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I understand that when you buy something you would like to have a 100% perfect product even you know that is not possible.

Look around you there is nothing 100% perfect, everything has small issues like that one including cars ( even the most expensive ones ), watches and everything.

Even if you take care of your iphone like no one else it will have something in less than 1 week.

The best solution is that you look around and see how many issues are around you and you will end thinking about that 2 little nicks that are almost impossible to see that way you will be more happy
 
I hate to say this, but this is sad on so many levels. That fact that you had to circle and point out these "flaws" should prove that you are overreacting. The iPhone is mass produced device, so it will not be 100% perfect, no matter how much you paid for it.

Of course the manager is going to tell you, you aren't being ridiculous, because that's what they are trained to say (even if they do think you are being ridiculous), and he/she doesn't want to lose their job.
 
Of course the manager is going to tell you, you aren't being ridiculous, because that's what they are trained to say (even if they do think you are being ridiculous), and he/she doesn't want to lose their job.

Well, that's really all that matter here isn't it? If the Apple employee says his gripe is legit then it's legit

Personally, I wouldn't have even noticed the marks and even if I had I wouldn't have cared at all. But the OP does and Apple is going to compensate him for it, so who are we to say its not a big deal?
 
Well, that's really all that matter here isn't it? If the Apple employee says his gripe is legit then it's legit

Personally, I wouldn't have even noticed the marks and even if I had I wouldn't have cared at all. But the OP does and Apple is going to compensate him for it, so who are we to say its not a big deal?

Any "problem" you go them about is legit because that is the basis of customer service; you make the customer feel like they are right. Still doesn't mean it truly is a problem.
 
Any "problem" you go them about is legit because that is the basis of customer service; you make the customer feel like they are right. Still doesn't mean it truly is a problem.

I'm just curious what you would deem as a defect worth mentioning or bringing to be replaced?
 
Won't hurt to ask for a free case or Applecare+ instead of a replacement. I picked up my Yellow 5c today and saw the gold 5S in person for the first time. Photos just don't do it justice, very nice looking.

I never thought about asking for free AppleCare+.. I am sure they would be willing to give something that "costs" them nothing. Ask for both.

Maybe I will be lucky and get nicks out of the box.
 
Wow do you do this with cars and other electronics that you buy as well? I'm sure you would always find some flaw.
 
I wasn't super upset about this at all. I even told Apple it wasn't a big deal......

Well your actions say otherwise. IF it wasn't a big deal you wouldn't of called apple and you certainly wouldn't of made this thread. So don't take a wiz on us and tell us it's raining.

Not saying you shouldn't do what you did or even return it, that's certainly up for you to decide but when a person isn't "super upset" they don't take the steps you took.

I say if you resell your iPhones later I would swap it out, if not keep it and save the hassle.
 
Unfortunately Apple either doesn't care, or is unable to live up to their own vision as a superior maker of smartphones.

Last year my brand new iPhone 5 came out of the box scratched and scuffed. Having read about the problem prior to picking up my phone I was prepared. After paying the Apple rep for my phone I opened it up right there in the store, asking the rep to be my witness.

Sure enough it looked like a used phone. So since they couldn't blame it on me, they gave me another and it only had two small marks on the back.

These days quality issues assure its genuine Apple.

Maybe next year they'll improve.

It sounds like you haven't bought an Android phone yet. The problem is that the build materials are both a strength and weakness. A sign of high quality and yet, easy to mar. Logic would suggest otherwise, as aluminum-oxide is the second hardest material known to man. However when it's only 1 atom thick, and the aluminum underneath is soft, well you are going to have problems. Plastics, on the other hand are a little bit self healing. So it may scratch easier, but micros scratches seem to disappear, or can be polished off.

Anyway, there's a lot more to an iPhone, than it's skin, which provides the highest quality the market can bear.

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Even if they were made in the US, at the volume they have to make them Plus new extra gold orders will cause this issues, keeping dust out of color rooms is hard.

I think, on the factory floor, there's a mad rush. One says, oh crap I dropped it. The other says, use it anyway they can exchange it, just keep your quotas up..

