By Marci Verbrugge Rhind
Last month, as part of its award-winning phone trade-in program, Sprint Buyback, Sprint announced that it would match all major U.S. carrier phone trade-in pricing (Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile) on all new lines of service. The announcement highlighted Sprint’s commitment to offer the best trade-in value and underscored our long-standing commitment to our No. 1 buyback program.
The trade-in announcement was simply an appetizer to last month’s bigger announcements: Sprint’s exclusive Sprint Simply Unlimited Plan for iPhone 6 with an unlimited data, talk and text while on America’s newest network for only $50 a month, and the new iPhone for Life Plan, which allows Sprint well-qualified customers to lease the iPhone 6 for $20 a month with no out-of-pocket cost and guarantees a new phone every two years.
For our customers, Sprint trade-in values are better than our competitors in many ways, such as providing an instant credit in-store that can be used toward a new phone purchase or an account credit. Sprint customers can take advantage of the trade-in credit at any time – whether they are buying a new phone, looking to purchase new accessories, or wanting to use their trade-in credit toward their bill. We allow customers to trade-in up to three phones per line at any time and five in a calendar year. T-Mobile, on the other hand, only allows one phone trade-in per line and that transaction must happen when customers are purchasing a new device.
Sprint is the longtime buyback leader in our industry. We developed the first phone take-back program in 2001. We were the first provider to take back another carrier’s devices and provide an instant credit in-store in early 2010. Last year, Sprint put more than $100 million back in customers’ pockets as part of the program. Today, more than four out of every 10 customers in Sprint retail stores participate in the buyback program. Of those devices collected, more than 80 percent are remanufactured as certified pre-owned phones.
For the past three years, Compass Intelligence, a leading market analytics and consulting firm, has ranked Sprint’s phone trade-in program as the best among all major U.S. carriers. Our reputation for providing the best trade-in value highlights our commitment to the program, and the Compass Intelligence announcement certainly helps us maintain our leadership position.
Sprint’s Buyback program is a core element of our corporate responsibility efforts. Because of our industry-leading Electronics Stewardship Policy – where we work only with certified recyclers to achieve their aggressive recycling goals – customers can feel good about what happens after they hand over their device.
We have also taken industry-leading steps to promote environmental sustainability in the production of new devices and packaging. We are the only carrier to partner with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and we are pleased to be the only wireless carrier to receive an award for our e-waste management practices from the agency’s Sustainable Materials Management Program.
In addition to being honored as the Best Buyback Program, in 2013 Sprint shattered the Guinness World Record for the highest number of cell phones recycled in a single week (103,582), more than double the previous record set by AT&T. With the best trade-in pricing, we will continue to provide the best value for our customers through our longstanding, award-winning program.
Although some carriers may try to offer money as a short-term gimmick to win over customers, we prefer a long-term commitment to our customers – like putting millions of dollars back in their pockets for the last 13 years.
Editor’s note: Marci drives the communications that address the environmental impacts of the wireless industry and making wireless technology accessible for all. She serves as the spokesperson and media relations liaison for Sprint’s Good Works, a corporate responsibility program committed to using the company’s technology, human and financial resources to help make the world a better place.
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