I have idea I think would benefit Existing Oculus Customers and Oculus the Company as well. (The Rift S is going to flop if they don't get existing customer to buy-in)
1. If you have Oculus Rift with 2 Touch Controllers and 2 Sensors get $150 Trade in Value towards (Rift S only) not the Quest different ECOSystem and will not need help to sell. (You have to buy the Rift S First)Then go to website and fill out form with Serial # of Original Rift and Proof of Purchase by Registering the Rift S online and provide receipt for Rift S. 2. If you only have Rift and 1 Sensor get $100 Trade in Value. Same Steps for Verification as above. 3. Units must be in Working condition and money would come after Oculus receives product back and certified it to be in working order. Also up to 60 Days for Rebate check to be processed. Checks will be mailed to Register user from Oculus Store. 4. Oculus could then Refurbish unit and sell on there Web Site for $199 which would include Headset, Controllers, 2 Sensors. (No Games Included) ($50 Profit would cover Refurbishing Units) Warranty would only be 90 Days from Invoice Date. $199 Price Point would be good Advertisement for Oculus as well.
If they put a Program like this together they would be able to get Early Adopters to move from the Rift to Rift S and for the Refurbish ones they could get Customers in other markets and also new customers who are not willing to pay $399 for VR. Just a thought, but if they were able to put something together by the 4th Quarter of 2019 they would keep the Momentum of the Rift S in the Forefront and also keep their name in the news... Also this would not affect Customer who are considering purchasing one on Launch Day.
I can understand this if someone had just purchased a Rift CV1 in the last month and wanted Rift -S, but why would Oculus want all the hassle of doing what you have suggested? Not only that but whose to say they would profit from doing such a thing? Best bet is to sell the Rift CV1 on ebay if someone is after getting some money to put towards a Rift -S. It's not worth it to Oculus to do what you have suggested because they would be out of pocket IMO.
If Oculus Rift was like a mobile phone contract I could understand it, because they let you trade in your old mobile knowing damn well they are going to make a profit on your old mobile and also on the new contract you have just taken out with them.
RIFT S may flop as they did not have headphones add-ons and the earbuds from Quest are not nice to be sharing ear wax! Our old RIFTS are still very good in comparison for better immersion.
OCULUS don't even do Spares for anything other than Warranties and even the European 2yr time is stretching having to supply that tech to extend after the time anything comes off the market. So they must still provide Warranties for those sold last month and supply for a further 2yrs! That would have been a good idea therefore to have a Parts/Repair Dept. to extend on their Refurbishing Shop!
To Trade-In our RIFTS would be just a kind jesture not seen in any industry and $150 is still too much for them to profit from. You are basically asking them to give you a new RIFT S by the time it is both Refurbished and Sold on. As a business model that is a no. They've looked at all the options I'm sure but what is totally wrong right now is the backwards step with lack of headphones.
Let's face it. This is a VR unit handed over to Lenovo as a write off! "here you can have it but don't make it look like an OCULUS ok?!"
It was a joint design and I doubt any single element such as audio will make it a flop or otherwise.
But anyway, regarding the subject of the thread, yes Oculus could offer trade-ins but there would be a... erm… trade-off and that would be price. There has to be a profit margin of some sort, so trade-ins would mean higher cost of the replacement, it happens with any trade-in offer, the costs are usually just hidden to the consumer. There's no free lunch.
Edit: on the other hand, there's ebay!
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Oculus likely decided after shelving Half Dome for now, to partner with Lenovo and give the PC-VR community a little something - especially as I am sure they knew the other new units that would be coming out. They already had the new Touch Controllers for Quest which could be incorporated into the Rift S.
So while they focused on getting the Quest finished and out the door, they worked with Lenovo to release a small update to Rift - the Rift S at the same time, to try and appease the PC-VR masses that were getting impatient. And hoping the pricing would be good enough to compel both Rift users to upgrade, and new customers to buy in. Obviously some market will be lost to some of these other guys in PC-VR, so they need new buyers.
I doubt Oculus would even consider a trade in, they are probably not making all that much on these units and I am sure will be eventually dropping the price as well. As far as audio, yep that was a disappointment after the audio we got with the CV1 - at least they did provide an audio out jack. I myself have already ordered and received a pair of Klipsch earbuds to use with the Rift S I have on order.
Personally I think at this time the Rift line is the red headed step child for Oculus. Hope that changes some in the future, but I do understand their strategy to go after increasing the VR customer base overall. New customers is what is needed.
Like the President of the company I retired from often said - if we are not growing, we are dying.
