Are you Sprint customer with an old phone laying around? Then you might be interested in the carrier’s Buyback Program, a service that lets users turn in more than 900 different devices for account credit.
If you have any phone models on the list, then just take it down to one of the 1,000+ official corporate-owned Sprint retail locations to get your instant credit trade-in value. The credits — which go from $5 to 300+ (depending on the handset you’re swapping in) — can be applied to your account balance.
Sounds pretty sweet on paper, but in reality, some users may get more by wheeling and dealing on their own. Engadget makes the point that a secondhand, locked Bold 9700 goes for more than $300 on eBay, but Sprint assesses the value for just $160. That’s a pretty big hit.
Then again, if you just want to avoid the hassle of selling, then at least the program offers a better alternative than getting nada for it (or for that matter, tossing it in the garbage can. That’s a big no-no for the environmentally conscious). Those of you who have a closet full of devices, however, should take note that there’s a max cap of three trade-ins per active line in one year (i.e., every 12 months).
If your old device isn’t on the list, take note that you can still turn in your handset via the carrier’s Project Connect program. It’s a free service for anyone ready to junk their old phones, batteries, accessories and data cards. You won’t get any money for them, but at least you’ll have a clear conscience that your tech addiction didn’t add to any landfills. It’s easy and free to recycle your gadgets; just grab a free, postage-paid envelope at a Sprint-owned store or print the free, pre-paid shipping label off the site here.
