Trade up scheme

Atlanta non bias veiw 

  So I've owned a connect amp and play 5 gen1 for awhile now that I picked up at a yard sale. Been serving me well and like my used inexpensive hottub and headset, if they broke today, I would be replacing them tomorrow. I've come to realize I can't live without them.

First world problems!

So my amp acts up a little and thinking it's a dead stick, I call Sonos, get an option of a replacement for $350. Something to consider and cheaper than new model at $600. Hit or miss finding one used. Managed to get up and running again by blowing it out and resetting it, but realizing there is a life expectancy!

I think like many people, I look around my house and see old cell phones, speakers, DVD player. Hell 2 tablets, an old PC, a 2 Gig iPod, and a 21" LCD monitor. 

Now they all work, but some are obsolete, a few are old technology unable to keep up, and some have just been replaced to have the bigger, latest and greatest!

Unlike an old TV or receiver that physically outdates due to connection issues, eg. Cables and or Bluetooth capabilities, the Sonos speakers never required anymore than an update to keep them current. But I'm still thinking about the life expectancy. 

So when Sonos offers a trade up for 30% off. I have to consider the offer for what it is. I can gamble that my amp will last another 2-5 years, or bet it will die in the next year. Either way, it's my choice. A nice sale available for the next three months to think about unrushed is attractive. Now I've found when you're working all the time, you don't have time to spend money, let alone deal with selling things you no longer need. Hence the items mentioned above. (I did recycle my old CRT door stop several years back) So when I do spend money, convenience and saving a buck is something I jump on. Otherwise I'm one of those less fortunate people your wanting to give your old unit to, but can't.

I may trade up to a new amp for Christmas before the old one dies, have the latest and greatest with a Two year warranty ( by using my credit card) while saving $180.00. Nice deal! If it dies tonight, I'm paying full price. And with all the talk about recycling, it may be the push I need to gather up all those things, load up the car and finally dispose of them properly.

Let's face it, you look out for you first. If you want a new amp, sell your old one for a profit (or give it away.) Buy a new one at the present cost, and see how you make out. Chances are it will be a financial decision. Sonos trade up offer (or lack of)will make no difference to you.

I don't see this being the downfall of the company, they will come out just fine. Might even raise the used speaker price due to less availability. Win-Win!

Or you can weigh your options and take advantage of a trade up, betting you will only do it if there is personal and financial gain. Or just enjoy what you have and in four or five years gain some bragging rights about choosing Sonos quality speakers that last longer than the import your driving.

So take it, leave it, but talking about it and complaining about it has no value and definitely has nothing to gain from it.

   Thanks for listening.

P.S. if you've been dropping your old phones in the donation box. Bringing your old items to Goodwill, I commend you! Best intentions here, usually. But I do keep a clear conscience knowing at least a little bit of my taxes go to help others, I think! I hope! But definitely recycle everything you can, eventually. That's 100% on you!

No-one’s forcing you, are they?

If the offer’s ‘horrible’ from your perspective, don’t take it. I’m not. For others, it’ll work out well and save them significant sums of money.

I hesitate to say it, but I’m only seeing one source of greed here, and it’s not on Sonos’ side.

Nobody forces us, but it’s disapointing for me.

I own three “old” play:5, one play:3, five play:1, one connect:amp and a bridge.

If the offer was to replace old items for new ones with a 50% discount I would consider a good trade, and I would probably do the effort to take profit of it. But, with the trade up proposed by Sonos, I consider anoying to throw an excelent and working speaker to the rubbish just to get a 30% discount on new ones.

I was a happy Sonos customer just before reading the Trade-up message, now I’m thinking that my brilliant sonos system it’s getting obsolete much earlier that I supposed. For you, my system is just a 10-year old hardware, and for me it was a wonderful investment I’ve been doing during many years. I bought my first two play:5 with a bridge six or seven years ago, and after using them I decided to buy new speakers for the different rooms at my home. I bought my connect:amp just 4 years ago, and I bought the last play:1 couple just one or two years ago (I don’t remember right now).

