Target Offering $200 Gift Card for iPad Trade-in, Including First Generation [Updated]

[ks-man]

No issue in Chicago suburbs. I traded in my original wi-fi 32gb and got the $200 card. I could have left but used it to pick up an original mini for $299+tax and also got a $25 gift card. So essentially got a 16gb mini for my kids for $95 inc. tax ($320-200-25).

Seems like a pretty good deal. Thanks Target!

 

[benji888]

Forgive what may be a stupid question, but does anyone know what they are giving in store for an iPad 2 32GB?
Is it only $200 & if so, is that a fair deal do ya' think?
Thanks!

It takes 5 minutes to find out what gazelle.com will give you for it and then I did a search (for my iPad 1 16GB+3G) on ebay for what these were selling for (by searching and checking the "sold items" box). In the case of my iPad 1 it was more than I could get otherwise, but, not sure about iPad 2's.

Called their customer service.

You use it as a MasterCard when purchasing online and the last 3 (of the 6 digit security code) are what you put as the CVV2 if it asks.

Not sure if this is legit or not; but that's what they said.

That would make sense as my receipt for my new iPad Mini states $200 Mastercard Charge for payment (plus my other payment), there's no indication I've used a target gift card. In fact, the $25 Target gift card I got with the iPad Mini purchase has only a bar code on the back, it is entirely different than the card I got from the mobile guy for the $200 trade-in.

**For those having difficulty: the trade-in is done by the person/company that activates cell phones, using their computer/POS system, not Target's system, Target employees cannot do this. If the Target store you go to does not sell cell phones and/or activate them (deal with cell plans and such), then they probably won't do this. If they do sell cell phones, just go to that part of the store, if that person will not help you, then go to management. Here's the link to the trade in page, where, until the 9th, there is a red box on left that states the $200 deal, click on it for details, text the link to yourself or something, bring it with you: http://www.targettradeinprogram.com

 

[zippychimp]

Went smoothly for me today in the Philadelphia, PA suburbs (North Wales, PA). Went over last night about 8:20pm but the register for the mobile dept. had a sign - "Open 12:00pm - 8:00pm" so I went back over today at 12:00 sharp and waited for the register to open. Nice younger guy said "You here for the trade in?" and I said "yep". Turned in my 64 GB 3G Ipad 1 and got the $200 card on the spot. Store employee also wiped the ipad memory clear right in front of me. No rules on having to use card on anything. Card says "Electronics Trade-In Card" on it. He did scratch the gray bar on the back which is the code to use if using online, thought that was a little strange. Super easy however and didn't have to include my charger or anything like the box, etc. Just the sloooooooow original iPad.

 

[Primedir]

Success in DC - No Trade-ins in MoCo, MD

I successfully traded in my iPad 1 32GB for a $200 "Electronics Trade-In Card" at the Target in Columbia Heights, DC. Card and documentation handed over without any question about having to buy something. Took less than five minutes. They were out of iPad airs, so I went later to the Target in Rockville, MD. While there, the electronics section staff was explaining to another customer that none of the Targets in Montgomery County were doing the trade-ins. (Haven't verified this with any other stores.) Got an iPad air 16GB for $479 and used the $200 card to pay part of the cost.

 

[sishaw]

I successfully traded in my iPad 1 32GB for a $200 "Electronics Trade-In Card" at the Target in Columbia Heights, DC. Card and documentation handed over without any question about having to buy something. Took less than five minutes. They were out of iPad airs, so I went later to the Target in Rockville, MD. While there, the electronics section staff was explaining to another customer that none of the Targets in Montgomery County were doing the trade-ins. (Haven't verified this with any other stores.) Got an iPad air 16GB for $479 and used the $200 card to pay part of the cost.

I was told the same thing about Montgomery County not participating at the Rockville store. Good to know about Columbia Heights, I will try there. The guest services at Rockville told me that Columbia Heights was requiring the original box--is that true?

Thanks!

 

[nsfw]

Here is my ipad air 16GB order online after i ordered a gift card with a electronics trade in card.
I also signed up for the redcard that’s a direct deposit from my checking not the credit card.

Subtotal: $479.00
Discounts: -$23.95 REDcard 5% Discount
Shipping: $6.45 REDcard discount: -$6.45
Estimated Tax: $39.82
Gift Card $-200.00

Your Total: $294.87

It's still a lot of for a tablet but more palatable at this price. I bought the ipad 1 from cowboom for less than $200 two years ago.. so that was a nice free two year rental.
Nice thing is you can return your purchases until 1/15/2014. If the ipad mini retina turns out to be the full sized ipad killer its supposed to be, i'll have to return this guy.

