[NewsPoster]

As reported earlier this week, Target is running a promotion that offers a $200 Target gift card in exchange for working iPads of any generation. While intended to be used towards the purchase of new iPad Air models, in at least some locations the card can be used for any product Target sells, generating extra interest. The company has now signalled that the offer will end on Saturday, November 9, giving older iPad owners just two days to take advantage of the deal.

The promotion is especially attractive to owners of the original iPad model or the lower capacities of the iPad 2, both of which generally sell for less than $200. Target itself normally offers only $65 for a 16GB original iPad trade-in. The company is already selling the iPad Air for $475, a bit below Apple's retail cost - making a trade-up from an original or early iPad an exceptionally low-cost deal.

The promotion is only available at Target stores with a Mobile department, which not all stores possess. Whether the $200 (or more, for pristine newer models) gift card must be applied to a new iPad, new Apple product, or is good for anything in the store is another point of confusion among some employees and stores.

To qualify for the $200 or more gift card, a traded-in iPad must be in functional condition with all buttons working and no cracks on the screen. While traders should perform a complete backup of iPad data before trading the unit in, some stores are requiring access to the serial number of the unit, which means that the unit should be erased only after this information is accessed and the trade accepted.

[FrackingCylon1]

I went to my local Target to try and trade in my 1st-gen, 32GB iPad yesterday (11/7). Let me tell you, this is the WORST-run promotion I have ever dealt with! The guys that work the mobility section of the store are kind of independent of Target and not regular employees - this guy, first of all, was 20 minutes late and hadn't worked there in over a week and when questioned, DID NOT EVEN KNOW ABOUT THE PROMOTION! No one had briefed him and he gets notifications by email that he can access only on-site, so there was no way for him to get notice before he came in - really bad. I blame corporate and management for this.

Then we find out that we CANNOT in fact get the trade-in value as a Target gift card. I was going to save the gift card for when the new iPad Mini came out, so this didn't work for me at all. ON TOP OF ALL THAT - they did not have any new iPad Airs in stock! So you'd be stuck having to do a trade-in with an iPad 4. Where all these notices that you could get a Target gift card came from, I don't know, but they did a terrible job of getting their facts straight...no thanks Target, I will not be making my technology purchases with you! Back to eBay or Amazon to sell my old iPad...

[lordshaq]

Odd, I managed to get a 200 dollar Target gift card for an old first gen iPad in about 10 minutes, they just powered it on and made sure the screen didnt have any scratches.

[ryanjo]

Total scam. As mentioned above, you have to complete a transaction the day of the trade in. And they have none of the new models. When it sounds too good to be true...