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Optus to accept phone trade-ins for credit

Optus will accept some smartphones as credit towards a new mobile contract, but customers won't know what they'll get for their phone until they take it to a store.
Written by Josh Taylor, Contributor

Customers wanting to sign up to a new mobile contract with Optus will be able to trade in their old smartphone, depending on the handset, as credit towards the new plan, but the company will not tell you the value of your phone until you are in the store signing up.

The offer is open to new customers, as well as those re-contracting with Optus, and includes a range of handsets, including the iPhone from the 3GS up to the 5; the BlackBerry Z10 and Q10; the Samsung Galaxy S2, S3, Note, and Nexus; and the HTC One, One S, One X, and Sensation XE.

Customers must bring the working phone, preferably with the personal data already completely erased, into an Optus store. After a staff member checks that the phone is in working order, they will make a credit offer to the customer.

That credit offer is only valid on the day it is offered, and Optus has said that the value of the offer can change depending on the day it is accepted.

A spokesperson for Optus told ZDNet that retail staff must follow a check list process when assessing the phone, but the value of the phone is determined by a third-party supplier depending on the model, the condition, and the "variable daily market rate".

The program will come as a consolation prize for Australia missing out on the Apple iPhone trade-in program announced last month, but customers still have a number of other options for selling their old handsets without being locked into new contracts, such as through other phone for cash sites, or through online auction websites such as eBay.

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