Just another PSA that you should trade your phone in in person. I shipped mine back via FedEx and it ended up in “Unable to Deliver - Damaged Package” status. Now I have to figure out how to get Apple to help me get something out of FedEx…
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Other Reminder: Do your trades in person
- Thread starter orangecrushv
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Apple has a deal with fedex where Apple will not file a claim against the shipper, presumably for a reduction in shipping costs. This means Apple will “investigate” and issue your trade-in credit.
My trade in last year got lost after I shipped it. I had videos of me packing it, pictures etc. and they denied me the credit and basically told me to f off. Had to pay full price for the phone and still going back and forth with fedex. This year I was able to do it in person and was much better and gave me peace of mind.
My new iphone got delivered to my home. I tried to complete the trade-in at my store but system did not allow. They said I have to drop it at fedex and I did. Now I am worried 😟..
Great advice if you live near an Apple Store. Those of us that don’t are at the mercy of FedEx.
My trade-in kit this year was FedEx. And then FedEx stole my phone. Apple claims they received an empty box.
I also recommend in person for trade ins. I usually have the phone sent to me in the mail, set it up on release day, and the next day trade in my old phone to my local Apple Store.
Thinking I may end up going through the same thing. Didn’t have the option to trade-in store. Sent it off yesterday and it was supposed to be delivered today. Still hasn’t made it and got the “barcode unreadable and had to be replaced” notification. I took plenty of pictures, so will wait and see what they say if/when it doesn’t get delivered.
I’ve had the same experience, if my phone is shipped to me I can’t trade in the old one at a store.
I’ve also never had a problem with FedEx trade-in though (so far).
When I do the Apple trade in I get an e-mail with a QR code and instructions to take it to FedEx where they pack and ship it. FedEx has the Apple boxes and instructions and it just takes minutes to complete. I took my iPhone and an old computer there this week. One has been delivered and the other due to arrive tomorrow. I have tracking and documentation that it is in their hands so not expecting any problems.
I did trade in in person. Walked in, chatted with the staff who asked for photo ID and my credit card. He then proceed to run some internal testing on my phone. Once that was done, gave me back my ID and credit card and off I left. The whole process took no more than 5 mins. 3 days later, money in.
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So if you want to do store trade-in when you ordering online, do you just don't select the trade-in option and bring the trade-in phone to the store after you receive the new phone?
There's no in-store trade-in option when you order online, at least during pre-ordering a new launch phone.
There's no in-store trade-in option when you order online, at least during pre-ordering a new launch phone.
When you bought a new item online, it is very important you opt in trade in option and enter the serial number of your old item. But you don't have to use online trade-in, it just needs to be linked to your new purchased. They have all the records on their server when you go in person.
The differences between doing that and not selecting trade in option is in the way they pay you. If you selected trade-in option, they will direct debit to your credit card. If you didn't, they will give you Apple gift card.
I've read that's hit and miss if you opt into the mail trade-in at the time of purchase, the store may not accept the trade-in device because it's in their system as mail-in.
I went through T-Mobile with a Jump upgrade. I did it all online. I tried to turn my phone in at a T-Mobile store and they told me I absolutely had to mail it in since I did everything online. I was pretty disappointed. I had to mail it via USPS and I don’t trust it at all, but alas.
Dropped mine off at Fed Ex and got a receipt. I guess you can record yourself handing it to the person but not much else.
Traded my X in-store a week after taking my 15PM home. Made sure the new phone was setup the way I wanted and had no defects or performance issues. Took it back to the store and everything was done in around 15-20min..
I just dealt with a trade in snafu. Ordered a 15 Pro Max with trade in kit. The kit never arrived, so I went to the Apple Store with my trade in to see if they could just do it there. They said no problem, however, the system said it was invalid for trade in due to it already being linked to the online trade in kit. A manager said I had to contact Apple support, cancel the trade in, which I did. It automatically charged me the monies that were instantly taken off the 15 when ordered. I then took the phone back to the Apple Store where the only way they could do it was to put the trade in amount on a gift card, then they refunded the gift card back to my original payment method. It was a big mess, but ended up working in the end.
Same happened to me. Mine made it in without issue luckily. My dad brought his phone to a different store and had the same experience trying to do his trade in.
