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Official iPhone Refund Policy Tomorrow?

MacRumors

MacRumors

macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
63,509
30,784


Apple's unexpected $200 iPhone price drop caught many of the iPhone's early adopters off guard and has generated a lot of animosity across ours and Apple's forums.

Those of you who have bought an iPhone in the past 14 days are eligible for a price protection guarantee... but if you bought before then, you may be out of luck.... or are you?

According to Veronica Belmont, she was told by a friend that they were able to get a $200 refund from his local Apple Store despite purchasing his iPhone 2 months ago. This was, of course, after spending an hour on the phone.

Of interest, he was also warned and that as of tomorrow there would be an official policy in place regarding iPhone refunds... which sounds like they'll lock down the 14 day refund policy, so if you want a refund -- now's the time.

Article Link
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2007/09/05/official-iphone-refund-policy-tomorrow/
N

nismo

macrumors member
Aug 27, 2007
78
0
hopefully this will make a lot of people happy if they refund everybody.
 
J

jt2ga65

macrumors regular
Jul 1, 2007
197
0
At this point, I would be surprised if it was not a big middle finger at the early adopters. Hey, I'm still willing to be converted to an Apple fan again, but I'm stinging at the extra $100 a month for the iPhone.

-jt2
 
coolbreeze

coolbreeze

macrumors 68000
Jan 20, 2003
1,809
1,554
UT
Um, they are not going to refund everyone who bought on launch day, weeks ago, etc. If any, maybe those within the 14 return window, since they could just return/rebuy/cause a stink if Apple doesn't accept a return.

If AAPL refunded everyone's money, that would set a dangerous precedent. Any time a price falls on a product, there will be mobs of people saying "well I paid $400 last month and now it's cheaper, etc." No way Apple will open this can of worms.
 
R

rikers_mailbox

macrumors 6502a
Sep 27, 2003
739
0
LA-la-land
coolbreeze said:
If AAPL refunded everyone's money, that would set a dangerous precedent. Any time a price falls on a product, there will be mobs of people saying "well I paid $400 last month and now it's cheaper, etc." No way Apple will open this can of worms.
Click to expand...

Actually, it wouldn't hurt AAPL's bottom line (I assume you were referring to stock price). Don't forget that iPhone sales are recognized under subscription accounting on a straight-line basis over a 24-month period. A price refund would NOT negatively impact past earnings, only future.
 
A

aerospace

macrumors 6502a
Jun 26, 2007
661
0
you do realize that refunding 1million phones for 200 each is 200 million dollars

apple may be nice but for 200million they should just let people be mad a couple of days
 
longofest

longofest

Editor emeritus
Jul 10, 2003
2,924
1,682
Falls Church, VA
coolbreeze said:
If AAPL refunded everyone's money, that would set a dangerous precedent.
Click to expand...

The precedent has already been set.

aerospace said:
you do realize that refunding 1million phones for 200 each is 200 million dollars

apple may be nice but for 200million they should just let people be mad a couple of days
Click to expand...

Personally, I don't think Apple needs to refund the entire $200 per iPhone. $100 would go a long way to soothing people. Assuming they go with $100, if they do what they did with Aperture and they give the "refunds" as Apple Store gift certificates, the bottom line would be less than a $100 million loss, because Apple would be making money on the purchases bought on the gift certificate.

Either way, it may be a necessary cost for Apple to take, given the reaction people are having. In the end, Apple's profits are extremely high on this product, and they will still make a ton of money. $100 million or there abouts may seem like a lot, but they are probably going to make close to if not over $1 billion this quarter.
 
hard-case

hard-case

macrumors regular
Jul 10, 2007
210
3
Well, if you read the actuall post from Veronica Belmont, it sound like the 'policy' will be nothing more than a restatement of the 14 day price policy, or at the very, very most a codifying of the 'August 1st/4th or later' as has been floating around the forums.

C'est la vie!
 
O

OneTraveler

macrumors member
Oct 16, 2002
85
66
End of the Earth
Refund?

Come on people! We all KNEW there was going to be a price drop at some time. When you want the latest and greatest, you are going to get burned on the price. That's just the way it goes. Pay more and enjoy it now, or wait and save a few bucks later. I wanted it sooner. $200 drop? Meh, I've enjoyed it $200 worth. If you are upset over it, maybe have some restraint on your purchases next time.
 
millerrh

millerrh

macrumors 6502
Sep 14, 2005
463
32
The precedent has been set with what they did with Aperture. I sure hope they do this. Even if it is $100 it would show they care about their early adopters and the people who probably care the most about Apple.
 
corywoolf

corywoolf

macrumors 65816
Jun 28, 2004
1,352
4
So glad I waited it out on getting a new iPod. I like the line up, but they really should have had a 160 GB touch iPod option. Nobody is going to buy the classic iPod, it will be fazed out in the next six months. Even with better storage capacity, nobody wants the body of an old iPod. The touch is the equivalent of the iPod Photo, in that Apple will drop the touch name and make it replace the classic iPod for good.