 

[gregneil]

Utah unique laws

It looks like there's some state-by-state laws leading to some confusion. Target should spell all this out on their website to avoid customer frustration.

In Utah there are trade-in laws passed in the last couple of years specifically to combat issues with iPad theft. In order to participate in the trade-in program at Target, you MUST leave the store having completed the purchase of a new iPad. The $200 cannot be used towards any other product. Also, if you have multiple iPads they MUST be used to trade in towards multiple new iPads, one-to-one.

I learned this after spending a day backing up, wiping my 1st gen iPads, and then going to 2 different Target stores to try to get a new iPad Air.

Both stores I went to were out of iPad Airs today, and both told me there were no more in inventory in all of Utah, but they hoped to get more in stock before the promotion ends on Saturday. (I went to the second store because the online system said they had them in stock. FYI Target's online inventory system does not update real-time, only once each morning, and does not account for iPads the store has put on "hold" for customers.)

One of the stores did offer to let me get a $200 gift card which I could use on their online store to buy an iPad Air, but I would have to pay for shipping and I would have to complete the transaction before I left the store.

I may hold onto my 2 first gen iPads at this point... Still deciding...

 

[sishaw]

Finally! All went well at Columbia Heights store

So finally I went to the Columbia Heights, DC store, where they knew what was going on and everything worked out--iPad 1 in excellent condition for a $200 gift card. I have no idea why they gave me that line in Rockville about the Columbia Heights store requiring an original box--no such thing. Just the iPad and your ID. They ran out of gift cards soon after me, but are getting more tomorrow, they said.

 

[Primedir]

Glad you were finally successful, sishaw.

 

[sishaw]

Glad you were finally successful, sishaw.

Thanks.

 

[splihtz]

denied!

just tried to turn in two gen 1s at a store in Texas

they said for gen 1 they will issue the gift card ONLY if used to purchase a new ipad and MUST be used immediately

 

[mercury6966]

Just traded 1st gen in north Nj for $200 gift card. Didn't have to use it on an new ipad, they just gave me the gift card. I bought the $299 ipad mini that comes with with a $25 gift card at another target, since they ran out of the mini's. A lot of people are doing it I was waiting in line to trade it in.

 

[scooby384]

there are almost no mobility stores

Not true...there are more than 14 target stores with a Target Mobile Rep in Austin TX alone.

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just tried to turn in two gen 1s at a store in Texas

they said for gen 1 they will issue the gift card ONLY if used to purchase a new ipad and MUST be used immediately

Yep.

----------

Went smoothly for me today in the Philadelphia, PA suburbs (North Wales, PA). Went over last night about 8:20pm but the register for the mobile dept. had a sign - "Open 12:00pm - 8:00pm" so I went back over today at 12:00 sharp and waited for the register to open. Nice younger guy said "You here for the trade in?" and I said "yep". Turned in my 64 GB 3G Ipad 1 and got the $200 card on the spot. Store employee also wiped the ipad memory clear right in front of me. No rules on having to use card on anything. Card says "Electronics Trade-In Card" on it. He did scratch the gray bar on the back which is the code to use if using online, thought that was a little strange. Super easy however and didn't have to include my charger or anything like the box, etc. Just the sloooooooow original iPad.

The gray bar in the back of the trade in card has to be scratched by the representative in order to activate the card with the trade-in amount.

 

[Oversoul]

I've had a very negative experience with this as well. It seems as though Target has not trained their employees well on this policy.

Yesterday, I called some of the local, Bay Area Targets to see if they were honoring the trade-in. Two of the stores said they are out of the "trade-in cards," and the other store had the cards, but was out of iPads. Per Target's website, I was under the impression that you could trade in the iPad and get the "trade-in card" for $200. However, when I went to the store (Serremonte) to trade-in my iPad, they told me I must purchase a new iPad to get the deal.

I was frustrated and walked away, as this was clearly not stated by Target. I then went back and showed them the website and the guy told me the website is misleading and that you must purchase and iPad at the time of the trade in to get the $200.

I have complained to Target about this issue and reached out to them via Twitter. They then asked me to give them more info via e-mail, so I'm waiting for a response. I'll update once I know more, but I plan to check out another store this evening to try again.

I ran into similar troubles at Serramonte and Colma. Found out about the promo early Monday, but couldn't make it to trade in my original iPad 16GB WiFi at a Target that day.

