I traded in my wife's XS Max and it went from $380 to $80. They stated there was a problem with Face ID. That might actually be the case because my wife said she turned it off when masks started being a thing. Either way, for only $80 I'd rather just have it back. My son can use it
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Other Received a “Revised Trade-In” Value for my iPhone 12 Pro Max - Anyone else in the same boat?
- Thread starter ks_2933
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If it were a scam, do you seriously think Apple would use them? And how would you explain all the thousands of devices that DO get the full trade-in value? In fact, I traded in an old, scuffed up iPad 3 and got six times the estimated value (thread here). So, no, clearly not a "scam". Assuming the OP's phone wasn't actually damaged in transit (or just coincidentally had a hardware failure occur at this very time, that would have also happened had he kept it), then this is likely a mixup that occurred. But definitely not a scam.
It doesn't happen all the time but, it happens a lot. So much so that Phobio created an account on here and elsewhere to try and quell the plethora or angry customers getting ripped off by low to 0 dollar trade-in when something much higher was quoted. Granted, not everyone who sends in is honest about the condition, not to mention there are probably some damaged in transit because Phobio uses crappy boxes with no real padding. That still leaves many, many unhappy people.
Just because Apple hasn't done anything about the situation doesn't mean that Phobio isn't screwing a lot of people out of money.
Do a search you will see a lot of complaints.
As far as I am concerned, Phobio trash and shouldn't be trusted.
Again, whatever else may be true of it, my point is it's obviously not a scam. I know it's common to use emotionally charged words like that on forums, but I have this thing about accusing people or companies of illegal activity without actual proof. If they were a scam company, you'd hear nothing BUT complaints. The company would also likely be investigated. The fact remains, the majority of people seem quite satisfied, and of course most of them don't get on the forum to start a thread about how they got their estimated trade-in value; normally only the people who don't do, so it's easy for our minds to overestimate the percentage of legitimate complaints vs. satisfied customers because we're reading more about the unsatisfied customers.
I am not emotional. A person getting quoted $100 dollars with device in condition as stated and then being told by Phobio that there is something wrong with the device and the offer is $10 when there was nothing wrong, is a scam in my book. I don't care if you agree or not. Just because some are happy doesn't mean others aren't getting screwed. You are trying to make an argument using logical fallacy. I am not interested in arguing over this company any further tonight. My time is better spent elsewhere on the forum.
Bold/underlined phrase above is assumption on your part (which, even if true, still is not conclusive of a scam/fraud, as it could also be due to human error). I suggest not calling people scammers based on assumptions. It can get you into trouble. "Some" are happy? I'd say the vast majority are.
Sorry you're upset I didn't agree with you, but I think words matter and "scam" is a very strong word that should not be used lightly or in a knee-jerk/emotional (yes, emotional) fashion. You need actual hard evidence, not merely conjecture or (at best) circumstantial evidence.
I did the trade for mine in store tonight. Will go back on Monday and do the trade for my wife’s. Based on the answers to the questions the guy put into his device about my SE there should not be a problem getting Apple’s top price for her iPhone 11.
So, also, how many people do you think trade in their phones and misrepresent the ACTUAL condition of the phone because it will fetch a higher trade in value and hope that the company doesn't do due diligence in inspecting it?
And there may even be people that don't even realize the actual condition of their phone is worse than they think.
I posted this elsewhere in this forum, but I’ve traded in through Apple via mail in and the AT&T store.
I’ve never had a problem either way.
I did like the instant relief when taking them up to the AT&T store though.
This time around I traded in two 11PM’s for two 13PM’s. I did the AT&T $1000/36 month deal, since I have a Govt FAN discount and I’m not going anywhere.
Anyway, I boxed up my old phones, dropped them off at the UPS store on a Monday. They went from Atlanta to Texas.
Apple sent me an e-mail three days later stating “You’re good to go…both got the $1000.
They both were in great shape though, in cases and screen protectors from day one, but still that was too fast. It was like they didn’t even test them.
I’m thinking that they contract out to multiple companies and that each one is a little different.
I’ve never had a problem either way.
I did like the instant relief when taking them up to the AT&T store though.
This time around I traded in two 11PM’s for two 13PM’s. I did the AT&T $1000/36 month deal, since I have a Govt FAN discount and I’m not going anywhere.
Anyway, I boxed up my old phones, dropped them off at the UPS store on a Monday. They went from Atlanta to Texas.
Apple sent me an e-mail three days later stating “You’re good to go…both got the $1000.
They both were in great shape though, in cases and screen protectors from day one, but still that was too fast. It was like they didn’t even test them.
I’m thinking that they contract out to multiple companies and that each one is a little different.
The thread does not need you to monitor. He is entitled to say what he wants to say.
Yep it wouldn’t be a shock if they had quotas to maintain in that a certain percentage must be marked down.
Last year I did the AT&T $800/30 month trade in with an xR and an 8.
The new iPhone 12’s were shipped to me.
I could mail the old in OR take it to the store. I took them to the store and they were approved for the full amount on the spot.
Apple said this year that if I took them into the store, I might get actual trade in amount ($500 I think) and not the $1000 each.
