Okay, I just joined this site to help those who ordered an iPhone from Verizon and experienced damage out of the box.
I pre-ordered from Verizon's site (not Apple) and received my black 32GB iPhone on lauch day (Sept. 21st) at 9:00 AM. I noticed some minor scuffs/straight lines that show the color of the underlying metal (white-ish looking straight lines) precisely along the edge where the side band meets the chamfered edge. I wasn't too concerned though. But then I came across this thread and it brought out the OCD in me.
So in more carefully examining my phone a few days later, I noticed two nicks/chips in the chamfered edge (one top back, the other on the bottom right corner back). These bothered me more as potential weak points that could get worse over time. I also didn't like that my fingernail gets caught in these nicks, ruining the smooth feel. Frankly, I'm not 100% sure those nicks were there out of the box, as I didn't know what to look for then and in certain angles/light it is hard to see.
Not wanting to deal with a Verizon store or an Apple store (that may not have stock anyway) and have a human look at me funny over the cosmetic damage, I decided the best route would probably be to call Verizon directly.
So this morning (Sunday) I dialed *611 from my iPhone, which connects me to Verizon. After listening to the menu prompts I pressed 4, then asked to speak to a representative. About 2 minutes later a rep comes on the line.
I explained to the rep that I received an iPhone 5 that was damaged on the bezel and sides and was hoping they would ship me a replacment phone, and that I could return my current phone upon receipt of the replacment. She said no problem, she would put this in as a DOA (Dead on Arrival). [I understood from our call that the term "DOA" is key to getting a replacement shipped]. I didn't mention DOA, she did -- but another rep might not know, so keep that in mind.
So she took down my information and said the replacment phone should ship tomorrow via 2 day fedex. I will receive a tracking # when it ships (in the meantime she gave me a confirmation number). My plan is to very very carefully examine the replacment phone and if it is better cosmetically I'll do the swap. If not I'll keep my current phone, ship back the replacment, and maybe try again.
She did say they will put a temp charge on my credit card, which will be removed once they receive my phone back. We didn't discuss a restocking fee, but I see that Verizon's site lists a $37.00 restocking fee for returns. If they do charge that, I won't cry. But it didn't sound like that would be charged.
By the way, as far as the flat slate gray back (where the apple logo is), I don't see any problem with that. The problem on these phones appears to be the side band, where it meets the chamfered edge (which tends to get some discoloration) and the chamfered edge itself, which appears to be prone to nicks/chips (perhaps as part of the manufacturing process). So it is really the edges and the sides. The back itself (the flat part) does not appear to have any problems with scratching or discloration from normal use.
Just wanted to clear up confusion as to scuff-gate, as articles I read tended to focus on the slate gray back. I don't see that as a weak point. The main problem (from my phone and most of the pics in this thread) appears to be the edge of the side-band (the thing that is stainless steel on the iPhone 4S) and the chamfered edge thing.
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