After reading your trade-up offer, I believe you consider obsolete a 10-year old speaker even if I bought it just three or four years ago. I need to think carefully what to do now, probably if I decide to “replace” my working speakers I would be "forced" in the near feature (maybe in 5 years more? Maybe 7?) to replace them again (how much will it cost next time?). As I have said, this is very annoying for me. Your speakers are not cheap and even if I decide to replace my “old” ones… how long will they last? Now I feel I would be throwing one or two thousend euros just to renew my speakers, but let me insist… how long will last my investment?

Sorry but this is not what I consider a high quality product. I believe that you should offer a better way to renew “old” speakers to your customers.

Regards,

  Manuel Martínez

I think also that Sonos should clarify what would happen in the future with the obsolete speakers. Would they work with new versions of the Sonos App? Could we keep a working version without updating the app? (that seems dificult to believe). Would they have a “first-gen” working app?

I think Sonos is a very good multiroom system with a good app and, until now, it allows you to mix different speakers of different generations… but now, things seems to get worse. To me, the trade-up offer means that they don’t want to continue working to update “old” speakers. I understand it, but one thing is not receiving updates with new features on them and the other is to be unable to use it anymore.  to

I know that Sonos have not announced the end-of-life for old play:5 and connect-amp but that’s what I understand.  

And about the 30% discount. It’s not a wonderful offer, it’s easy to have a 15% discount on Amazon and sometimes a 20%, so the trade-up doesn’t look like a good bussiness at first sight.

Regards,

  Manuel Martínez

I’m glad I read some of these posts before I “blindly” upgraded!  Sonos what the hell are you up to?  I was an extremely early adopter of Sonos, way back when Apple was trying to get people to use Air Tunes, remember that piece of crap?  I’ve actually been responsible for turning a lot of people on to Sonos.

So, if I get this correct, Sonos gives me 30% off the over-priced newer speakers who’s only improvement is that it works with AirPlay 2, but my old Speaker becomes useless!  WTF?  There’s nothing wrong with my current Play 5, it sounds great.  This is really leaving a sour taste in my mouth, and maybe I replace everything with Apple.

Sincerely, an old and now unhappy customer,

Frank Castro

There’s absolutely no requirement for you to upgrade if you choose to continue to use your older generation speakers. However, it appears that if that’s the case, there’s no need to give you a discount on new equipment, either. 

Yes sure, there is no need to upgrade for now. But before the annoucement I was a happy Sonos customer and now I’m not. I used to recommend Sonos speakers and I won’t do it again… there is a slight difference now.

As you say, it’s just my problem and a problem of Sonos customers ... but, in the mean time you can be sure also that it will be also a problem of Sonos.

Why should Sonos do a good offer to keep the customers happy? Don’t worry, just wait and see what happends.

Regards,

  Manuel Martínez

I’m used to consider my phone as a device to update every two or three years, and my computers, my printer and so on.

But I consider my HiFi should last a bit more. Moreover, I would like to be able to decide by myself when is a good time to replace all my sonos devices and not being forced to change them at a time.

Time ago, Ubiquiti did a big change between their first and second generation cameras and the third one. They made a special offer of 50% discount to replace the old cameras by new ones. That was a good offer, and if you didn’t want to change your cameras you they allowed you to continue using them with a concrete NVR sofware on your server. It was a nice offer and at my job, we decided to change a lot of really_old cameras by really_new with high improvements in resolution (that’s the most important thing in a camera). We’re still happy Ubiquiti customers and I still recommend Ubiquiti products. In fact, after that I decided to buy Ubiquiti cameras for my home. That's what I spect of a good company that sells tecnology.

I hope Sonos will think about and gives a solution for their customers, otherwise I believe they will have a problem.

Regards,

  Manuel Martínez

@Ryan S 

If you have such good intentions; what is the idea in destroying the devise and making it irreversible? 

You only incite/encourage to overconsumption when destroying perfectly good products.

When someone agree to the deal and regrets, they might as well have thrown their functional speaker in the trash..

Who is that helping? –Where is the ethics in this?

So how is 'responsibly recycling’ such an old speaker/device not helping? … it’s better than Sonos continuing to make new devices by using even more of the earths natural resources, particularly when many folk just take their speakers off to landfill.. this provides more of an incentive to us ALL to recycle the now rather old Sonos products.

Perhaps read Ryan’s post again …

https://en.community.sonos.com/wireless-speakers-228992/trade-up-scheme-6831609#post16370464