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Thread: Apple phone trade in program is shady

  1. #1
    Cubic Zirconia
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    Apple phone trade in program is shady

    If you plan on trading in an older iPhone when you get a new one, be prepared to be scammed. Apparently Apple contracts out the handling of the trade in phones to a company called Phobio. I was promised $100 when purchasing my $700 new phone through the Apple website but was later told by Phobio that i was only getting $30! They claimed there were a 'few pixels that were dim' when they ran diagnostics on my phone. LOL. There was absolutely nothing wrong with this phone when i sent it in. Its a four year old phone so of course it had minor wear and tear(no damage at all to the phone and all the buttons worked) which Apple knows is going to be the case when they quote you with your trade in value. I called Phobio and they described that Apple sets the prices and they just inspect the trade in phone as Apple has contracted them to do. So then i called Apple and after an hour with a 'manager' I got a $35 refund and a $30 apple store coupon on top of the $30 reduced trade in refund. I was inspired by listening to Druff's customer service experiences but people need to be warned of this scam. Apple knows you're not going to return your new phone after they reduce the trade in refund. The other option is for Phobio to send you your phone back but then what the heck do you do with it? Don't stand for the Apple nonsense!

  2. #2
    Owner Dan Druff's Avatar
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    None of this surprises me.

    Apple customer service is shit, and phone trade-in deals are notoriously bad value, aside from rare promotions where they overvalue your trade-in (but this usually only applies to semi-recent or newer models).

    I would advise selling your phone on eBay in the future (and make sure only to ship within US, and make sure you ship with signature confirmation, so eBay protects you). You get MUCH better value.

    Also, if you have an older iOS (right now 12.1.2 or earlier), people will pay extra because those phones can be jailbroken.

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    Gold gauchojake's Avatar
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    I had a similar experience trying to trade in an old iPhone 6. They told me the phone was worth 100 so I decided to send it in. They took a few weeks and then contacted me and told me it was worth

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    because of a "swollen battery". If you recall there was an issue with the iPhone 6 battery life and they actually replaced the battery in this very phone free of charge.

    Apple CS was absolutely zero help. I didn't even get a coupon just a lot of phony empathy. heyoooooooooooooooooo

    I told them to go fuck themselves and send me my phone back which they did. There is literally nothing wrong with the phone so I grabbed a cheap sim from an MVNO and use it as a backup for my kids.

    Total joke.

  4. #4
    Diamond blake's Avatar
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    you should all be using gazelle

    on 2 occasions, they informed me that i actually undersold the condition of my ipads and told me i'd be getting more than what i agreed to

     
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      Bootsy Collins: That happened to me as well

  5. #5
    Diamond BCR's Avatar
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    I got a flat tire like a week ago up in the middle of nowhere. I wasn’t within a hour of anyone I knew to call, and roadside assistance was going to be like 90-120 minutes from their nearest vendor . Normally I just snap change the tire myself, but I called hoping it would be quick because I was on a residential street with zero light and an incline. So I ended up changing it myself and I was holding my phone in my mouth for light as I was digging out the jack and shit. I dropped my phone and smashed it. I had been paying the scam insurance forever, so they offer to fix the screen for like $29 deductible, but a whole new phone was $99, so I just said I’ll take the new phone. They had same day delivery right to my residence.

    This black kid rolls up in a shitty car. I start making sure I don’t have anything of value on the counter. He comes in and was super pleasant. Kind of a nerdy black tech kid so I just let him do the transfer and shit because I’m useless with that shit and watched the Indians. He takes the SIM card from my phone and puts it in the new phone. Transfers all my shit. Takes off.

    So a few days later I can’t make calls or get texts or anything. All I can dial is Verizon’s #8899 thing for support. I get some tech lady working from home who fixes the issue. Two days later, same thing happens. Call back, get guy, and he asks me if the new SIM card that came with the new phone is still in the box. I have no idea, so I look, and it’s gone. He gives me a,” well that explains it. Someone tried to activate the new SIM card a few hours ago.” So this little fucker must have pocketed my new SIM card and sold it or something. How he didn’t know I’d know this in a few days is beyond me? So they put it in system as stolen and that was a few days ago. I’ve literally been too busy to even make the call and get this little fucker fired. He’s probably doing it again as I write this. When I get time I’m going to attempt to channel my inner Druff and get the kid fired, obtain lifetime free phone insurance, and whatever else I can try to squeeze out of them. I’m bad at that shit over the phone. I’m no Druff. It was some company Asurion that sent him out.

     
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      MumblesBadly: Seriously??? No protective case for an iPhone? Do you *like* throwing away money???

  6. #6
    Plutonium Sanlmar's Avatar
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    I saw Verizon BCR.

    I have a service contract with Verizon. I broke the screen. 2 hours after I placed the service call I had a tech fixing my screen in my office.

    I wrote a post about it. Incredible service in this day and age.


    For trade ins - find a 16 year old kid to list it on eBay for you. There is always some kid everyone knows who hustles phones for his friends and old people.

    Kid develops a good rep on eBay and everyone wins. Prices are usually amazing.

    Why people buy old phones is still hard to follow but they do.

    There is a local kid who does screen repairs with kits he buys. Battery replacements. Resells phones. High school kid. He is so busy he subcontracts some of his work to his friends. The kid is killing it.

    Like every single high school student smashes their phone and is also lazy. amirite?

     
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      MumblesBadly: Are you saying BCR is a dumb as a teenager for not having his iPhone in a protective case?
    Last edited by Sanlmar; 07-21-2019 at 09:42 PM.

  7. #7
    Gold SPIT this's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sanlmar View Post
    find a 16 year old kid to list it on eBay for you.
    There is always some kid everyone know

    Kid develops a good rep on eBay


    There is a local kid who does screen repairs with kits he buys.
    High school kid. He is so busy he subcontracts some of his work to his friends. The kid is killing it.

    Like every single high school student smashes their phone and is also lazy
    and then you blow him?

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