(Worst) Deal of a Lifetime: Retailer Offers Apple’s iPhone 6 for Just $150 When You Trade in an iPhone 6s Plus

Whether the result of simple human error, or an outright, highly-calculated marketing scam, all its own, one of India’s largest and most popular e-Commerce retailers earlier this week launched perhaps the most equally hilarious and head-scratching promotion in its history.

Flipkart specializes in the sale of everything from electronics, to home furnishings, and even clothing and accessories for men, women, and children and is known for launching special, limited-time promotions for its many deal-seeking customers on the web. However, whether the retailer intended so or not, its most recent promotional offering is definitely one for the books.

Riding high on the coattails of success from previous smartphone trade-in promotions, Flipkart is now offering users as much as Rs 22,000 ($324.08) in discounts toward the purchase of a base-model iPhone 6 — when you trade in your “old smartphone” for the device, and tack on Flipkart’s generous Rs 5,000 ($73.65) discount that is already being applied to the iPhone 6 by default. In other words, if you trade in your current, fully functional smartphone to Flipkart, you’ll be able to obtain a shiny new iPhone 6 for as little as Rs 10,000 ($147.31!) That’s a deal we think anyone can get on board with, wouldn’t you agree?

The only catch, unfortunately — and yes, there certainly is a catch to this deal — is that, in order to qualify for the maximum 22,000 Rupee discount, you’d have to trade in a fully functional iPhone 6s Plus.

You might be thinking, “I have to give these people my newer, more expensive, more advanced, and all-around higher-performing, 5.5-inch iPhone 6s Plus — and all I’ll get in exchange is a standard, 4.7-inch iPhone 6 for $150 more?” And the answer is yes, that is the “deal.”

To be fair, the discount won’t only apply if you trade in your iPhone 6s Plus, but also in conjunction with a laundry list of other, higher-end Android handsets, as well. Unfortunately, however, the amount of discount you’ll receive in exchange for any other handset is far less — ranging between Rs 10,000 ($147.31) and Rs 14,000 ($206.23) — than the quoted Rs 22,000 being offered for an iPhone 6s Plus. For instance, even trading in a comparable iPhone 6 for another iPhone 6, if you could even imagine doing such a thing, will result in a discount of only Rs 17,840 ($262.80).

Even with all these discounts and trade-in promotions, you’d still be looking at an Rs 10,000 ($147.31) price for a brand-new iPhone 6. Of course, if to get the offer you’d have to trade in your even newer, more powerful, and feature-packed smartphone, only to cover a portion of the price, it doesn’t really sound like that good of a deal anymore, does it?

You’d never trade your current-generation iPhone in for an older model, would you?
Let us know in the comments!