Seriously its like that dropped steak in the restaurant, and they have 15 minutes to get the order out. Theres a right way, a wrong way, and a way that meets expectation, with a bit of risk.
 
Hi all!

This is my first post here. I've followed the forums for awhile but never felt the need to post. Like a lot of you who were lucky to be in the first wave of orders at launch, I received my iPhone today. Gold 16gb Verizon.

It came out of the box with a few nicks and scratches on the back gold plate:

Image

As small as they are, it's still disheartening to have a product come out of the box not at 100%. I'm not upset about it really but I went ahead and called Apple and was moved up the line to a top manager. I sent him the pictures. I told him I understand we're in a predicament because replacing it isn't so easy with the gold production situation. They're trying to come up with a solution and he's going to call me back. I told him I might be being ridiculous even calling about this but he assured me that I wasn't, that my phone should have come out of the box with no nicks or scratches.

I'm coming from a 4s and this is my first experience with the new aluminum/metal backing which I realize scratches more easily.

If it's easy to replace, even if it takes a few weeks I might go ahead and do it. Obviously I'm not wanting to part from the phone I have until I get the new one. :)

I just wanted thoughts from other Apple customers on what you would do. Would you want a replacement?

Also congrats to everyone getting their phones this week and for those of you still waiting, hang in there! It will be worth the wait!

I suspect those defects are due to the manufacturing process. It looks like the aluminum wasn't properly cleaned and debris interfered with the process. It happens in the manufacturing process. I would return it because those are native aluminum exposed (non-anodized) and exposed aluminum do oxidize. The only downside is the wait time for the replacement.
 
Wow, are you for real?

1. It will get much worse than that in one day without a case.
2. You can't see it with a case, and most cases will make worse marks than that after extended use.

I'm sorry but will you buy a ferrari with a nick on it?? Seriously?

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Have all of you lost your minds? C'mon. When you buy a phone new you want it to be "new". And don't give me this logic "well you have to expect a product to have some nicks on it because it's being massed produced" and then turn around and shame people for being a little skittish about having marks on their phone. Have you all downgraded your standards? Lets all go buy a used 3 month old phone in just "good" condition if that's the case. We will save a couple of hundred dollars. OP you have every right to be a little disarmed here, don't listen to the poison that sometimes spills out in these forums.
 
I remember when I got my iPhone 5, I went through about 4 phones before I got one that wasn't nicked or scratched out of the box.
 
I had those same nicks in the very same spot when I got my iPhone 5 from Verizon. It's perfectly normal... making a thread like this on these forums will get you fake sympathy but I bet in real life your friends would clown the hell out you for complaining about such minuscule things...
 
I wouldn't send back this iPhone for those minor nicks. But I can understand OP's feeling about wanting the perfect iPhone. After all, he's the client.
 
My wife has been using her phone without a case and just tossing it in her purse (it has it's own pocket) and has no scratches. I'm rather surprised as her 5 has a scratch somehow on the back glass/plastic where the camera lens is. Not sure how she manages it but it's deep.

Yeah, I'd return it with nicks too. I've kept my phones in mint condition and that's how I am. For everyone saying it will look worse than that eventually, they are probably wrong. Barring some sort of accident, my phone will continue looking as good as the day I bought it.

On a side not I had a little collision with a vehicle while running and phone went flying. I had an Apple leather case in it. Case was toast but not a scratch, ding, or any other mark on the phone. I was lucky enough not to have the phone sliding on the screen; that would have hurt. Oh, and I am ok too. :)
 
When you buy any product, it should be sold as advertised. I am sure that Apples tv commercials would not display phones with nicks and scratches on the body.
If I bought a brand new mass produced car and it had a chip in the bodywork, I would not accept that vehicle without the problem bring fixed.
 
When you buy any product, it should be sold as advertised. I am sure that Apples tv commercials would not display phones with nicks and scratches on the body.
If I bought a brand new mass produced car and it had a chip in the bodywork, I would not accept that vehicle without the problem bring fixed.

