Target Offering $200 for Older iPads Until November 9th

[joeblough]

* Do NOT wipe your iPad before doing the trade-in. They need to be able to get to the iPad Settings app to get some information off of the iPad.

that is good advice, but if you wipe it at home and then go thru the setup just enough to get to the home screen they can still get the info they need. they are looking for the apple M…LL/X SKU which is in the settings app.

if you are running iOS 5.x on the iPad then as long as they have a guest wifi network in the store you will be ok. you can do the initial setup of an ios5 device using wifi. i am not sure what version of iOS this standalone setup came in. anyway that's what i did while i was waiting in line. i didn't want to wipe mine at home to save the hassle of restoring them in case they decided not to take my iPads for some reason.

otherwise, you will be sunk as you need to hook older OSs to a mac/pc to activate them.

 

[mypins]

In Tampa Target. Would NOT provide trade in card. Showed me an email that went out to ALL Florida stores this morning: due to dealer laws you must trade in AND purchase at the same time. Good luck for the rest of you in the Sunshine State.

 

[charks]

In Tulsa. No issues at all. Took old iPad and issued $200 gift card. In and out in 10 minutes.

Guy in front of me had an iPad with a smashed corner. They took it.

 

[ngrai]

Can't blame the target store you went to. It clearly states "mobility". And below is the link to the target ad and within the ad is a link to all the mobility stores. I really don't see the problem. And you want to sue target for stating the obvious? You got some big ones on you.

http://www.targettradeinprogram.com/#?lnk=snav_rd_tradein&orginalSearchTerm=trade-in

If you would read carefully before spouting off, you would see I recognized the "mobility" wording. The point is that Target's website offered to let me search for a "mobility" store near me, and the result it returned was the store to which I then drove a considerable distance, in good faith, to take advantage of this generous offer. That Target directed me to a mobility store that is not a mobility store is their fault, not mine.

 

[ctdonath]

Just traded in at the Buckhead GA (Phipps) Target. No problem, just minutes to get the "Electronics Trade-in" card. $200 for a release-day iPad 1 3G 64G ain't bad, considering it's stuck at iOS 5 and got me well more than $1/day value for years. Planning to get a Mini 16G (maybe retina), which with iOS 7 will be far more useful & long-lived.

 

[cdmoore74]

Sorry if this was said earlier but:

Best Buy is taking iPads as a trade in for $350. I walked in a confirmed there is no requirement to purchase any specific device day of.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Electro...oHA&siteID=NKa3hZyYoHA-jChgWMIt54C8jLfRpYrthw

"Get up to a $350 gift card" is much different than $200 minimum. Bestbuy examples are below which are horrible compared to what Target is doing for first gen iPad's.

iPad 1 16gig
Good
$90.00
Fair
$63.00
Poor
$40.50
Not Working
$0.00

iPad 4 64gig
Good
$325.00
Fair
$227.50
Poor
$146.25
Not Working
$0.00

 

[ctdonath]

Showed me an email that went out to ALL Florida stores this morning: due to dealer laws you must trade in AND purchase at the same time.

Surely you could order what you want? Pay now, pick up later?

----------

the result it returned was the store to which I then drove a considerable distance, in good faith, to take advantage of this generous offer.

Sometimes service just plain screws up. Let the store manager, or Target HQ, know. Give 'em a chance to make good, just move on it now.

 

[rockarollr]

It's All In Who You Deal With

Had a 1st generation iPad 64GB WiFi in perfect condition (kept in an Otterbox case its entire life) I was willing to let go for the $200 gift card. The plan, going in, was to use the $200 credit to purchase a game system for my young son for Christmas.

The first Target I went to had a very difficult guy that insisted that the only way I could do the transaction was to either a) Take the $200 gift card and purchase a new iPad on the spot or B) Take "fair market value" ($85) toward the game system I wanted to buy for my son. I told him to "stuff it" and walked out with my iPad.

I then went to the neighboring county's local Target (about 10 miles away) and received my $200 gift card, no conditions, no limitations and no questions asked. In fact, the lady that helped me made it a point to tell me that although the gift card says "Electronics" on it, it was indeed good throughout the entire store. She also volunteered to tell me I did not have to make the purchase today.

It really is all in who you deal with. Some people are nice about it and extremely cooperative, while others can be difficult pr*cks. True story.

 

[lalctaylor]

Took in a 1st Gen 16GB wifi iPad. 10 minutes, and $100 later, walked out with a new 16 GB mini and a $25 target card. Easiest deal I've had in a long time.

 

[cocky jeremy]

Worked for me. Rocking a new 16 GB iPad Air in white.

 

[iEnvy]

So I have a pretty beat up iPad 1. Should I do this guys? Am liking the new iPad Air.