OneTraveler said:
Come on people! We all KNEW there was going to be a price drop at some time. When you want the latest and greatest, you are going to get burned on the price. That's just the way it goes. Pay more and enjoy it now, or wait and save a few bucks later. I wanted it sooner. $200 drop? Meh, I've enjoyed it $200 worth. If you are upset over it, maybe have some restraint on your purchases next time.
Click to expand...

Good point. I totally agree. I have a first gen. MBP that I am still very happy with, even though Apple made a double-layer dvd burner and FW800 standard just months later on the 15".
 
E

ephix

macrumors newbie
Nov 22, 2003
5
0
Brisbane, Australia
jt2ga65 said:
At this point, I would be surprised if it was not a big middle finger at the early adopters. Hey, I'm still willing to be converted to an Apple fan again, but I'm stinging at the extra $100 a month for the iPhone.

-jt2
Click to expand...

what does that $100 extra a month have anything to do with the price drop?
 
D

derivativemusic

macrumors newbie
Apr 11, 2007
19
0
A price refund would NOT negatively impact past earnings, only future.
Click to expand...

However, reducing the price $200 has already affected the stock price. It's very weird, because it looks like desperation. And it looks like there's nothing new coming before next year, i.e. they have nothing new to sell for Christmas.
 
P

pcorajr

macrumors 6502
Jun 6, 2007
310
0
I'm sorry but I'm a bit frustrated about the attitude people have specially with technology.

Did anybody hold a gun to your head and tell you to buy an iPhone? No you went out on your freewill and purchased it for what ever reason. This is the nature of technology you do not see people running around crying when Intel and AMD do the same.

You have 14 days after purchase to return the product. if you are withing that time frame then do so. you will still save money after the restock fee. Turn around and purchase at the new price.

In the end nobody is to blame. Nobody force you to purchase the phone at the 600 dollar price. And anybody that is into technology should know that prices change very fast. whats out today is ancient technology what out tomorrow is old technology whats out next week is new technology.


I have a method for everything i purchase specially technology related items.

I purchase Video consoles only after the first price cut or one year after it is release. In this case i purchased my PS3 recently and im waiting for the wii to reach itss first year or price cut wich ever comes first.

Computers parts i purchase 3 month after they are released. same as computer systems.

This allows for bugs to be worked out and for prices to come down. I still enjoy the products as if it they had been purchased on the day they where released.
 
shrimpdesign

shrimpdesign

macrumors 6502a
Dec 9, 2005
609
2
derivativemusic said:
However, reducing the price $200 has already affected the stock price. It's very weird, because it looks like desperation. And it looks like there's nothing new coming before next year, i.e. they have nothing new to sell for Christmas.
Click to expand...

Whey have tons of news stuff! iPod Classic, Nano and Touch. Companies always release their holiday stuff in the fall, not the winter. No more iPhone/iPod updates until 2008. Although I expect a major iPhone update with Leopard, note syncing, to-do list syncing, RSS (maybe?).

The iPhone price was high in June/July/August because demand was high. Demand for a $500+ iPhone has leveled out, and Apple's reinvigorating it. Supply and demand.


P.S. I got a $500 4GB iPhone. I'm happy with it. It was worth $500, and still is.
 
matticus008

matticus008

macrumors 68040
Jan 16, 2005
3,330
1
Bay Area, CA
Suck it up. You made a purchase on a depreciating asset in an industry with a steep price curve. If it wasn't worth the asking price, you would not have made the purchase in the first place; there's no excuse for choosing to enter into a purchase you don't find reasonable. Early adopters pay a hefty premium. It's the way the world works, and it's the way the world should work. People who want it the most get the opportunity to have it. They knew they'd have a limited supply. Launching at $399 wouldn't have made sense. They'd have been overrun, and that would be the complaint.

The Razr was $500 at release and they've been handing them out for free for months now. It rapidly dropped to $200 within a few months. My phone was $799 retail at release. It's now $249 retail.

If you really learned this lesson the hard way, welcome to the big kids world. "Punish" Apple with your departure as a customer (as if it matters), but you'll run out of companies to do business with in no time flat.
 
mduser63

mduser63

macrumors 68040
Nov 9, 2004
3,042
31
Salt Lake City, UT
GravityEyes said:
Straight from Steve's mouth
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/2007-09-05-jobs-qanda_N.htm


OUCH - that hurts!
Click to expand...

Yeah, I like the part about him buying Bob Dylan music on iTunes even though he already has it on CD because he's "too lazy to rip it". I guess you can afford to be that lazy when you are a billionaire. $200 probably doesn't seem like so much to him either :rolleyes:.

Anyway, I don't really care about the iPhone price drop too much. I'd love to get even a $50 gift card from Apple or something, but I've really enjoyed my iPhone the last 2 months and I'm still 100% pleased with it.

(If Apple does decide to do a repeat of the Aperture price drop and refund $200 in the form of a gift card, I'll put it towards a 80 GB iPod classic to replace my 30 GB 5G iPod.)
 
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