Today we’ve got a very interesting report from the folks at Bloomberg saying that Apple is looking to begin its own iPhone trade-in program this summer. Of course, it already accepts trade-ins through its Reuse and Recycle program, but this would be the first time the company has made trade-in offers first hand.
The move is believed to be an attempt to increase handset sales, by encouraging users with older iPhones to trade them in toward the purchase of a newer model…
Bloomberg reports:
“Apple Inc. (AAPL) is starting an iPhone trade-in program this month aimed at getting users to upgrade to the iPhone 5 and turn in older models, people with knowledge of the plans said.Apple has teamed up with Brightstar Corp., a mobile-phone distributor, to run the exchange program, said the people, who asked not to be identified because Apple hasn’t publicly announced the plan. “
Brightstar currently handles trade-ins for AT&T and T-Mobile USA, as well as other carriers and device makers. They do this hoping to entice customers to purchase new equipment. AT&T, for example, offers as much as $200 for older iPhones, making a subsidized 16GB iPhone 5 free with a 2-year contract.
Until now, Apple paid little attention to the refurbished iPhone market. That’s changing as Apple’s growth has slowed in recent quarters. Samsung Electronics Co. (005930) became the best-selling smartphone brand in the U.S. in May, T. Michael Walkley, an analyst at Canaccord Genuity Inc., wrote in a report this week.
What do you make of all of this?
