Apple's Trade-In Partner Phobio Has Reportedly Faced an 'Alarming Uptick' in Complaints

[spyguy10709]

Yep. Sent them a perfectly working iPad Pro. Offer was $250. They inspected it. Price was reduced to $45. Their comment in the email after inspection said, “Your trade quote has been revised due to LCD damage. This includes dead pixels, bruising/burn in, no response on digitizer or any other damage that could be related to the LCD.”
There is nothing wrong with the display from what I can see. I didn’t accept the offer.
The problem isn’t the ability to decline the new offer. The problem is the expectation and the dishonesty to get someone to take a lower price. I can only imagine the number of people that just take whatever they are offered because they took it for face value and they don’t want to deal with it now that it’s not in their hands any longer. Personally I’d rather it sit in a closet than let someone play that game with me. So that’s where it now sits... in a closet not being used.

why not pass it along to friends or family? in my experience there's always someone who could get a lot more out of my last-gen apple devices than the often times diminished value you'd get from a trade in

 

[DEXTERITY]

That company is horrible - their customer service blows

 

[donguevas]

Not defending Phobos but the screen had scratches and if resold someone would have noticed, and if refurbed the screen would have to be replaced. Also, when an Iphone battery gets to 80% Apple recommends replacing them. That is their threshold for battery replacement. If you bought a phone that was billed as like "new" would you want a scratched screen?

I had a similar experience with a iPhone X. Phobio offered $350 and then dropped to $75 because of minor scratches on the screen. You had to look at the phone from an oblique angle in order to see the scratches. I refused the offer and now my sisters step daughter has an iPhone X for $80. iPhone X was 3 years old, battery was at 80% did not want to sell to anyone on locally or on eBay. Not sure if in store trade in is even an option here in Canada.

 

[joeblough]

I am assuming, maybe I'm wrong, that most people do this because of convenience? Why not sell it on your own? One always gets more money that way. Trade in values are a joke. Whether it is a MAC or a car.

where i live any in-person transaction probably has a 10% chance of turning into a robbery... so selling to individuals is a non-starter. ebay or whatever might be OK but there is still the possibility of getting scammed.

 

[donguevas]

where i live any in-person transaction probably has a 10% chance of turning into a robbery... so selling to individuals is a non-starter. ebay or whatever might be OK but there is still the possibility of getting scammed.

Actually, not if you do them in a public place. Most cop shops allow you to do your transactions there. I do mine in a local bar room.

I quit selling on Ebay a few years back because I had at least three people ask for discounts after the fact or they would turn me into Ebay for bad faith.

1.A brand new samsung s5 in the box when it was new. I wrapped the box in bubble tape, and then tide two plastic bags around it to prevent water damage. The guy complained that a grocery store receipt was in the bag. Wanted 100 dollars off. I made him send the phone back. Sold it in my bat.

2.Sold a pair of Airpods to a guy for half price. I used them 3 times. They only had a warranty of three months which was stated in the description. He got them and wanted 20 dollars back"I bought these as a present for my daughter they look knew, but only have three months warranty, i will report you." I said report me and provided ebay with the emails.

3.I dolf An Iphone 6s Plus in perfect condition to guy. I insured it. Fed ex tried to deliver it for two days and left notices, I monitored the tracking. He left a notice with fed ex to leave it on his porch. Then said it was stolen. What he did not realize was that I had had restored the phone to factory, signed into Icloud, but had no passcode on the phone. So he put a sim in and was using it, and I used find my iphone to email him the location of it being in use at his address. He shut up quickly.

 

[kofman13]

This has been discussed for months, if not years, here on the MacRumors' Forum. I'm surprised this hasn't been picked up on before. Phobio is incredibly shady and even has an account on here trying to respond to people who have had a bad experience.

My advise? Do in-store trade ins. You get the gift card immediately and I had no problem doing it at my Apple Store.

the problem is you can only do iPad/iPhone/Apple Watch trade ins IN STORE. if its MacBook you have to do Phobio. its unfortunate

 

[verdi1987]

the problem is you can only do iPad/iPhone/Apple Watch trade ins IN STORE. if its MacBook you have to do Phobio. its unfortunate

Not anymore.

 

[verdi1987]

Actually, not if you do them in a public place. Most cop shops allow you to do your transactions there. I do mine in a local bar room.

I quit selling on Ebay a few years back because I had at least three people ask for discounts after the fact or they would turn me into Ebay for bad faith.

1.A brand new samsung s5 in the box when it was new. I wrapped the box in bubble tape, and then tide two plastic bags around it to prevent water damage. The guy complained that a grocery store receipt was in the bag. Wanted 100 dollars off. I made him send the phone back. Sold it in my bat.

