Apple Extends Its Trade-In Program

Mark Wilson writes "Earlier in the month it was reveal that Apple was about to start offering gift cards as part of a trade-in program for people buying new a new iPhone. The updated program has now gone live so you can take your old Apple device, or non-Apple smartphone to an Apple store, or mail it in to receive credit. The credit can be used in store or online against the purchase of a new Apple device, and this program expansion is the latest move from Apple to try to tempt users away from other platforms. You can check online to see how much you can expect to receive for your existing phone and decide whether it's worth your while. Hint: it might not be.

Comments

apples real problem is utility.

[nimbius]

Sticking my neck out here as a former marketing droid, Dyed in the wool fanboys will never drop apple without a knock-down drag-out fight. the problem apple faces is theyre in the same market as CocaCola and Phillip Morris: Users who use the brand are their most ardent and loyal, but new customers are next to impossible to attract. Part of this is the fact that Apple doesnt do a great job of understanding why customers of Android dont engage their brand, but part of it is also the fact that what they offer isnt distinct enough from what already exists at a lower pricepoint. Whats worse is that as time goes on, and evidence amasses, it becomes easier to ween fans away from the product. Apple does a decent job of whats called 'customer maintenance,' a fancy term for brand reinforcement, but throwing fistfuls of trade-in cash at the problem is an old automotive technique thats basically a wash unless you have something like cash for clunkers.

cue the flamebait moddown but i feel like it should be stated: its not a death spiral by any means, more like a slow death for the brand. There are ways to stop it though, pretty easy ones in fact. Coca Cola just bought up the brands that were outselling it overseas, and started buying out bottling and distribution for other local brands in the states that wouldnt sell. Phillip Morris and apple are a lot alike in that theyre both highly litigious when it comes to their product. PM sues for relaxed smoking taxes and legislation, apple sues for patent violations from importers. Another outlier that apple could emulate is Harley Davidson. Instead of competing in the market, harley just lobbied to have a massive import tarrif levied against imported motorcycles above a certain similar-to-harley size.

Re:Advantage is in immediacy

[Chaset]

I figure it takes the wind out of the second hand market. Not sure whether that's a good or bad thing for them, though it seems they think it's a good thing.