Ranand wrote: The point of the question is that if on the pre order date i.e. tomorrow the servers get jammed and a buyer purchases the verizon phone via apple.com does it retain the eligibility. I think your parallelism is flawed as vzw make their earnings on the service not the handset. That is why the edge program exists. Hope that clarifies the question and diminishes your confusion.

I don't have any confusion. Verizon ALREADY has a phone trade-in program which you can trade-in your phone for a Verizon gift card WITHOUT making a purchase. The trade-in for a set value as advertised is specifically aimed at trading an old iPhone in when purchasing a new iPhone. If you don't purchase a new iPhone, why would you get the SPECIAL pricing for this promotion. I would think you would simply get the pricing on the normal trade-in program which goes without making a purchase. Hope that clarifies the answer and diminishes your confusion.

Possibly you would be able to get the SPECIAL pricing without making a purchase, but I wouldn't count on it.