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iPhone 12 mini Beware apple trade in

Apple Store seems to be the best alternative when selecting a trade in alternative
Of course if there’s no Apple Store near you there’s no choice but to mail it in
This year Apple is not only using analytics to evaluate your iPhone trade in but also using photo analytics to evaluate your screen, camera and other cosmetics
 
I had an odd experience. I bought 2 devices through apple. One of them went through Tmboile and the other through apple outright, both had trades.

The tmobile trade was received, they looked at the device and I got the notification that it processed. My Tmobile account was updated with the amount of the trade credit applied. I verified the credit the same day. Couple of days later I got an email from Tmoible that said the device I sent was different than quoted and they went ahead and adjusted my credit. I looked and saw the credit was now double what it was supposed to be. Thing is, they got the correct device, someone made a mistake in my favor.

After seeing this I thought they had screwed up my other device since it was more expensive. Nope, trade went through as expected. Apple credited me the full amount.

So I ended up with double credit on one. The funny thing was I was 100% sure they were going to nail me on the Tmoible trade because the screen had a small chip in it. My wife didn't tell me about it when I did the order. I sent it in figuring that I could always get it back and give it to my daughter if I didn't like the price. Ended up not mattering and getting double the credit on it somehow.

I'm grateful and surprised for the error but figured I'd share the story of my good fortune, not everyone is getting screwed.
 
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xenoako said:
Did anyone not get credit to their original form of payment?
Click to expand...

I had partially paid on a card and used a gift balance with Apple. They credited the gift balance only, which I'll use for my 15pm next year. I also bought some AirPods Pro 2 which are outstanding.
 
I just got a notification for a 0 trade in credit (from the original 1000 for ATT). Device was bought and sent back through apple (opted for the ship back options since I wanted time to correctly transfer everything myself).

They always honored trade ins below, something fishy going on this year. Phone is perfect other than a few scratches and small crack in front glass (which does not disqualify according to the terms as long as display and touch is fully functional).
 
Fatus_Asticus said:
I had partially paid on a card and used a gift balance with Apple. They credited the gift balance only, which I'll use for my 15pm next year. I also bought some AirPods Pro 2 which are outstanding.
Click to expand...
I was looking for the more traditional transaction since the credit did not go back on my cc.
10/3/22: Update, credit show up on original cc.
 
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roflc0pter said:
Some employees at the store will refuse to do it if the trade in kit was already shipped though so YMMV there
Click to expand...
Yep when I went to the store, they said if you wanted to trade in there, you would have to buy the phone there and not online. Of course, that means you probably won’t be able to get an iPhone on launch day, but if an in person trade in is important to you, then I don’t think waiting an extra month is going to be the end of the world.

No system is perfect. I suspect 99.99% of people have no issues with their trade in. Out of the massive amount of iPhones traded and there’s going to be issues and someone is going to be unhappy. It’s kind of like going on Amazon and looking at reviews on a item that’s almost 5 stars but there’s that one review that says the item is just absolutely trash but you get the item and it’s perfectly fine.

I can only speak for the two phones I’ve mailed in and had absolutely no issues. Not to say I wasn’t worried that somehow they would get lost or damaged in the mail.

The only thing I don’t like is you have to turn off Find My before you mail the device in. I think that’s just asking for theft. They should have a better method like logging into a special account they give you and turning on Find My with that so at least if the phone was stolen, it’s only good for parts. That would discourage people from taking them as much.
 
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I got an email that Apple accepted my 11 pro trade-in, and am supposed to get $300 back for it. I see on my Apple Card that there is a pending charge of $300 that qualifies for 3% cash back. It hasn't settled yet, but I'm worried that they processed it as a charge instead of a refund/credit.

Anyone else run into this?
 
Fatus_Asticus said:
I had an odd experience. I bought 2 devices through apple. One of them went through Tmboile and the other through apple outright, both had trades.

The tmobile trade was received, they looked at the device and I got the notification that it processed. My Tmobile account was updated with the amount of the trade credit applied. I verified the credit the same day. Couple of days later I got an email from Tmoible that said the device I sent was different than quoted and they went ahead and adjusted my credit. I looked and saw the credit was now double what it was supposed to be. Thing is, they got the correct device, someone made a mistake in my favor.

After seeing this I thought they had screwed up my other device since it was more expensive. Nope, trade went through as expected. Apple credited me the full amount.

So I ended up with double credit on one. The funny thing was I was 100% sure they were going to nail me on the Tmoible trade because the screen had a small chip in it. My wife didn't tell me about it when I did the order. I sent it in figuring that I could always get it back and give it to my daughter if I didn't like the price. Ended up not mattering and getting double the credit on it somehow.

