Don’t think your phone will last until Thanksgiving? Trade it in right now!
Samsung’s preorder window for the Galaxy S23 series comes to an end February 17 at 12:00 AM Pacific Time, so you have mere hours left to take advantage. Even playing it safe, the Galaxy S23 Ultra is without a doubt one of the best Android phones you can buy today, and you should get the lowest price you can on one, which means getting it today before offers expire.
The dearth of phone deals in 2023
Samsung isn’t the only company facing hard times right now, and while you may not cover deals and e-Commerce like we here at Android Police do, you’re likely noticing that deals for quite literally everything you can buy are getting fewer and farther between. From groceries to games to electronics, deals have dwindled over the last several months — even 2022’s Black Friday deals were relatively slim compared to the three previous years (pre-and post-pandemic). Outside the Google Pixel 7 series and 6a, we’ve seen perilously few phone deals in 2023 so far beyond budget phones, and even the new OnePlus 11 saw few preorder sales.
The lackluster trade-in values when trading in a phone to Samsung for an unlocked Galaxy S23 were the latest and clearest indicator that deals for the Galaxy S23 are going to be scarce for the next several months. Only getting $400 for trading in a Galaxy S22 Ultra or $200 for a Galaxy S21 doesn’t help much when the “baby” S23 is $800 — and when the base model has slower storage speeds compared to the 256GB model.
I mean, are you kidding us with this, Samsung?
Carrier trade-in + preorder perks = unbeatable deals
We’ve explained this already in our best Galaxy S23 deals guide, but if you’re after a Galaxy S23 Ultra — and especially if you’re after the S23 and S23+ — your best deal combines both carrier deals and Samsung’s preorder bonuses. By ordering and starting your carrier trade-in through Samsung’s website, you get up to $1,000 off S23 models on AT&T and T-Mobile ($800 off for Verizon users) in addition to the free storage upgrade and up to $150 of Samsung Instant credit to use on accessories.
This allows you to get the most bang for your buck, provided you have enough cash on hand to cover the upfront cost of the device. If you trade in to your carrier via Samsung, you pay the full device cost up front and then get your unlimited phone service bill lowered by $800 or $1,000 over the next 2–3 years. This is different from trading in at a carrier store or website where you don’t pay up front but will have to pay if you leave the carrier or change away from an unlimited plan. Because you pay outright, it is your phone free and clear, and you can do what you want with it. If you need to change carriers, though, you lose out on however many months left of re-payments.
Want to have your carrier trade-in cake and eat it, too? That’s where Best Buy comes in handy. Best Buy offers carrier trade-in deals atop the same storage upgrade, but rather than getting a Samsung.com instant credit that you have to spend immediately and can’t be used towards any product with a current sale or rebate, you get a non-expiring $50–$100 Best Buy digital gift card.
Amazon is also offering a gift card without an expiration date, but unlike Samsung and Best Buy, Amazon doesn’t offer trade-in as part of your purchase. You can sell your phone via Amazon if you’d like, but you’re likely better off going to a dedicated used phone market like Swappa or Gazelle.
Whichever of these three deals you want to take advantage of, the storage upgrade, free gift cards, and credits end tonight. Generous carrier trade-ins will almost certainly continue, but the full trade-in amount might be restricted to fewer phones than are accepted during the preorder window.
