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What’s the current position re trade up?

For example, as I understand it the unit no longer gets bricked, can continue to be used and can even be sold.

If so, what is the downside? i.e. if the discount simply sits there forever and the kit works exactly the same, then why wouldn’t everyone trigger a trade-up for every piece of kit ‘just in case’?

Or am I missing something?

I think that one is more likely to buy something if there is a discount waiting. Plus, if S2 offers compelling features, there is more incentive to upgrade. For example Arc is not welcome in an S1 system.


One downside is that, at present, secondhand prices of old Sonos gear are dependent on whether they have been used in the trade-up program or not. So you may have more difficulty selling it - though demand for old Sonos kit seems fairly buoyant at the moment.

Of course, the trade-up terms are completely under Sonos’ control, so if they terminate the trade-up program, the situation will change, and it may make the fact that a unit has been used in trade-up irrelevant.

Another factor is that you are forced to use Sonos directly. As far as I can establish, Sonos have cut all of their retailers out of the discount process, so you must buy directly from them to claim the discount. As a result, the discount will always apply to “full retail” - though at 30% it’s hard to imagine many retailers wanting to undercut the Sonos online store anyway.


One downside is that, at present, secondhand prices of old Sonos gear are dependent on whether they have been used in the trade-up program or not. So you may have more difficulty selling it - though demand for old Sonos kit seems fairly buoyant at the moment.

Of course, the trade-up terms are completely under Sonos’ control, so if they terminate the trade-up program, the situation will change, and it may make the fact that a unit has been used in trade-up irrelevant.

Another factor is that you are forced to use Sonos directly. As far as I can establish, Sonos have cut all of their retailers out of the discount process, so you must buy directly from them to claim the discount. As a result, the discount will always apply to “full retail” - though at 30% it’s hard to imagine many retailers wanting to undercut the Sonos online store anyway.

All good points - I hadn’t thought about the effect on re-sale, as I very rarely sell anything ;-)