Then, on Tuesday, I went to the Target at Colma, where the Mobile guy told me that they could only honor the promo if I purchased a new iPad from them on the spot. No rain checks. If they didn't have the model I wanted, they would not do the trade in and would send me to a store that did have the model I wanted. I argued with him that Target's trade in site stated nothing requiring me to purchase a new iPad from them immediately, especially if they didn't have the one I wanted in stock (iPad mini with Retina). He pulled out their newspaper ad that stated the credit is "towards the purchase of a new iPad." I pulled up their website on my phone, and noticed that Target changed the terms overnight (as someone mentioned earlier in this thread) to add that the $200 minimum credit is "to use towards the purchase of a new iPad."

Tried my luck across the 280 at Serramonte, where another Mobile guy told me flat out the same terms, that he could not give me a gift card for the $200, that a trade in without a purchase will give me just $75, and if I didn't like it to leave because he'd already had the same argument with 5 other people that morning.

Tried my luck at one more Target down the freeway in San Bruno and, success! Traded in my original iPad, excellent condition. The Mobile guy noted that he already had a number of trade ins that day, checked to see that the screen turned on, went into my Settings to grab the model and serial numbers to input into his trade in program, and issued me an Electronics Trade In Card for $200 without question or requirement that I buy a new iPad from them that day, or ever. Read the fine print on the back of the card, which says it is redeemable for merchandise or services at any Target store or Target.com.

Lesson of the story, if Target gives you a hard time, try another location.

The whole experience was very upsetting, because the terms on Target's trade in program website did not initially require the purchase of an iPad, and even after they changed the language in the middle of their promotion, nothing states that I have to buy an iPad from them right then and there.

I had made up my mind that if Target refused to honor their deal, I would just buy an iPad mini from them like they wanted, collect the $200 trade in credit, collect the $25 gift card with that purchase (or $40 for an Air), and return the iPad when the Retina mini comes out. Now that I wrote that out, maybe that's what I should have done for their associates wasting nearly 2 hours of my time.

 

[zippychimp]

The gray bar in the back of the trade in card has to be scratched by the representative in order to activate the card with the trade-in amount.

Thanks for explaining that. I was a little nervous about that part. I thought only the cardholder was allowed to do that.

 

[Gulo]

It takes 5 minutes to find out what gazelle.com will give you for it and then I did a search (for my iPad 1 16GB+3G) on ebay for what these were selling for (by searching and checking the "sold items" box). In the case of my iPad 1 it was more than I could get otherwise, but, not sure about iPad 2's.

That would make sense as my receipt for my new iPad Mini states $200 Mastercard Charge for payment (plus my other payment), there's no indication I've used a target gift card. In fact, the $25 Target gift card I got with the iPad Mini purchase has only a bar code on the back, it is entirely different than the card I got from the mobile guy for the $200 trade-in.

**For those having difficulty: the trade-in is done by the person/company that activates cell phones, using their computer/POS system, not Target's system, Target employees cannot do this. If the Target store you go to does not sell cell phones and/or activate them (deal with cell plans and such), then they probably won't do this. If they do sell cell phones, just go to that part of the store, if that person will not help you, then go to management. Here's the link to the trade in page, where, until the 9th, there is a red box on left that states the $200 deal, click on it for details, text the link to yourself or something, bring it with you: http://www.targettradeinprogram.com

I definitely had difficulty and gave up. I think I might try it again though. Thanks dude.

 

[Buran]

Traded in my unused 32GB 3G on which the unlimited data had long since been allowed to lapse. Charged it up til it showed the low-charge indicator, then charged enough to show the OS. Wiped it before bringing it in. Tech at store verified the product number, and I did get the full $200.

Alas, I wasn't able to get the Airport Express router I needed (our D-Link is dying) because the store didn't have Apple Store gift cards and App Store gift cards don't work for the regular Apple Store, alas, and the cashier at checkout wouldn't let me load a prepaid Visa with the $200 that was on the trade-in gift card.

At that point I had no desire to spend any of the money for Target merchandise -- they seemed hell-bent on making sure I bought something from them when I needed nothing from them but needed something elsewhere that Target did not sell. So I bought $200 in App Store cards -- I just got a new 11" Air and might be buying software for it in the near future.

Aaaand... there's a sale going on App Store cards, apparently -- I was only charged $180 for $200 in App Store/iTunes cards! So I have $20 left.

So I failed at getting $200 for a new router... but I did manage to turn an unused iPad into $200 in apps for my shiny new Mac. Not bad. I can get some groceries, maybe, with the leftover $20.

I was never told that I had to buy another iPad with the trade-in credit.

And I was quite amused when the other guy also trading in a first-gen iPad noticed my World of Warcraft shirt and struck up a conversation about that! It's always nice to actually talk to people while out instead of finding that everyone's got their noses in their phones...

 

[seatton]

Do we need a box for this trade-in?