They had the quote numbers mixed up on the two boxes for the two 11 PM iPhones that I was sending in.
I called Apple so that I wouldn’t mix them up. That’s when he told me not to take them to the store.
And I am entitled to respond to it since he posted it in a public forum. Or do you extend that right only to people with whom you agree? If I see someone accusing a person or company of fraudulent behavior without solid evidence, I will call that out, and I did. Because it's wrong.
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This... Repeat after me... Always. Trade. In. At. The. Store.
Never ship...lost or stolen in transit, legitimate or bogus valuation changes...hand it to an Apple Store staff person and be done.
the third-party companies that Apple uses have no reason to lie, or do they? the employee who opens the box just scans the barcode, put it in the correct bin and send it down the line for another employee to physically inspect the phone based on whatever criteria they have. (scratches, dents, cracked glass, bad display, water damage, etc, etc, etc) I seriously doubt that they have the time to make false accusations about the condition of the phone. 
if I have to guess, it was probably damaged during shipping. They use these "tiny" cardboard boxes to ship the trade-in phones. I'm surprised that more aren't damaged. When I shipped 2 of my phones a couple of months ago, the labels were FedEx and going to a facility next to DFW airport in Texas. FedEx and most shippers are notorious for throwing and dropping packages. The unlucky phones most likely get internal damage from the shocks.
when I ship the phone myself, I pack it very well... I wrap the phone in its original box with bubble wrap. It is place inside another small cardboard box and placed in a larger box.. protected by plastic airbags(like the ones Amazon uses)... then I place it inside a 20x20x20 double-walled cardboard box. Ridiculous? Mabye... but I was shipping a $1200 phone to my sister-in-law and I didn't want to take chances. Obviously, I also declared the full $1200 value to FedEx and paid extra for it.
if I have to guess, it was probably damaged during shipping. They use these "tiny" cardboard boxes to ship the trade-in phones. I'm surprised that more aren't damaged. When I shipped 2 of my phones a couple of months ago, the labels were FedEx and going to a facility next to DFW airport in Texas. FedEx and most shippers are notorious for throwing and dropping packages. The unlucky phones most likely get internal damage from the shocks.
when I ship the phone myself, I pack it very well... I wrap the phone in its original box with bubble wrap. It is place inside another small cardboard box and placed in a larger box.. protected by plastic airbags(like the ones Amazon uses)... then I place it inside a 20x20x20 double-walled cardboard box. Ridiculous? Mabye... but I was shipping a $1200 phone to my sister-in-law and I didn't want to take chances. Obviously, I also declared the full $1200 value to FedEx and paid extra for it.
my nearest Apple Store is 2.5 hours away... but if I have to trade in phones again, I'll definitely make the drive. (well, depending on the value of the phone being traded in, of course... not going to drive 2.5 hours or 5 hours round trip to trade in a $100 or $200 phone at the Apple Store)
I just got the iPhone 13 Pro Max 256gb two days ago. I'm pretty sure that I'll be trading it for the iPhone 14 Pro Max when it comes out next September. At that time, I assume the 13 Pro Max will be worth at least $500 to $600, which means I'll drive to the Apple Store in person to make the trade-in.
The carriers give out bill credits that force you to stay with that carrier till they finish. Apple actually takes the trade in off the price of the iPhone. Apples vs oranges.
After that detailed comedic analysis I can only say “Bazinga!”First, I want to extend compassion because it sounds incredibly frustrating. Also, I’ve been in a similar situation and have too learned to only trade in store. I hope it ends up working out well for you.
But second, I want to offer this as a hopefully humorous distraction. An excerpt from your post is above; it seems that you might have been suggesting that you treat your phone better than your wife treats her phone. Grammatically, it's ambiguous, at best, because it reads as you treat your phone better than you treat your wife. I want to think that you intended the former meaning and that in your legitimate plea for compassion you did not just announce to the world that you treat your phone better than you treat your wife.
So I got emailed that my trade in was complete on Friday and that I would be getting the quoted $640 for my 12 Pro. Checked my credit card account today and I actually got a credit for $695.20. Anyone else manage to get more for their trade-in upon getting the credit?
The additional credit is the sales tax refund. I got it for both mine and my wife’s phones when I dropped them off at a local Apple store.
Glad you received some good news from Apple! So sorry you had to go through all that.
Years ago before the IUP I wanted to get Apple Care on a new iPhone a few days after I bought it. When I called Apple they ran a quick diagnostic on my iPhone to check the screen and overall health of the iPhone to make sure I didn’t already damage it. I wonder if Apple could enable some sort of Trade In feature that would do a diagnostic before shipping and send the results to Apple. They could run the same thing upon receipt to determine if the iPhone was damaged in transit. 🤔
Years ago before the IUP I wanted to get Apple Care on a new iPhone a few days after I bought it. When I called Apple they ran a quick diagnostic on my iPhone to check the screen and overall health of the iPhone to make sure I didn’t already damage it. I wonder if Apple could enable some sort of Trade In feature that would do a diagnostic before shipping and send the results to Apple. They could run the same thing upon receipt to determine if the iPhone was damaged in transit. 🤔