Trade in/Upgrade Program

[jball40]

I've been a fitbit user for a little over a year now, receiving one as a gift last Christmas. Now seeing how my flex is so behind the times, I would like to upgrade to one of the HR ones. However, spending another 130-150 is very difficult. Wanting Fitbit to offer an upgrade or trade in program to allow for this to be more affordable.

Moderator Edit: Title & Labels

[JohnWalker80]

I agree totally with this comment, I had email them directly to discuss that below is the content of the message I got in reply...

Hi John,

Thank you for your suggestion and for being a great Fitbit customer and user.

We apologize that our response took more than 48 hours. We have received several requests to implement plans such as this, for exchanges or upgrades to the Fitbit Blaze.

From all of the suggestions and requests for us to start exchange or upgrade plans, we've yet to truly implement one. While we're aware of the benefits that this might bring to users such as yourself, we still have no confirmation if such a policy will take place within the coming months. We truly appreciate that you took the time to let us know how useful it would be for someone that would prefer a more business-appropriate look on their fitness wristband.

We'll be sure to get this information to our other teams and maybe some sort of program will be opened up closer to the Blaze's release. Unfortunately there is nothing that we could confirm or guarantee happening in the future.

Thank you so much for your feedback. If you require any sort of assistance please let us know and we'll gladly help you.

Sincerely,

Christian Z. and the Fitbit Team

[kriszehn]

Myself and many others have been dedicated customers to Fitbit for some time now. I have loved every Fitbit I have owned. -- a Force ((returned upon recall)), a Flex ((still have)), and the Charge ((use everyday)) -- It would be amazing if we could trade-in usable devices to upgrade to newer devices when they come out. Any bit would help and its great incentive to upgrade!

[Sisco]

I think it would be a good idea to begin a recycling/ upgrade program. For people who have, for example, a Flex but have decided they would rather have the a Charge HR, what are the chances that they're going to go out and drop an additional $150 on a new tracker. It would also be more eco-friendly. Instead of just throwing out or getting rid of old trackers, we should be able to trade them in or recycle them and get cash or a credit towards a new tracker.

[SallyMae22]

I would love a trade in program. I have a zip and a flex. I wear my flex all the time and feel bad that my zip isn't getting any use. Now I am thinking about getting the Alta but I don't want to have 2 unused fitbits lying around the house.

[hoofbeats95]

I would also like a trade in. I have a flex. I upgraded to the charge just over a month ago. Bad timing! I'd rather have the Alta. Totally bummed as the charge is really not feminine.

[tlb744]

Fitbit reallys needs a trade in program.  I originally had a flex that was replaced and the new one wouldn't sync properly, so i ended up getting a charge hr for christmas that, well also has sync issues that fitbit seems to be aware of and working to fix.  So right after the holiday's, fitbit decides to introduce two new products that I would be very interested in purchasing, but have a brand new charge hr.  Would love to be able to trade in my brand new fitbit for one of the newer products! 

[firefly1928]

Desperate for this to happen as I am currently unemployed so I have so much more time to work on my fitness and would also like to upgrade from the flex to the new blaze maybe but I cannot afford £160 for what is really just a fancy watch/pedometer. Especially when the flex cost £60+ in the first place!

[Mgruber]

Dear Fitbit, I have been a long time user of the flex and enjoy every second of this product. My wife just bought the surge and I have been seeing may emails and updates for the Blaze. I would like to pre-order the Blaze but will no longer have a use for my flex, which I spent $100+ on and is still in great use. Will you ever off some kind of trade in program so that I can turn my flex back into fitbit and purchase the new Blaze? They have these programs for all apple phones, so that you can purcahse the latest and greatest. But, somewhere you have to draw the line on just throwing the old model in a box and never using it again... 

I will not be upgrading until there is a program in place for my flex. 

Thank you! 

[WillowWagner]

@Mgruber  Sell it on ebay.  You'll get more that way than in trade in, anyway.  Just a thought.

[St3F1985]

FitBit Team!

The trade-in idea is awesome! 

One thing FitBit could do with the older versions, is donate to local schools for elementary/junior high students... Get children motivated to be active, almost like the NFL motivates children through Play60. 

Just like the other users, I would love to upgrade from the Flex to the Charge.. My Flex only works when it wants to. It was fine last week, and this week, it will fully charge, but as soon as I remove it and place back in my bracelet, completely dies. 

At least with a trade-in program, FitBit will have extremely loyal clients.

Thanks for hearing our voices!

