T-Mobile US has been harvesting BlackBerries with an aggressive trade-in program that ended this week. The agile “un-carrier” offered customers $200 to trade in an old BlackBerry for a new device, and $250 if they wanted to trade it in for a BlackBerry Z10 or Q10. The offer was sweeter for BlackBerry loyalists who wanted to stick with the brand because those people reacted strongly and publicly to T-Mobile US’ initial trade-in offer. (That initial offer would have been much less expensive for T-Mobile US. The company offered BlackBerry users no-money down on a new iPhone 5S.)
The new offer was apparently too good to pass up for many T-Mobile US customers who used BlackBerry devices. According to Tmo News, trade-ins during the promotion were at 15-times normal levels. Ninety-four percent of the customers who took advantage of the offer traded in their BlackBerries for another brand.
Argus Insights, which tracks conversations about mobile devices on social media, said the BlackBerry die-hards may have waited until the last minute to make their trades. “Just last week we saw even BlackBerry jump as hold-outs are trying to replace their aging handsets with BlackBerry upgrades,” said Argus founder John Feland.
Feland thinks T-Mobile US probably launched its initial offer promoting the iPhone 5S in an effort to move leftover holiday inventory, a problem he says others may have experienced as well. “All other carriers and retailers had (and continue to have) massive promotions for iPhones in the face of slowing demand and may have moved more inventory over the holidays than T-Mobile,” said Feland.
The real winners of T-Mobile US’ campaign may be the Android handset makers, especially Samsung (see chart.) “We’ve seen other brands like LG, Sony and Samsung get a demand boost at T-Mobile more than Apple during this trade-in,” said Feland.
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