Apple's buyback scheme sees India's iPhone 4 sales triple in 5 days

An innovative buyback scheme launched by Apple to entice more customers to purchase the iPhone 4, has seen sales of the device triple in just five days, according to this report in the Times of India. The buyback scheme which offers consumers discounts if they trade in old smartphones for the iPhone 4 is being implemented at all major mobile trading stores across India. According to Business Today, “As per the scheme, all smartphones, even brands like Micromax, Lava and Karbonn, can get you a minimum Rs 7,000 off on the purchase of the iPhone 4 model. All the customer needs to do is fill a Buy Back form and pay the remaining amount through card. Apple’s EMI scheme is available along with the new Buy Back offer.” [caption id=“attachment_694631” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Getty images[/caption] Times of India quoted a ’leading Apple premium reseller’ as saying that the scheme was the result of Apple deciding to “aggressively push the older model in India because it wants to position the two-year-old phone in the sub- Rs 20,000 segment, where brands like Samsung Galaxy, Sony Xperia, Nokia Lumia and BlackBerry are jostling for dominance”. At present, the iPhone 4 costs around Rs 26,500 in India, and the buyback scheme will allow consumers to buy it for less than Rs 20,000. According to the Business Today report, smartphones in good condition are fetching discounts of up to Rs 10,000 in some retailers. The buyback scheme not only gives the traders Rs 5,000 as a cash voucher, it also allows them to sell the traded phones on the second hand market. And the scheme has been working really well for Apple by the looks of it. A story in the Economic Times quotes executives from leading retailers like eZone and Mobile India as saying said that the iPhone4 has become one of the top three selling handsets by value, along with Samsung’s Galaxy Grand and Note II. “While executives in these chains refused to share specific sales data, they said iPhone4 sales have shot up three times since the exchange offer was unveiled last week”, the report added. The scheme launched by Apple is probably the first of its kind in the world, adds Times of India, which notes that the company normally follows a single pricing strategy across the world. Be that as it may, it is definitely an encouraging sign for the Indian market, which has often accused Apple of not bothering to cater to the market. India, along with China is one of the biggest developing mobile markets in the world, and sees fierce competition among a number of phone manufacturers. The fact that Apple is stepping in means that things are about to get more interesting. And Samsung has reportedly also responded, launching its own buyback scheme for its higher-end models. It looks like the Indian consumer is winning this one.