Promotional Activity Heavy for Mainstream-Priced iPhone
Big-box retailers wasted no time spotlighting the upcoming arrival of the colorful, and discounted, iPhone 5c, we found in a scan of websites Monday. Target, which sent an email blast announcing the Sept. 20 arrival of the 5c, displayed 30 SKUs of the device in the full rainbow of colors, at $99 for the 16-GB version and $199 for the 32-GB model. The iPhone 5c will be available online and in stores on Friday via contracts for Sprint, Verizon and AT&T, Target said. Target is also selling 16-GB and 32-GB versions of the iPhone 5s, including the gold version, through the three carriers at $299 with two-year-contract.
Walmart.com led with the iPhone 5c on its splash page Monday, also touting Friday’s launch date, and quickly followed with an ad for a $50 discount off the 16-GB iPad with Retina Display (now $449) and the 16-GB iPad 2, now $349. Walmart sweetened the pot for both iPads with a $50 iTunes gift card for the higher priced tablet and three $10 iTunes cards for the older model.
Best Buy had a low-key approach to the iPhone Monday, instead featuring on its lead page a discount on the HTC One to $49 on its website, and a $50 Best Buy gift card promo on the trade-in of any cellphone for an LG G2 with activation and two-year service pact. Consumers had to search the Best Buy website to find the iPhone 5c and 5s, and were told pre-orders were being taken in-store only. Best Buy’s trade-in section gave a value for the 32-GB iPhone 5 of $378 in perfect condition and $360 in “good.” A 16-GB Apple 4s had a trade-in value of $231 or $220 depending on condition, it said.
Verizon offered a trade-in calculator on its website for a vast number of devices from various manufacturers and carriers. It was accepting trade-ins for top competitor Samsung and its Galaxy S 4 for up to $189 for a 32-GB smartphone, while a 32-GB iPhone 5 on the Verizon network fetched $210. Its predecessor, the 32-GB iPhone 4s, had a maximum trade-in value also of $210.
On eBay, sales of the iPhone 5 jumped 44 percent in trade-in listings in the past month, said a news release issued by the online marketplace last week. As of Sept. 9, the day before Apple unveiled the 5c and 5s iPhones, the average selling price of a 16-GB iPhone 5 on eBay was more than $400. When we checked Monday, prices were still holding up for the iPhone 5 on eBay, where a 16-GB model on Verizon had a $266 price with 19 bids; a 16-GB AT&T model had 10 bids up to $315 with five minutes to go; a 32-GB Verizon model had 47 bids up to $520 with three minutes to go; and an unlocked 32-GB model was up to $555 on 42 offers with three minutes left.
At trade-in site Gazelle, a Verizon 32 GB iPhone 5 had a trade-in value of $315 Monday for a “good model” while a locked or unlocked AT&T version had a trade-in value of $195 and the comparable Sprint model fetched $155. A 16-GB T-Mobile iPhone 5 had a value of $190 at Gazelle, we found.