Think carriers will give $650 promo for trade-ins again?

[dmk1974]

Last year was nuts! T-Mobile initiated it and the other carriers followed. Giving a whopping $650 trade-in credit for a (then) 2-year old iPhone 6 16gb (as well as 6+, 6s, 6s+, of any storage memory) towards the new iPhone 7 and 7+.

Do you think next month we will see the same sweet trade in promo? Or something similar depending on what you upgrade to? I'd love to be able to trade in one of my extra iPhone 6s 32gb phones for more than double what it's worth of course

 

[GeeMillz22]

Hard to say. T-Mobile likes to rattle the cages of mobile carriers. I hope it does happen. Paying 1100+ for a phone makes my stomach turn a little.

 

[JPack]

Most reviewers had a mediocre opinion on the iPhone 7. It was seen as an iterative upgrade. Carriers had to promote the iPhone 7. Demand for the OLED iPhone is expected to be high, similar to the iPhone 6.

 

[TheRealAlex]

Last year was nuts! T-Mobile initiated it and the other carriers followed. Giving a whopping $650 trade-in credit for a (then) 2-year old iPhone 6 16gb (as well as 6+, 6s, 6s+, of any storage memory) towards the new iPhone 7 and 7+.

Do you think next month we will see the same sweet trade in promo? Or something similar depending on what you upgrade to? I'd love to be able to trade in one of my extra iPhone 6s 32gb phones for more than double what it's worth of course

Quite simply no for 3 Reasons.
#1. Old design for 4 years 6 then 6s then 7 then 7s it's the same design no one wants it this year enough is enough.
#2. Extremely HIGH demand for the iPhone 8 see reason #1 above.
#3. Low supply Apple uses R+L carriers air freight and trucks all of its IPhone out of the Foxconn factory in Shenzhen, China to the nearest airport when it's transferred all that Airfreight flies out of Shenzhen Bo'an International Airport which my mom logs for R+L carriers. And bookings for this air freight is down 20% from the IPhone 7 Launch so yeah there's gonna be a serious shortage. Not of 7s or 7s Plus models but IPhone 8 no way that's gonna be in good supply.

 

[Billburns]

With credits the phone wasn't free, you still had to pay $150 cash over the 2 years in the end

But no, they won't do it for the 8. I'm sure they'll have a trade in but nothing like that considering the phone will retail much higher than the initial 650

 

[davelees76]

Given how all the demand is going to be for the 8, what do you think the chances are of big incentives on the 7s and 7s plus?

 

[rui no onna]

With credits the phone wasn't free, you still had to pay $150 cash over the 2 years in the end

But no, they won't do it for the 8. I'm sure they'll have a trade in but nothing like that considering the phone will retail much higher than the initial 650

Depends on the model. The credit covers full retail of the iPhone 7 32GB but you do need to pay sales tax. At least that's how the promo worked wit ATT and Verizon.

 

[Billburns]

Depends on the model. The credit covers full retail of the iPhone 7 32GB but you do need to pay sales tax. At least that's how the promo worked wit ATT and Verizon.

With T-Mobile turning in a 6S gave you a full $20 credit and you just had to pay the $7 remaining every month for 24 months

That's how it was it everyone on T-Mobile. Anyone that says T-Mobile fully covered and gave them a free phone is a liar. I gave them the newest and paid off model and did take a 7 32gb. I traded in a MINT 6S 64gb. Kinda wish I never even did that trade in but oh well

 

[rui no onna]

With T-Mobile turning in a 6S gave you a full $20 credit and you just had to pay the $7 remaining every month for 24 months

That's how it was it everyone on T-Mobile. Anyone that says T-Mobile fully covered and gave them a free phone is a liar. I gave them the newest and paid off model and did take a 7 32gb. I traded in a MINT 6S 64gb. Kinda wish I never even did that trade in but oh well

That's a pretty bad deal. I traded in a 2-year old iPhone 6 and am getting $27 credit per month (ATT).

 

[dmk1974]

I actually traded in two iPhone 6 64gb units at my local T-Mobile store for that promo last fall. But they totally botched it and after hours of calls with T-Mobile support, they credited me the entire $650 per phone in November.

But you are partially right...it was supposed to be a $170 instant credit for the trade in and then $20 credits per month over 24 months (summing up to a total of $650).

 

[HallStevenson]

And bookings for this air freight is down 20% from the IPhone 7 Launch so yeah there's gonna be a serious shortage. Not of 7s or 7s Plus models but IPhone 8 no way that's gonna be in good supply.

...or demand for the iPhone 8 isn't as high as some people think (and Apple is adjusting for it).

 

[gadgetfreaky]

It's a bit interesting because the "8" or "x" or "edition" is a premium high margin product. my guess is carriers would offer programs for that but fairly wide open to terms.

 

[HallStevenson]

#2. Extremely HIGH demand for the iPhone 8 see reason #1 above.

Given how all the demand is going to be for the 8

How is this "demand" being determined ? Please don't tell me it's based on what is seen at this site. This site is not the regular world.

 

[Applejuiced]

I hope they put out a similar offer again.

 

[Billburns]

I actually traded in two iPhone 6 64gb units at my local T-Mobile store for that promo last fall. But they totally botched it and after hours of calls with T-Mobile support, they credited me the entire $650 per phone in November.

But you are partially right...it was supposed to be a $170 instant credit for the trade in and then $20 credits per month over 24 months (summing up to a total of $650).

