Apple launches iPhone trade-in service
MUNICH – Customers queue to enter the Apple Store where a giant logo is displayed in the southern German city of Munich on September 21, 2012 as the iPhone 5 goes on sale.
Hanging out for the new version of the iPhone, but don’t know what to do with your old one?
Well, now you can trade it in.
Apple is giving customers up to $280 credit for their old iPhone that can be used towards the purchase of a new model, as the tech giant seeks to muscle its way into an already thriving secondhand smartphone market.
The trade-in service was launched Friday, but is only available in U.S. retail stores.
“In addition to helping support the environment, customers will be able to receive a credit for their returned phone that they can use toward the purchase of a new iPhone,” a spokeswoman for the Cupertino company said.
The amount of credit iPhone users receive for their used smartphone will, of course, depend on its condition.
Customers can already pick up secondhand iPhones on websites such as eBay and Gazelle. Reuters said vendors pay as much as $125 for a broken iPhone, which highlights the popularity of the iconic gadget.
But there is a catch to the Apple trade-in service — customers will have to be in wireless carrier contracts when they walk out of the store with their new iPhone, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing Apple employees.