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Apple Announces New Trade Up With Installments Program (betanews.com)
Mark Wilson writes: Today, Apple launched a new program called Trade Up With Installments, which makes it possible to upgrade to the latest iPhone in a more affordable way. As the name suggests, this is more than a straight trade-in program - upgraders can use the trade-in value of their old handset to reduce on-going monthly costs. This is something that will appeal not only to people with older iPhones who are looking to get their hands on a newer model, but also ex-Android fans. Apple is opening up the program, so Android handsets can be traded in and their value offset against the cost of a new iPhone. Windows Phone handsets are also eligible. Trade Up With Installments is slightly different to the existing iPhone Upgrade Program and trade-in option. After handing over your old handset (be it iOS, Windows Phone or Android powered) for part exchange for a new iPhone, you'll then (assuming you qualify) be extended credit and allowed to pay off the remaining balance over 24 months.
A very short while ago this was not on the top spot as a new story and was in fact a paid advertisement. It even said "paid post" and was in that brownish orange color. Now it's this. WTF?
Brought to you by Carl's Junior.
Must....have....new....shiny...
Clearly I'm out of touch with reality or fashion or consumer desires.
I'm fascinated by how deeply people covet a new gadget like a phone. Is it a status thing, or do they feel some sort of ego-deflation if they aren't carrying the latest phone/tablet/whatever? Is it a fashion thing, or do people feel like a lower caste when they aren't carrying the newest shiny rectangle?
I mean, if you want to, that's great, more power to ya, but it seems a little neurotic to me. It always astounds me that people will wait in line to buy the newest phone.
Couldn't they just wait a day or two? Do they have to buy one on the first day? Do they feel some kind of shame if the store sells out before they can buy one? I mean, yeah, the iPhone is a cool gadget and a great phone, but the attention paid to it (and other gadgets) seems to border on religious fervor.
Okay, okay, I realize I'm an outlier when it comes to this stuff. For me, when I go to buy a gadget like a phone and I find that I really like it, I'm always tempted to go buy another identical one and put it away on a shelf somewhere because I know that when the current one breaks I'll be unable to buy another one just like it. I just want to find something that works and that I like, and use it for as long as possible.
What's with the "upgradeitis" that so many people appear to be infected with?? Is the new phone or whatever really going to be that much better?
Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
So instead of a $600 iPhone (that cost a fraction of that to make), I get to pay $1200 over the course of 2 years... what a deal. This is the kind of predatory crap I expect from a loan shark not from... oh wait, nm.
I'm not surprised that Apple is trying to get in on this action as "buy now, pay later" deals are a huge business just like credit cards and once you're hooked... I got a friend of mine who lacks impulse control, maxed loans and maxed credit card debt. But he's a "functional shopoholic" meaning he manages to pay interest every month. And of course complains that he's short on cash, well I'd be too if that much of my paycheck just disappeared on top of my fixed costs. And what it means is that every time he gets a little breathing room he feels he's been frugal for so long the temptation to splurge is so great he ends up right back where he started. It's a negative spiral.
Personally I'm the other way around, if I have some leftover disposable cash I'll make a down payment on my mortgage - no credit card debt - so that next month, I'll have even more disposable cash. That's the positive spiral, once you have a growing surplus it becomes easier and easier not to spend all of it. I realize that most people can't make the huge investments like house and car without loans. But a phone? If I couldn't buy an iPhone outright, I'd just get some cheap-ass Android phone until I could. Because what happens when you bat outside your economic league is it catches up to you, my friend's economy is just getting worse and worse relative to mine. Which of course doesn't help...
Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
...then strongly consider purchasing a cheaper phone. Maybe go refurb or buy last years model for instance. But don't get sucked into the constant upgrade cycle that marketing leads us to believe is inevitable.