2.Sold a pair of Airpods to a guy for half price. I used them 3 times. They only had a warranty of three months which was stated in the description. He got them and wanted 20 dollars back"I bought these as a present for my daughter they look knew, but only have three months warranty, i will report you." I said report me and provided ebay with the emails.

3.I dolf An Iphone 6s Plus in perfect condition to guy. I insured it. Fed ex tried to deliver it for two days and left notices, I monitored the tracking. He left a notice with fed ex to leave it on his porch. Then said it was stolen. What he did not realize was that I had had restored the phone to factory, signed into Icloud, but had no passcode on the phone. So he put a sim in and was using it, and I used find my iphone to email him the location of it being in use at his address. He shut up quickly.

Even a public place doesn’t guarantee safety. I was such a victim of a sale in a public place with patrons. Thank goodness a patron actually recorded the crime. He was caught a year later.

 

[iamMacPerson]

the problem is you can only do iPad/iPhone/Apple Watch trade ins IN STORE. if its MacBook you have to do Phobio. its unfortunate

Apple officially starts accepting Mac trade-ins at retail stores - 9to5Mac

Apple has officially expanded its Mac trade-in program to retail stores in the United States and Canada. This was first...

www.google.com

 

[tgara]

I’ve had this situation twice, once with Apple Watch and once with iPhone. Both times I got them back and traded in elsewhere for more $$ without issue. What a scam!

Good to know, I will be using a different service in the future as well. My tale of woe... I tried trading in my wife’s 10.5 inch iPad after I got her a new iPad Air for Christmas. I was told the trade in was going to be a couple hundred dollars, but shortly thereafter I was told by Phobio that the iPad had a bad pixel so the value was only $50. Believing they were honest about it, I took the offer without knowing how many people were being scammed, so live and learn I guess.

 

[Justin L Franks]

It would seem that everyone's phobiophobia is justified.

 

[airbusking]

#Igotphobio'd too. My phone was "lost" somewhere in their process, trying to get help from them was a joke. Talked with Apple Customer service for assistance, while they were sympathetic they could not help. Other, better options exist.

 

[jahall05]

Same here. Never had issues with any trade in in the past....this one....never got completed. Frustrating.

I ended up doing it twice and called Apple web support and the second time I walked them through everything I did and they forced Phobio to approve the refund.

 

[Freeangel1]

I got 3 of the very first iPhone models. The iPhone 1

I still use them too! screen works, battery works. small. LOW RF Radiation.

I'm keeping them.

 

[chrus8051]

I had a similar experience when I traded in my iPhone. It was in pristine condition when I sent it in and somehow magically when they got it it had a bulging battery. I reached out to apple to complain and they made it right so I give them credit for that but now that I read this I wonder how many other people got scammed who did not complain

 

[RowellE]

Actually, not if you do them in a public place. Most cop shops allow you to do your transactions there. I do mine in a local bar room.

I quit selling on Ebay a few years back because I had at least three people ask for discounts after the fact or they would turn me into Ebay for bad faith.

I’m sorry all that bad stuff happened to you. It sucks that there are bad people who like to scam people out of money. That last story, about the guy complaining of the iPhone being stolen, I hope you left a negative buyer review, so that sellers are aware to stay away from him.

 

[rgarjr]

I recently did 3 trades with Phobio and good thing all went fine, no issues.

 

[Applemenow!]

Apple has placed increased emphasis on device trade-ins in the last few years, with the company largely relying on third-party partners for its trade-in program, including Atlanta-based outfit Phobio in the United States.

While many customers are satisfied with their trade-in experience, The Verge today reported that there has been an "alarming uptick" of online complaints about Phobio in the last few months. The report claims that many of these complaints have a common theme: a MacBook or iPhone that appears to be in perfect working order, only for the device to have an unexplained issue after being mailed in to Phobio for inspection.

In particular, the report claims that numerous customers have been told by Phobio that their MacBook's display has "three or more white spots," resulting in a significantly lower trade-in offer than Phobio originally quoted.

The report shares one customer's story:The Verge said it inspected McGloin's MacBook in person after he rejected the trade-in offer and could detect no such white spots or any discernible damage.

While any company is likely to have its fair share of customers complaining online, the report says "that doesn't explain the mystery of the white spots," resulting in some "perfectly functional" MacBooks having their trade-in value cut by half or more. The Verge said Phobio would not comment directly on the white spots issue, but the company said it strongly believes in "giving full and fair value" to customers for trade-ins:As mentioned in the statement, Phobio does allow customers to decline a revised trade-in offer, and they even ship the device back to the customer at the company's expense.