My first post here ever! I am excited about this. My office is a block from Target and I have my iPad first gen with me, but I have the box and its cable at home. Does anyone know if I can do the trade in now without the box and the cable or do I have to wait till I do that tomorrow? Thanks guys.

 

[repete7]

My first post here ever! I am excited about this. My office is a block from Target and I have my iPad first gen with me, but I have the box and its cable at home. Does anyone know if I can do the trade in now without the box and the cable or do I have to wait till I do that tomorrow? Thanks guys.

Well, when I traded in my iPad 1, I didn't need any of that. Some of the other posts suggest that not all Target employees have been properly trained, so YMMV.

One thing, I wiped my iPad before I went in with it. We had to set it up again so the target clerk could enter the model number from settings. You might want to wait to wipe until they get that number.

 

[Buran]

Does anyone know if I can do the trade in now without the box and the cable

Most people, including me, didn't need the box or charger or cable. I recycled the box long ago and that charger and cable work fine with iPhones, so I kept it. All I traded in was the iPad. If the store you go to insists you need the box, go to another store.

 

[Doctor Q]

One thing, I wiped my iPad before I went in with it. We had to set it up again so the target clerk could enter the model number from settings. You might want to wait to wipe until they get that number.

Wiping shouldn't disable the iPad. If you back up your data to iTunes or iCloud and then use Settings > General > Reset > Erase all Content and Settings to reinitialize the iPad, it'll be back to factory settings. Go through the initial setup screens (choosing English, declining to enter an Apple ID, etc.) and it'll be ready to use like a new iPad. The clerk will still be able to turn it on and get the information from Settings -> General.

 

[TimTheEnchanter]

My story... wife's 1st gen iPad

Went to Target Store A yesterday noon, line too long, had to leave. They were giving the cards with no purchase requirement.

Decided to go back to store A after work, only 2 people in line! Elect. Dept. employee asks if I need help, tell him I'm trading-in. Then says "We just got a call from the regional manager about 1/2 hr ago saying we can only take trades if the customers is buying an in-stock iPad." I ask if he has any iPad Airs, he says no. I ask so I can't trade-in now then, when will you have them? "No idea, but we might get some first thing in the morning. Call and if we do I will hold one for you."

This morning, called store A... nothing.

Panic time, start calling 10 stores in area... nothing. At last call, I ask what they are doing for trade-ins if they have no stock for desired model. Employee says, "Oh, you can still trade. We give you a gift card and you can use it for whatever." I ask, are you sure about that, he asks the mobile person and she say yes, trade for card. Awesome, they didn't get the memo! I hop in the car and get there, wait in line, about 10 people ahead of me. My turn, she starts processing my trade-in.... then she takes a call. Someone was asking how it was going, she said really busy. Then the person told her about the policy as she just activated my card. She said "No one told me about this. If Danny (not real name to protect employee) didn't say anything about it I'm going to keep giving cards. I have 8 more people waiting." Then some more words and she hangs up. She looked frustrated, but handed the card & receipt to me and said I'm good! To be safe, I asked if I needed to use this for another iPad purchase and she said no, even though it says electronics trade-in card, its exactly the same as any target gift card, you can use it for anything in the store.

I slipped in just under the fricken wire!

 

[repete7]

Wiping shouldn't disable the iPad. If you back up your data to iTunes or iCloud and then use Settings > General > Reset > Erase all Content and Settings to reinitialize the iPad, it'll be back to factory settings. Go through the initial setup screens (choosing English, declining to enter an Apple ID, etc.) and it'll be ready to use like a new iPad. The clerk will still be able to turn it on and get the information from Settings -> General.

Yeah, but you can't see the settings UNTIL you go through the initial setup. Just letting people know that when I turned mine in she needed that number and we had to go through the setup before she could see it.

 

[pammyspyce]

I traded in my 16 gb wifi only gen 1 on Monday morning. I went to the San Leandro store in SF Bay Area. The guy at the mobile area didn't know about the promotion and wanted to give me $65. I pulled up the website on my phone, he made a quick call, and I was out the door with my $200 gift card in less than 10 minutes. What a deal!!

The only "issue" I had is that I wanted to use it online for a purchase over $200. The electronics trade-in card is considered a credit card and you can't split an order between two credit cards. So I had to run back to Target and buy a regular gift card with my trade-in card.

 

[Doctor Q]

Yeah, but you can't see the settings UNTIL you go through the initial setup. Just letting people know that when I turned mine in she needed that number and we had to go through the setup before she could see it.

Thanks. I think we agree on the details.

I recommend doing the reset in the peace and calm at home rather than trying to do it in the store, with the risk that you'll be rushed and forget, or not choose the right type of reset.