After Apple’s in-store iPhone trade-in program arrived in France last week, the company has now launched the initiative across its retail stores in Canada (as rumored), Mark Gurman of 9to5Mac was first to report Monday morning.
The initiative strives to entice would-be buyers to purchase their next iPhone from Apple Stores rather than through carriers and/or other retailers, by offering people to trade-in their old devices in good working condition for store credit, based on the value of their existing device…
“The launch in Canada has been confirmed via Apple’s Canada retail pages in the Apple Store iPhone app,” Gurman stressed.
Part of Apple’s ongoing Reuse and Recycle program, the initiative allows people to trade-in any iPhone sans the original iPhone model (which is no longer supported).
It’s a fairly simple affair: you bring in your old device, Apple gives you a quote based on its model and condition, you then receive a gift card up to $275 that can be redeemed toward the purchase of a new iPhone, be it the iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c or iPhone 4s.
The iPhone trade-in program first launched in the United States last year and has since expanded to the United Kingdom and India.
While it’s nice that Apple’s retail locations are now willing to take your old device, savvy shoppers may be better served putting their used iPhone on sale on eBay or exploring trade-in programs offered by places like Gazelle and retailers such as Target, Walmart and others.