rural area, quality of service suffers. If you purchased the device, and cancel service, you must either pay in full, or return the device to the carrier.

People paint with such broad strokes, it's almost comical.

----------
Hes Nikke said:
I was interested in this until



I'm done with 16 GB phones. I'll never go back. Plus I have vzw unlimited, so no more subsidies for me!
Click to expand...

The 32GB i5 is $250 so if your device has a higher trade in value, you put that towards whatever you want.
 
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