Stephanie 

[SunsetRunner]

I have had my Fitbit Charge for a little less than a year and I love using it. However, I have had some issues with the plastic separating from the rubber part of the device. Fitbit Support is absolutely amazing and graciously provided me with a new one last fall, free of cost to me! Unfortunately this has happened again, so this time I was thinking it would be cool to either switch my tracker for a different one that is the same price, or to slightly upgrade my tracker and just pay for the difference. However, this type of a program currently does not exist, but I think it would be incredibly beneficial for Fitbit to adopt! They've already got the best customer support from any company I've ever incountered, having a trade in/upgrade program would just put them completely over the top as a company! 

[Birdie32]

I agree. I haven't had problems with mine but would love to upgrade to another model but don't want to pay again. An upgrade program would entice me to put some more money into a newer model. Please start doing this for us! 

[Fennox]

I'm on my third Charge HR in a year. The band keeps breaking, bubbling or pulling apart. Customer support are happy to replace it with the same model under warranty - but I think it is disappointing they will not just exchange it for a model where this band issue will not be an ongoing problem.

[Bluewaterdogs]

I too am a long time Fitbit user. It started with the Fitbit Ultra several years ago. I received a Charge HR last year as a gift. Love the HR but would also like to see interchangeable bands. I purchased an Alta for the fact that is has interchangeable bands, but miss the heart rate monitoring capability. Ideally i would like own both the Alta and the Surge. A trade in program for my HR would make it a reality.

[GabinkaP]

I believe that when Fitbit is going to offer a replacement, especially a 2nd replacement of your present tracker, you should have the option of trading up to another tracker, so long as you pay the difference.

Today, I'm getting a replacement for my replacement Flex I got for my originally bought Flex. Now you have the Alta, which I'm interested in but won't buy until maybe Black Friday.  So instead of sending me another Flex and no money changing hands, they'd get $30.95 in difference for the Alta and I'd also buy the One Sleep Band for $14.95. 

Fitbit Flex costs $99.95. They replaced it once.  Now it's basically free to me. They sent me a $99.95 flex after all.  Now they're sending another one. So they're out another $99.95.

Or they could get $30.95 and make some money. 

As it is, I'll probably wait until Black Friday in November, buy the Alta with a discount and sell my Flex on eBay. So I'll probaby make money in the end. And Fitbit will get less than the $129.95 value they would've gotten in a) not having to send me another $99.95 device, and b) the $30.95 I would have given them.

And might I suggest that if you have to replace your product more than once, there's probably a breakdown in quality assurance somewhere down the pipeline in the making of your products?

Gabrielle

[St3F1985]

I completely agree! Thank you for sharing that information.
As its been months since this original post, my FitBit, once again, isn't tracking properly. It picks it's own 24 hours to start and end, it's not tracking my steps by day. I think I am going to reach out to them and see about an upgrade for being a loyal customer.

Sent from my iPhone

[paul.h]

I'm on my 4th Charge in 8 months (first didn't switch on, second bluetooth failed, third plastic peeled) and I suggested exactly this to customer support. I appreciate the repeated replacement but there are clearly manufacturing/design flaws if so many have failed. I'd therefore appreciate the opportunity to switch to a different product, paying only the difference but this option doesn't exist. Let's hope this can change.

[MorganKuhn]

I'm here to request updates with the Alta. 1, i think you need to upgrade to heartrate and a backlight. I cannot even see mystats when i'm running outside or doing anything outside.

Moderator Edit: Formatting

[Volleyballer]

If someones watch has an error that ocurrs - no fault fo their own - if they are able to upgrade to a watch of their choice with them making up the difference in cost between their current watch and the one they desire it would be a great way for customers to stay even more motivated with newer models. 

Moderator edit: format.

[MorganKuhn]

I think this is a pretty good idea. Except, if a customer has a technical
problem with their device, and they have a warranty, they could trade it in
for a new one. The problem could just be with that individual device, not
the whole brand. Therefore, they have a pretty good chance of getting a
working new one.

[St3F1985]

I'm out of warranty, so unfortunately, I have no resolution to my problem. Been about 4 months without a working FitBit. Not sure if I will buy another one.

Sent from my iPhone

[SunsetRunner]

Like stated so many times before, I would love to be able to have the opportunity to upgrade from my current Charge HR. A trade-in programm would help customer retention and encourage brand loyalty.

[gtfd503]

Have you given any thought to an upgrade program?  I have have a couple of issues with the fitbit model I have chosen and since it is being replaced anyway would have liked to try a different model.  Fitbit has been great about replacing units but in fear of now more issues with the same model I would be more interested in a different model without having to just start over from scratch since I have so much invested in the current model...

[PrincessTink384]

I would love to upgrade My charge to a charge hr but if fitbit had a trade in program that would be great.

[Eurocelt]

I agree, I have had minor issue, and after company subsidized purchase of a flex, now see the value and would also like to upgrade and gain more features.

Returning / loyal customers are undoubtedly the best sales generator.

Why not?