Yesterday, wereported that is gring up to launch its iPhone trade-in program in September. The program will allow an iPhone user to exchange an older iPhone model for a new iPhone at a discounted price. Today, we’ve lrned several new details about the program, including how it works, the official name, and information about the launch.The trade-in program will be marketed as the “iPhone Reuse and Recycle Program.” It will begin rolling out in select Stores this upcoming Friday, August 30th. Like we previously reported, a larger-scale rollout willoccur during the month of September.The program is applicable to both standard customers and business customers that want to purchase a new iPhone.
Here’s how it will work:1)A customer tells an Store employee that he/she would like to purchase a new iPhone and trade-in his/her older model. The new iPhone must be an on-contract phone and it must be activated on scene.2)The Store representative enters information about the customer’s iPhone into an appliion installed on their mobile syPay devices. The syPay is normally the device that you will see Store employees carrying around in order to facilitate purchases.3)Based on the information inputted into the syPay, a value for the old iPhone will be provided to the customer. The value will be crted based on the following specifics about the old iPhone: Display quality, button quality, overall hardware damage, engraving, liquid damage, and being able to be powered on and used normally.4)The Store employee will then tell the customer that his/her phone could not be given back once they agree to the provided terms and conditions.5)However, the customer will be given the opportunity to backup his/her iPhone before turning it in.6)The Store employee will then provide the customer with their new iPhone, a gift card with the value amount to be paid towards the new iPhone, and a plastic bag. The gift card must be used at that time towards the new phone and it cannot be used toward other products.7)The Store employee will then process the transaction for the new iPhone and place the old iPhone in the plastic bag.8)The old SIM card will be given to the customer and the Store employee will offer to setup the new iPhone.We have also confirmed that the traded in i will be shipped to and processed byBrightStar. The aforementioned old i in plastic bags will be packed up into large cardboard boxes to be shipped to BrightStar.BrightStar has not replied to requests for comment on the matter.Contrary torecent reports, these recycled i will not be sent overss for sales in emerging markets.The will be recycled for use only in the United States. Sources described this as part of ’s new theme of promoting its dediion to the United States. This was previously evident in naming its new Mac operating systems after places in California and the manufacturing of the upcoming Mac Pro in Texas.While this upcoming program is primarily built to be a trade-in program, this will also be ’s new in-store recycling program. Non-functional i that are not worth any money will also be able to be recycled via this initiative through BrightStar.The iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, and iPhone 5 are eligible for both the trade-in and recycling aspects of the program. The program will be supported in the United States first, and could rch international markets in the future.We also understand that the pilot programs that occurred in Dallas, Texas over the past couple of weeks have been exclusive to testing internal procedures, and they have not been for customers.We’ve also been told that the trade-in pricing for the i is slightly below the competition. For example, an unlocked, undamaged iPhone 5 16GB will be worth around $279, while an AT&T 16GB iPhone 5 will be worth $255 (which is around the pricingreported byTechCrunch). Gazelle currently offers$330for both of those devices. A GSM 8GB iPhone 4 will be worth between $120 and $140, while the MA version will be worth around $80. However, sources say that the pricing will constantly fluctuate due to supply and demand of particular iPhone models. CEO Tim Cook is utilizing this new initiative as a way to boost sales in his large chain of retail stores. At ameeting for high-level retail employees in July, Cook said that iPhone sales are not strong enough in Stores. With this new trade-in program, perhaps sales s will rise. The timing of a rollout prior to the launch of both the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C makes sense; it could be a way to ensure the record brking launch weekend sales s that has enjoyed for multiple yrs.
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