I'm grateful and surprised for the error but figured I'd share the story of my good fortune, not everyone is getting screwed.
Click to expand...
Did you do financing with T-Mobile when you purchased it from Apple? The credit from the trade in is deducted from the EIP total so you should check the EIP details of the phone to see how much is owed.
 
foxcrane said:
I got an email that Apple accepted my 11 pro trade-in, and am supposed to get $300 back for it. I see on my Apple Card that there is a pending charge of $300 that qualifies for 3% cash back. It hasn't settled yet, but I'm worried that they processed it as a charge instead of a refund/credit.

Anyone else run into this?
Click to expand...
Yes. Not to worry. The pending charge is basically just verifying the card is valid.

 
roflc0pter said:
Did you do financing with T-Mobile when you purchased it from Apple? The credit from the trade in is deducted from the EIP total so you should check the EIP details of the phone to see how much is owed.
Click to expand...

Yes. The estimate when I did it on Apple was $15 and change charge with a equal credit zeroing it out. After the email it went to $30 and change credit for a negative $15 on my bill. Nothing changed on what was owed balance wise just the credit I got for the trade. The email claimed they got a different device than quoted not sure how that happened.
 
Fatus_Asticus said:
I had partially paid on a card and used a gift balance with Apple. They credited the gift balance only, which I'll use for my 15pm next year. I also bought some AirPods Pro 2 which are outstanding.
Click to expand...
They did the same for me. I called Apple and they were able to adjust it. Why would someone use a gift card just to be refunded the gift card? That makes no sense to me... They'll try anything to keep your money.
 
geo411mar said:
They did the same for me. I called Apple and they were able to adjust it. Why would someone use a gift card just to be refunded the gift card? That makes no sense to me... They'll try anything to keep your money.
Click to expand...
Did you just call their customer service number or something to get that done?
 
foxcrane said:
I got an email that Apple accepted my 11 pro trade-in, and am supposed to get $300 back for it. I see on my Apple Card that there is a pending charge of $300 that qualifies for 3% cash back. It hasn't settled yet, but I'm worried that they processed it as a charge instead of a refund/credit.

Anyone else run into this?
Click to expand...
Looks like a charge but will end up as a credit. Same thing happened to me.
 
One thing I learned was to NEVER have a beta profile installed when trading in. I went to trade in my iPhone 12 in *MINT* condition @ an Apple Store for my 14PM and they told me they would give me $85 instead of the quoted $320 because there was a “camera malfunction”. They ran diagnostics multiple times and this was the case each time. I went home, uninstalled the beta profile and installed vanilla iOS 16. Took it back and on the first try the “camera malfunction” resolved itself. Just thought I’d share this in case some of you are getting poor trade in values on perfectly functioning devices. One thing that was weird was that it passed the test and they told me they’d give me $315 instead of the quotes $320. I didn’t care about $5 so I just said okay. They emailed me my trade in receipt and it ended up being $320 after all.
 
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+1 add me to the list of people who didnt have an issue with sending the trade in device

trade in box received at my house, dropped it off at fedex the next day, within 4-5 days it was validated and confirmed.

Although the phone was absolutely perfect. Im going to see how Apple trade in fares next year when I upgrade to the 15 Ultra. My current 13 Pro Max has a few scratches on the stainless steel and im wondering if that will affect the value.

Atleast, Im relived that Apple sends it back if it doesnt pass their inspection. T-Mobile? Nope. You get $0. See you next time. (although T-mobile is a lot more lenient, with official documentation stating that cracked backs are acceptable for trade in)
 
For those that sent their trade in device to Elk Grove, CA.

How long did it take to get the evaluation from the delivered date? Mines is getting delivered there tomorrow so was curious.
 
roflc0pter said:
For those that sent their trade in device to Elk Grove, CA.

How long did it take to get the evaluation from the delivered date? Mines is getting delivered there tomorrow so was curious.
Click to expand...
In my case my unit arrived around 1 pm and by 9 that night it had been approved for full trade in value. Took another day to get the trade in credit.
 
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roflc0pter said:
For those that sent their trade in device to Elk Grove, CA.

How long did it take to get the evaluation from the delivered date? Mines is getting delivered there tomorrow so was curious.
Click to expand...
got delivered at 2:03pm California time via fedex. Got my email from Apple its confirmed the value almost exactly 24 hours later. ymmv

Also the Apple Store app was pretty behind on what actually was going on. (Kept saying my phone was on route to the trade in partner even though fedex said delivered for hours)
 
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AJ44 said:
Careful with Swappa, I got screwed on a sale where I had pics prior to sending of an immaculate phone, the buyer scratched it up and I lost the appeal on PayPal and the buyer didn’t even have to send the phone back. Will never use them again.
Click to expand...
Been using swappa for almost 10 yrs. It's been great and never an issue. You just have to sell to only those who have good ratings.
 
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Glad to get this email:

iPhone Upgrade Program
Good news. Your trade-in is complete.

Had an issue with watch trade in last year that was eventually sorted out. I tried initially to return my 13 PM in-store but was told they couldn’t since it involved an online preorder IUP for the new 14PM. Fortunately, it worked out with the phone.
 
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