Chances are pretty high that you have heard of T-Mobile’s new ‘UNcarrier’ marketing strategy by now. It’s been covered a lot lately. In case you haven’t, I encourage you to check out our previous coverage for more details.
Essentially, T-Mobile is doing away with contracts and that includes all fees and associated costs to go along with them. T-Mobile customers will no longer be subject to a binding contract, and early termination fees will never be incurred. Unfortunately, there is one significant drawback with T-Mobile’s new marketing plan. Customers will always have to pay full price for new devices. Subsidized pricing for expensive handsets will no longer exist, at least through T-Mobile. Instead, customers can either pay the full price for a handset up front, or tack it on as an additional monthly fee with a down payment.
Luckily, the T-Mobile trade-in program is rumored to get an update, which will essentially help customers out with the cost of those full price handsets. The following image supposedly comes from a trusted source close to T-Mobile, and it depicts the new trade-in program by showing off just how it will work.
As you can see from the images, the new trade-in program will allow customers an instant discount on a new device, after trading in an old one. Obviously, the value of the discount is going to depend on the device traded in. Undoubtedly, as with most trade-in programs, you won’t get much for your old devices but at least the program is there if you need it.
There’s even an option to use the discount for your old device immediately, and then mail it in two weeks later. This will be perfect for those awkward situations where you have to use your old device while waiting for the new one to arrive.
Since T-Mobile is doing away with subsidized pricing for their handsets, this new trade-in program is going to end up being beneficial to lots of folks I guess. Still, it’s hard to resist the urge to point out the fact that you would be better suited to sell the old device and use the money earned to buy a new one. In most cases, you will get a lot more money from selling an old device traditionally than you will by trading it in.
This photo clearly seems to be lifted from training material for T-Mobile employees, which means the program is probably going to launch sometime soon. As of right now, there’s been no official word on the program changes, but we’ll notify you accordingly as soon as more information is available.
All in all, I would genuinely like to hear what the community thinks about this whole ‘UNcarrier’ business. Furthermore, do you think this trade-in program seems reasonable, and will it help out any T-Mobile customers?
Via: Android Authority