Does your fast food burger look EXACTLY like the picture?

Does your window cleaner truly leave a streak free clean?

Does your popcorn or potato chips look perfect and fluffy as on TV?

Your mass produced car does have imperfections, some you just can't see and isn't in the form of paint chips.

Bottom line, advertising always boasts a perfect product, when in reality it's far from it. Do you think the people we see on tv look like that in real life? Or do you think the celebrities actually look like their magazine picture? Makeup and photoshop....that is what TV and advertising is.

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I'm just curious what you would deem as a defect worth mentioning or bringing to be replaced?

Function of the phone is affected.
 
I would want it replaced. It it cost £100 then maybe not, but at a retail price of £549 I would want no marks.
 
I understand how you feel. You're paying a very high price for a premium product and expect it to be perfect.

I wouldn't let it bother me too much. In a few weeks or months you'll end up with even more scratches/nicks/dents/chips! I was the same as you, I always expected everything I bought to be perfect. I returned an iPad because it had a spec of dust under the screen. I returned an iPhone because a button was a bit loose. I returned a MacBook Air because a single key was a bit slack. I returned an iMac because there was a bit of dust stuck behind the screen. Apple must hate me!

However, the thing is I was getting so stressed out about these little imperfections. Nothing is perfect and you're just wasting your time trying to achieve it. Be happy with these imperfections, it adds a bit of character and makes your product unique. Think of them as little scars and learn to live with them. Once you accept it, you'll feel much happier.
 
If you're worried about it that much, aren't you gonna have it hidden away in a protective case anyway? Especially since many more scuffs and nicks will happen if you go commando with it for the next year or two?


Hi all!

This is my first post here. I've followed the forums for awhile but never felt the need to post. Like a lot of you who were lucky to be in the first wave of orders at launch, I received my iPhone today. Gold 16gb Verizon.

It came out of the box with a few nicks and scratches on the back gold plate:

Image

As small as they are, it's still disheartening to have a product come out of the box not at 100%. I'm not upset about it really but I went ahead and called Apple and was moved up the line to a top manager. I sent him the pictures. I told him I understand we're in a predicament because replacing it isn't so easy with the gold production situation. They're trying to come up with a solution and he's going to call me back. I told him I might be being ridiculous even calling about this but he assured me that I wasn't, that my phone should have come out of the box with no nicks or scratches.

I'm coming from a 4s and this is my first experience with the new aluminum/metal backing which I realize scratches more easily.

If it's easy to replace, even if it takes a few weeks I might go ahead and do it. Obviously I'm not wanting to part from the phone I have until I get the new one. :)

I just wanted thoughts from other Apple customers on what you would do. Would you want a replacement?

Also congrats to everyone getting their phones this week and for those of you still waiting, hang in there! It will be worth the wait!
 
I'm sorry but will you buy a ferrari with a nick on it?

Ferraris are usually bought with cash by people who can easily afford them, such as myself. Ironically thanks to the massive amount of cash I made off of thousands of shares of Apple stock I bought at $20 per share, then sold many years later at $700.

One's personal Ferrari associate delivers the car in person which includes a complete visual inspection. Prior to delivery he's personally responsible for assuring their is no cosmetic imperfections. Thus when I arrive for my appointment the car is flawless.


Cash is King, see how easy that is...


(relax haters I don't care what you have to say)
 
Comparing iPhones to Ferrari's....wow....it's a phone! Even if you paid full retail, is that SOOO much money? If it is, you're spending more than you can afford.

On another note, I have a lengthy background in the aluminum industry. Any time a champagne (ie, gold) job comes through, we cringe! Champagne anodization does not hold up well. Can't wait to see these gold phones in a year, it's not going to be pretty.
 
First thing I looked at when I opened my Space Gray 5S was the chamfered edges and back, luckily no nicks or scratches from what I can see, however I haven't removed the plastic back lining yet.

I would be pretty mad if it was scratched out of box as well, if I cause the damage myself then that's my fault but..
 
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