 

[C DM]

Thought I'd add my two cents...

I was able to trade in my First Gen 16GB iPad for the $200 "Gift Card" without any hassles on Thursday at the Westgate Mall Target (west San Jose on Saratoga Avenue). The process was pretty painless as the Target Mobility guy started with 50 trade-in cards at 12noon. FWIW, he was out of cards at 2 PM. For those thinking about doing the trade-in, here's some pointers...

* Do NOT wipe your iPad before doing the trade-in. They need to be able to get to the iPad Settings app to get some information off of the iPad.

* Whether a particular Target will get the Trade-in Cards or not is pretty much a crap shoot. You can try to call ahead but I would wait until the Target Mobility person arrives (which is around noon for the stores in the San Jose area).

* The Trade-in Card doesn't work too well if you want to order your new iPad through the Target website. My recommendation is to take the Trade-in Card and immediately swap it for a regular Target Gift Card. This can be done at the registers in the electronics department.

One thing I did notice and it's something you should check before starting this process. If you iPad has a model number ending in "CC" or "CH", you will NOT be able to trade it in. I saw this happen with a couple of people ahead of me in line. He also said there are a couple of other funky model numbers that they won't take but I can't remember them off hand.

Interesting. I did the trade in and they didn't look at anything at all on the iPad--just made sure it can power on and that's it.

 

[Derwinator]

Had a 1st generation iPad 64GB WiFi in perfect condition (kept in an Otterbox case its entire life) I was willing to let go for the $200 gift card. The plan, going in, was to use the $200 credit to purchase a game system for my young son for Christmas.

The first Target I went to had a very difficult guy that insisted that the only way I could do the transaction was to either a) Take the $200 gift card and purchase a new iPad on the spot or B) Take "fair market value" ($85) toward the game system I wanted to buy for my son. I told him to "stuff it" and walked out with my iPad.

I then went to the neighboring county's local Target (about 10 miles away) and received my $200 gift card, no conditions, no limitations and no questions asked. In fact, the lady that helped me made it a point to tell me that although the gift card says "Electronics" on it, it was indeed good throughout the entire store. She also volunteered to tell me I did not have to make the purchase today.

It really is all in who you deal with. Some people are nice about it and extremely cooperative, while others can be difficult pr*cks. True story.

Agree - it does depend on who you end up working with. Called my neighborhood Target store today to verify they knew about the program. I couldn't get the Mobility dept employee because he was away but a stern sounding woman demanded to know what information I was requesting. When I told her I was interested in the iPad trade in program she quickly announced that it was for the purchase of a new iPad only.

Stopping by later in the day, I finally connected with the Mobility Store employee who performed a no hassle trade in and handed me the gift card. I asked if I could hold onto it until they had the iPad Mini Retina in stock and he said Oh, sure Target HQ has started to realize that if they don't have the Apple products available in the store that we have to provide the gift card for later purchases.

Anyway, $200 gift card for an original iPad 16GB WiFi model in about 15 mins time. Oh, and I did have to sign into iCloud to disable Find my iPad while in the store so good tip to others to defeat this before they go. GOOD LUCK!

 

[rumplestiltskin]

Clarification maybe

I did the trade-in this afternoon at the local Target store (west side El Paso, TX). There's a special code number the associate enters into the web form (right there in the store) and it added a $130 bonus credit to the $70 credit (which is what the iPad 1 16GB is worth to them normally). So it appears the special trade-in deal is the "additional $130" bonus.

After all the info was entered, the associate printed my confirmation (showing the $200 gift card value), instructions, and a pre-paid UPS label. So the shipping is on their dime. Apparently, many stores were originally told not to accept iPad trade-ins in-store but customer complaints led to this process (bring it in, get the forms filled in, print the paperwork, then the customer sends it in rather than the store taking the unit). I expect Target is worried about these trade-ins walking out the back door of the stores.

One more day. Get crackin'.

 

[ThaBlink]

Anybody in Florida have issues? I had a relative take our original iPad to trade it in at Target for a gift card. They told them they wanted the mini retina, but since it's not out yet, wanted the gift card in the mean time. The employee said that in Florida it is illegal and they can only trade in for an iPad at the time..

 

[talthoff]

What's the chances of a target running this next year? I'm debating if I just trade in our iPad 1 or both the 1 and 2.

 

[poblack]

I live in Atlanta Metro.

Walked in with my original iPad. The first Target didn't have mobile at all so I couldn't trade it there. I went to the next nearest one that did. After waiting patiently while the person in front of me kept getting credit rejects from all the providers (she was trying to get an S4) I finally gave the mobile specialist my iPad. Within 5 minutes I got a $200 target card that had "trade in" printed on it. She said I could use it at any Target. They didn't have any iPad mini's so I went back to first Target and they had what I wanted. Paid $99 plus got a $25 target gift card.

