Walmart Launches Its Own Unimpressive Smartphone Trade-In Program
by Joe White
September 10, 2013
From Sept. 21, iPhone owners in the United States will have the option of trading in their old handset using Walmart's brand new smartphone trade-in program, which the retailer announced earlier today.
The news obviously comes ahead of Apple's own media event, at which the Cupertino, Calif. company is expected to announce a brand new flagship iPhone 5S, along with a low-cost iPhone 5C handset.
However, before getting too excited, readers should be aware that Walmart isn't looking to beat the iPhone 5 trade-in prices offered by the likes of Gazelle, Glyde, or even Apple. Instead, credit for used handsets is limited in value from $50 to $300, and as a reminder, $300-400 is the price presently offered with other trade-in services.
As outlined in a press release published earlier today:
Trading up to the newest smartphone just got easier and less expensive for the millions of smartphone users in the U.S. Starting Sept. 21, consumers will be able to receive immediate credit towards the purchase of a new smartphone when they trade in their current smartphone at more than 3,600 participating Walmart stores and Sam's Club locations nationwide. Walmart's trade-in program offers an immediate credit from $50 to $300 for more than 100 smartphones. Examples of trade-in values for working, non-damaged smartphones include: $300 for an Apple iPhone 5, $175 for a Samsung Galaxy SIII and $52 for a Samsung Galaxy S2.In addition, Walmart doesn't operate a price lock system, meaning the value of an iPhone 5 scheduled to be traded in could alter - that is, drop - during the days up until the trade-in actually takes place. Other trade-in services allow customers to lock the quoted price of a used smartphone for up to 50 days, which is an impressive feature. For more information on iPhone trade-in values, be sure to check out our 2013 article. Do remember, however, that prices will change over the course of the coming days - or even hours - so act fast if you're looking to lock in the price of your old iPhone handset! See also: Frontback Photo-Sharing App Gets More Social With User Profiles And Friend Finding, It Begins As Apple Store Goes Offline, and Rego Now Lets You Back Up Your Bookmarked Places And Photos With Dropbox.