Follow up: Buy-back promo appears across Europe


If you live in Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK or Russia, you can trade in your 4/5/6/7/8/9000 series or G3 beige PowerMac and get a rebate on the purchase of a new G4 -- this is an attempt by Apple to move more boxes as well as boost adoption of OS X. The offer ends on July 31, 2002.

The program allows customers who trade-in older model Power Mac to receive a discount on a new Power Mac: €200 off the 800MHz, €300 off the 933MHz, or €400 off a dual-1GHz.

Jumping through hoops

According to Macworld UK, once a buyer receives his Mac, they have 15 days to back-up their data and make an appointment with Apple's logistics partner. At the time of purchase, it's necessary for the buyer to complete two transfer-of-ownership documents. One is be placed inside a box with the used Power Mac. Apple's partner will collect the Mac at its own cost. Customers need to send the second document with the original carrier receipt and a copy of the new G4 purchase invoice to Apple's money-back address and can expect rebate should arrive 6-8 weeks later.

Analysis: As often as not -- assuming the user can sell his Mac -- the second-hand price is higher than what Apple is offering. Also, I wonder why Apple isn't offering this program in the US? Could it have something to do with Europe's tougher recycling laws?