All in all, it's hard to quantify an "alarming uptick" in online complaints against Phobio, since many customers with positive experiences do not speak up. Nevertheless, all of this information is worth keeping in mind if you are considering a trade in.

Article Link: Apple's Trade-In Partner Phobio Has Reportedly Faced an 'Alarming Uptick' in Complaints

I also had issues with them. They have lowered the price on me for 3 items. I turned in all three items at once to lower the price on a brand new MacBook. It’s a bait and switch game they have figured out, to low ball people and boost their profits. With no oversight they can claim anything they want is wrong with your item. They gave away their game when I called them directly because I was able to negotiate them back to the original price I was quoted they would give me for my iPad. They claimed that they couldn’t make out the damage from the picture the person inspected it sent her. For my old MacBook they told me the white spots story and wouldn’t budge on raising it back up. I asked for proof picture and they sent me a grainy one that you could barely even make out it was a computer. They knocked off $170 dollars for this scam.
Someone please direct me to where to file a complaint with Apple and sign me up the class action lawsuit when it comes out against these scammers.

 

[TwinCitiesJHawk]

I sent in my flawless 2016 MBP to them about a month ago for $780. After they received it they emailed me saying there was a dent in the corner of the casing and can only offer me $200. I lost my S!@& and called them immediately asking for pictures of the dent because I knew it was not true. The lady came back after a few mins on hold and told me the dent is so small it’s not noticeable and they’ll just offer me the full amount.

Im not shocked others Are reporting this issue. I hope apple gets rid of them quick before they scam more people

 

[AndyB@rs]

Yes! This was my experience with Phobio. My mid 2017 Apple MacBook Pro Core i7 3.1 GHz 15" Touch 1TB SSD was inspected by Apple's Genius Bar prior to trade-in for keyboard-gate and I received the trade-in value quote below. Then I got the revised quote for "damage related to the display"... Had the MacBook returned from Phobio and went back to the Apple store for follow up and they found no issues with the display!

We've received your device. Based on inspection, the trade-in value of $1,678.00 was updated to $589.00 due to the following:
Your trade quote has been revised due to damage related to the display (screen).

 

[amartinez1660]

Apple salvages the displays and other components for their refurbished products, so the quality of the device must be high to get full value.

Phobio is likely using automated testing to determine quality of the LCD. These machines can pick up backlight bleeding and dead/stuck pixels. These are considered "white spots." If someone applies pressure to the MacBook lid, this can result in backlight bleeding over time.

Apple knows exactly how much Phobio is paying for each of these trade-ins, along with the serial number. So it's unlikely to be any kind of scam.

Apple demands are simply high, because they aren't scrapping these machines. These trade-ins are refurb parts or complete refurb products.

Damn! I’m no expert on what you said and doesn’t sound that unreasonable but does it warrant a 100% disagreement? In that case can we be assured that none of these trade-in parts are used for refurbished operations?

 

[Veeper]

Yep. Sent them a perfectly working iPad Pro. Offer was $250. They inspected it. Price was reduced to $45. Their comment in the email after inspection said, “Your trade quote has been revised due to LCD damage. This includes dead pixels, bruising/burn in, no response on digitizer or any other damage that could be related to the LCD.”
There is nothing wrong with the display from what I can see. I didn’t accept the offer.
The problem isn’t the ability to decline the new offer. The problem is the expectation and the dishonesty to get someone to take a lower price. I can only imagine the number of people that just take whatever they are offered because they took it for face value and they don’t want to deal with it now that it’s not in their hands any longer. Personally I’d rather it sit in a closet than let someone play that game with me. So that’s where it now sits... in a closet not being used.

This happened to me as well with a MacBook Pro. “Image burn in. Your trade is worth $0. Want us to keep it anyway?” Hell no. Send it back pls.

 

[sk2sep2304]

This is giving be flashbacks when I sent my iPhone 11 to att’s third party trade in company. They claimed it was not operable like for many others. I had to contact the bbb to make it right.

 

[quietstormSD]

The only time I would "trade in" something is if I knew that something I was trading in was pretty much trash (literally would otherwise go into the trash). If something is in good condition, I'd still be using it.

 

[MacBlake]

I tried them out when Apple first started using them. Tried trading in my iMac. After they received it they cut the initial offer amount by half. So I had them send it back to me. They sent it back in a box that was falling apart and nothing was placed inside to protect it from rattling around. I repacked it in a sturdy box and sent it to Gazelle. I ended up getting more from Gazelle than what Phobio had initially offered. I complained to Apple, but never heard anything back.

Never used them again. Always go through Gazelle or Cult of Mac, which usually offers the most.