Trading Faces
Google wants you to upgrade your Pixel Watch every year
There are few things that are considered to be as enduring and long-lasting as a quality timepiece.
A quality wristwatch can easily be passed down so generations to come will never be late for an appointment. Could that mentality be going away with the advent of the smartwatch? Can any company design a watch that is both smart and timeless?
These thoughts come on the heels of the MadeByGoogle event this week where Google announced a plethora of devices which included the Pixel Watch 3 smartwatch.
As an owner of the Pixel Watch 2, I wasn't really planning on getting another watch. The Pixel Watch 2 has been fine. It excels in the looks department and lags behind in the battery life department. I could easily live at least one more year (hopefully more) with it on my wrist if chose too.
But then Google threw me a curveball. They were going to offer me $220 to trade-in my basically new Pixel Watch 2 to upgrade to the latest model.
Now I think most of us have grown accustomed to trading in our old phones in order to get a discount on the newly released version. But should this same blueprint be used for watches too?
However you look at it, the tactic worked on me. I did indeed order a Pixel Watch 3. Was I suckered in by a questionable sales tactic? What are they going to do with my traded in watch?
These are all reasonable questions to ask, but it seems like the smartwatch trade-in game is now going to be the norm when it comes to the annual upgrade cycle. Are watches becoming a disposable item only intended to last a year?
I'm now programmed to trade in both my phone and my watch every year for a newer, sexier version. We can see how that might be problematic right? But Google's juicy trade-in values may be too good to pass up.
Let's do a quick exercise. What are the going rates for used Pixel Watch 2's on eBay? Unused models seem to peak at $184. If you were to go buy a brand new base model Pixel Watch 2 from the Google Store today it would cost you $249. So I'm getting $220 for a watch I've had for a year. Not too shabby.
Obviously Google has run all the numbers and done the math. They think that the revenue generated from these trade-in deals justify the costs. It can be a decent deal to upgrade your watch every year if you'd like. I'd say that the improvements on watches each year are even more minimal than the improvements on smartphones.
While we're on the topic of trade-ins, Google was pretty generous with their offers for smartphones. When purchasing a new Pixel 9 Pro for $999, I was eligible to get $699 off when trading in a Pixel 8 Pro. But remember how my Pixel 8 Pro was lost on a bike ride a few months back? No worries. I was able to scoop one up on eBay for $365. The trade-in game gives an inflated value to old phones from the used marketplace. You don't really care which carrier the phone connects to or if it has some scratches. As long as the thing powers on, Google is going to give you that full trade-in value.
As you can tell, the economics of smart phone upgrades can get pretty complicated. And this is before you even consider that a majority of Americans purchase their new phones from their carrier and pay it off via bill credits. The whole "new every two" mindset of biennial upgrades seems like an antiquated notion these days.
And a final note on how Google handles these trade-in finances. Unlike Samsung who essentially employs an honor system where they discount the phone for the amount of your trade-in, Google charges you full price. Then after they receive your device they will refund you back the value of your trade-in. It's a much more clumsy process that is ripe with potential sticking points. Was the trade-in product shipped to the correct address? Did it arrive on time? Did they confirm that it was in working order? And then you need to wait for everything to be processed. It isn't the smoothest process and it can take way longer than you'd expect.
Anyway, as we enter the season of new device releases and old device trade-ins, may we all appreciate these magical new pieces of technology. And give thanks to the old pieces that served us well over the last year...or in some cases months.
Thanks for reading, I’ll see you next week!
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