Trade up scheme

At first glance, it seems to me they want to prevent users trying to get a double profit out of it by making the old unit unsellable once you received your 30% discount on a new one.

I have no problem with people buying new devices when their old ones still function, we do that all the time with phones, cars, you name it. I also like the idea of a trade in program. But intentionally bricking perfectly good devices? I agree, that is a bridge too far. That is not a trade in program, there's not even an actual “trade” happening! It is just an incentive to buy a new device and trash the old one. I highly doubt that many people will “responsibly recycle” their old player. 

A real trade-up program would have you send your device to Sonos so they could actually recycle it. And even if they would just silently trash it, at least it would not look like such an obvious money-grab.

In a time where many of us are concerned about our climate and the tremendous amount of waste our society generates, a program targeted at consumerism, that actively generates e-waste, is not a really good move, Sonos, however much I like your brand.

Furthermore, since Sonos devices, even the older ones, retain their value quite well, you would be better off selling your device second hand. You would have a very good chance of getting more than 30% of a new device out of it, and you will make someone else happy with a perfectly fine piece of hardware, instead of creating a brick that is of no use to anyone.

What? 

Give us your money - we don’t care where you trash your ‘old’ devices.

Sounds like Wall Street ethics to me.

Yes, I'd rather that the scheme involved it being sent back so they could at least give the equipment to a good home. (Possibly some charity that wouldn't ordinarily be able to afford one). 

Hopefully they'll rethink this odd scheme! 

Not seen this in the UK yet.  I too don’t like the idea of disabling a working speaker.

Am I the only one thinking the time is approaching where the older units will soon be retired.  Sonos must have to take quite a hit on developments to keep the compatability going.  We’ve seen the retirement of controllers and docks, what next. Or when

Hi everyone, thanks for sharing your feedback on the Trade Up program, I’ll make sure to share it with the involved teams.

This program is designed in many ways for people who have some of our oldest speakers and components that are missing out on some features. These are first generation products which in some cases more than 10 years old. Over recent years we’ve launched new products like Sonos One, Beam, Amp, Port, and now Move that offer new experiences like voice control and Apple AirPlay2. This program is an offer to allow long-standing customers to trade up to these powerful, modern Sonos experiences.

Personally, I think a great use of it would be trading up a ZonePlayer 80 into a Port, which would get better specs all around, a better DAC, and add AirPlay 2 as a feature. We’ve seen that whenever a new product or product replacement launches,  we’re always asked if there’s a trade up option just like this. In the past, we haven’t had one, which leads to people upgrading and storing old devices in closets or getting rid of them while buying new devices at full price.

As a part of this offer, we want to encourage responsible disposal of older devices. The best way to do that is to make recycling a condition of receiving the discount. We are prioritizing environmental responsibility and encourage our users to responsibly recycle their deactivated products through local e-recyclers. You can find certified e-recyclers here: https://www.google.com/maps/search/e-waste+recycling It’s less environmentally friendly to force everyone to ship these older units to us first than it is to recycle the devices responsibly at a local center.

I understand the reasons but surely these items don't need recycling and therefore the proper thing to do is not to deactivate them. If they are not going back to you anyway let the owner do what they want with them. I appreciate some may sell them the on thus meaning you don't have a potential sale further down the line but dressing it up as ethical  by saying you encourage people to dispose of them responsibly isn't the right way forward. 

Surely you can come up with a better alternative?

The team certainly worked on a lot of options for how best to make this program work. While we’re proud of how long our products last, we don’t really want these old, second-hand products to be the first experience a new customer has with Sonos. We hope that in upgrading to the latest and greatest, people will recycle responsibly, and we feel it’s the right decision to make recycling a condition of this offer. The program itself is also entirely optional, and merely an offer for people with eligible devices.

Ok, I've missed a bit here. How is it a condition of the offer? Do they need to supply evidence that's it's been recycled properly (although reusing it is still the most ethical solution)?

Cheers

Finally someone who cares, see my post also: https://en.community.sonos.com/components-228996/sonos-contributing-to-electronic-waste-6831622#post16370430

No evidence of recycling is needed, the retailer get a £15 credit / contribution to the recycling fee but you know retailers will throw away in general waste and make an extra £15 profit