Hm

I made a post in another thread, they screwed up mine and basically had it as I never was part of the trade in promo... I went 5-6 months of having to call in to get it added every single month. They credited the free money but told me I still had to pay the remaining. They got rid of the credits and just charged me $10 a month

I've seen others get fully credited due to issues and this was people who went one month without a credit. I had to go all the way to the CEO/Vice President and talk to someone underneath him twice, they would not credit me a single dollar and basically made sure they would get every dollar out of me. I never asked for anything but left a sour taste in my month that I went half a year, sent so many private messages and emails and atleast 3-4 phones calls every month when I got my new bill.

After that fiasco, regardless what T-Mobile offers I will NEVER participate in any program, I've been with them for 14 years and I've actually never participated in one til this one and that was because I was always worried about billing issues and paper work being screwed up and in the end having me own a ton of money for something that was supposed to be "free"

Like I said, all this headache, paying for my previous phone cash in full, should have just kept it. Basically the same phone minus the 7 was black.

 

[jm31828]

With credits the phone wasn't free, you still had to pay $150 cash over the 2 years in the end

But no, they won't do it for the 8. I'm sure they'll have a trade in but nothing like that considering the phone will retail much higher than the initial 650

As others mentioned this wasn't the case with Verizon. I traded my 6s for the full $650 credit spread out over 2 years- that pays exactly to the penny the monthly payments on my 32gb 7. So I swapped my 6s for a 7 for no additional cost at all except for the sales tax.

 

[Billburns]

Yup I understand, was only talking about T-Mobile not any others

 

[Applejuiced]

Yup I understand, was only talking about T-Mobile not any others

I heard from many others having similar issues with that Tmobile free iphone promo.
Seems like the CEO just comes out and announces it with no prior planning or systems setup or procedures in place.
And then they all scramble and run around like chickens trying to implement it very sloppy and half a$$ed.
I was lucky cause both my iphone 6 phones were received, credited on time and I got the 2 free iphone 7 phone upgrades with no problems.
But I know many others had lots off issues and similar back and forth as you did.
They definitely need to improve on those things.

 

[nviz22]

I have an iPhone SE at my disposal to trade in. I very much would appreciate a deal and fully expect a deal because the $1000 price tag is crazy high. Seriously, what will the 8 do that the 7 won't? Wireless charge, OLED screen, maybe a slightly better camera, facial detection, and have a new body build? Is that worth paying like $400-$500 USD extra (assuming you buy from Swappa or eBay)?

The carriers have to create a subsidy or trade in deal to lock people into 2 year financing agreements. We have read articles from sources, such as BBC, saying people are leaning towards not buying newer phones because it's too expensive and the upgrades are marginal at best. I also don't know anyone who is expecting to the buy the iPhone 8 after I told them the price haha, but that's not an accurate sample size or indicative of consumers.

I am a techie myself, but I am not spending $1000 on a phone. I expect at the very least to pay $600 for the iPhone 8 with a SE trade in. Last year, a normally priced iPhone 7+ 32gb was reduced to $370 for a 5C/5S/SE trade in.

I anticipate $400 off, but let's see what T-Mobile actually offers.

 

[andrewr2123]

I sure hope the carriers get into a discount war to retain customers and attract new ones. I loved the way Verizon and AT&T offered trade-in discounts when buying the iPhone 7, my whole family took advantage of that. And considering I pay for my phone on a monthly installment plan, I don't mind getting the discount at a monthly rate.

I have Verizon now, but I would consider switching to AT&T if they offered a better (than Verizon) trade-in discount for the upcoming iPhone.

It all happened so quickly last year (just days before the iPhone 7 went on sale), I hope it's a little less chaotic this year.

 

[dmk1974]

Well, tomorrow should be interesting! We'll see what the carriers do as well.

 

[nviz22]

Nothing leaked by T-Mobile or TMO News yet. Doubt a deal happens at this point.

 

[Applejuiced]

Last time it was more of a last minute type of thing from Tmobile without much planning or process behind it.
Not even the customer service reps knew for sure what was going on and how it will all work.
Im sure we'll see a deal but not sure if it will be as good as last years.

Nothing leaked by T-Mobile or TMO News yet. Doubt a deal happens at this point.

 

[nviz22]

Last time it was more of a last minute type of thing from Tmobile without much planning or process behind it.
Not even the customer service reps knew for sure what was going on and how it will all work.
Im sure we'll see a deal but not sure if it will be as good as last years.

I hope you're right because it's either iPhone X on a deal or BOGO Note 8 deal with a family member because I need a new phone asap.

 

[Droidbricker]

Hm

I made a post in another thread, they screwed up mine and basically had it as I never was part of the trade in promo... I went 5-6 months of having to call in to get it added every single month. They credited the free money but told me I still had to pay the remaining. They got rid of the credits and just charged me $10 a month

I've seen others get fully credited due to issues and this was people who went one month without a credit. I had to go all the way to the CEO/Vice President and talk to someone underneath him twice, they would not credit me a single dollar and basically made sure they would get every dollar out of me. I never asked for anything but left a sour taste in my month that I went half a year, sent so many private messages and emails and atleast 3-4 phones calls every month when I got my new bill.

After that fiasco, regardless what T-Mobile offers I will NEVER participate in any program, I've been with them for 14 years and I've actually never participated in one til this one and that was because I was always worried about billing issues and paper work being screwed up and in the end having me own a ton of money for something that was supposed to be "free"

Like I said, all this headache, paying for my previous phone cash in full, should have just kept it. Basically the same phone minus the 7 was black.

This sounds like my experience dealing with T-Mobile and that iPhone credit. If they paid me for every hour I spent trying to get them to honor this credit I’d have paid for my iPhone 7’s many times over.