 

[YoToddy]

The Target in Memphis, TN is really being jerks about the whole program. I called today and spoke to someone about it and was told no problem. Bring them in and we will give you a gift card. Of course as soon as I get here the guy tells me I have to buy an Apple product right then and now or I could go online and buy one. He called a manager over and the manager didn't see an issue and said "give him a gift card". Great, let's move on. Oh you have two to trade in sorry one trade in per customer because it's tied to your drivers license. So I have to have my wife drive to Target to trade in her iPad with her drivers license. The guy didn't even know what an iPad Mini Retina was. So typical of Memphis customer service. I even showed him this website about people trading in multiple devices for gift cards. He didn't care.

 

[C DM]

Anybody in Florida have issues? I had a relative take our original iPad to trade it in at Target for a gift card. They told them they wanted the mini retina, but since it's not out yet, wanted the gift card in the mean time. The employee said that in Florida it is illegal and they can only trade in for an iPad at the time..

A few replies back: https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/18334657/

 

[guitargoddsjm]

Just another point of data:

I went to the Framingham, MA Target store earlier today. Including me, there were probably 8-10 people in line waiting for the trade-in. Waiting in line for the mobility employee to get back from his lunch break was a pain, and there was an unruly customer who was demanding to cut in line, but the process itself was quick; I walked out with a $200 gift card.

Unfortunately, they didn't have any iPad Airs in stock, and it doesn't look like there are any targets within an hour that have 16GB models, so I'll probably miss out on the current $20 discount.

 

[ClaveMan]

iPad air Trade In - Corportate Target article

I had no problem trading in my first gen iPad today. The "Target Mobility" guy took my ipad and made sure it powered up, then called in the serial # to someone (see it if was stolen?). The only problem I had was the bottleneck to get to the "Target Mobility" guy. A line of iPad people had to wait 40 minutes for a couple to buy two Android phones..

Here is some stuff from an article in Minnesota (home of Target)

The response to the iPad trade-in promotion has been overwhelmingly positive and far exceeded Target's expectations," spokeswoman Katie Boylan said.

"We are not placing any limits on the promotion," she added. "In fact, we're working to replenish the number of electronics trade-in gift cards available in our stores."

The promotion will not, however, be extended beyond Saturday, she added.
"If you want to buy $200 worth of bananas, great," she said. "If you want to shop for toys for the holiday season, great.

http://www.twincities.com/business/ci_24477720/targets-200-ipad-buyback-having-some-problems

 

[cdmoore74]

No issues at the Vernon Hills, IL Target. Guy told me that there were close to 500 of these iPads that came in since they started the program. You must be crazy not to trade in a first gen iPad (unless it was purchased in China). Slow as heck on 5.1.1 and it will be stuck at that software version forever. One more day boys and girls. I don't see this coming back.

 

[Corban987]

So I have a pretty beat up iPad 1. Should I do this guys? Am liking the new iPad Air.

I just traded my beat up wifi 16gb iPad 1 in and got the $200 card, now will wait for the iPad air to come back into stock.
My iPad had dents on the back, but it was covered with the original black apple iPad cover so was never checked, they just turned it on, checked the numbers, gave me a card then erased it. Put it in the cupboard and all done, less than 5 minutes.

 

[jetlife2]

Success in Cincinnati

5 minute process at the Fields Ertel store (after waiting for prior customer).

I had a pristine Ipad 1 bought 4 days after launch in 2010. 64gb wifi, really a nice unit, but hey! $200 is 2X the best I could find anywhere else and really far above what I was ever expecting.

I received the " Electronics Trade In Card". Note that before , during and after the transaction I confirmed about 5 times that this is good for any purchase, not just electronics, I was a bit paranoid on this point but not to worry....

I went straight to the checkout and used the $200 from that card to buy a prepaid Visa card. $6 fee. So I netted $194. I can now take that anywhere. I did not want to buy my upgraded ipad from Target so that I did not have to pay sales tax, and they don't carry the 128 Cell models anyway.

I think if you have an Ipad 1 this is a no-brainer. Expires tomorrow.

 

[ukwildcat]

Anybody in Florida have issues? I had a relative take our original iPad to trade it in at Target for a gift card. They told them they wanted the mini retina, but since it's not out yet, wanted the gift card in the mean time. The employee said that in Florida it is illegal and they can only trade in for an iPad at the time..

I traded a Gen 1 64 gb ATT ipad in a Cape Coral, FL store this evening, and walked out with a $200 gift card. They were extremely easy to work with. I think it all depends on who you deal with.