No those phones are taken apart down to the logic board and reassembled as refurbs and replacements.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
iPhone 16/Plus Stop ordering and returning
- Thread starter mkjnkn
- Start date
-
- Tags
- return
- Sort by reaction score
No those phones are taken apart down to the logic board and reassembled as refurbs and replacements.
I mean, most reputable large companies have return windows that get abused. This isn't specific to Apple, or specifically egregious at Apple, by any means. Have you ever stood in the customer service line at a Target, Costco, Walmart, Best Buy, etc? You're paying for that, too. It's especially bad at clothing stores, I think. Heck, Amazon's reverse logistics could probably be spun off into a half trillion dollar company, haha.
Why not put the new phones and watches out in the store to demo after the announcement? That way people can see new colors and sizes in person before the preorder. I’ve seen people preorder the same device in multiple colors because the images Apple puts up doesn’t line up with what you see in person and if you don’t get the color you want on launch then you are going to have to return it and just wait. If you could see what the actual color or material looks like in person before you preorder that wouldn’t be necessary. I think that would greatly reduce the wrong color/wrong size returns. You will still have picky people that will return 7 phones to get that “perfect” screen.
FFS, people, returns aren't sold as new, they can't legally be sold as new. They can be sold as refurbs, or issued as repair replacements, or used as demo units, or resold in bulk to third party distributors, or any one of a number of things. Or fed to that fancy robot and shredded into their base components for recycling because that may be the most cost effective way of dealing with them.
Apple can actuarially (look up what an "actuary" does—Apple employs many of them) determine return and failure rates ahead of time, adjusting production, pricing, and policies accordingly. This is Big Boy Pants™ level stuff that companies like Apple have mastered.
Desperately trying to get a phone. A phone. Desperately! lol. Embrace your privilege.
Also, pro tip: Scarcity is a marketing tool.
Apple can actuarially (look up what an "actuary" does—Apple employs many of them) determine return and failure rates ahead of time, adjusting production, pricing, and policies accordingly. This is Big Boy Pants™ level stuff that companies like Apple have mastered.
Desperately trying to get a phone. A phone. Desperately! lol. Embrace your privilege.
Also, pro tip: Scarcity is a marketing tool.
It blows my mind how everything people do can somehow be turned into a failing of Apple...
The usual consumer psychology here is pretty straightforward-- even if I know I want something, I won't buy it if I feel I'd be stuck with it in the unlikely event I discover I don't want it later. Especially if I don't live within range of an Apple store to visit and plead my case. Amazon figured this out very early on and I'm convinced their easy return policy is the reason people were willing to try online sales to begin with.
Apple's return policy applies to everyone throughout the product life cycle. On the last day of availability just the same as on the first, for people living in an apartment above the Apple store just the same as those on desert islands. There's no easy way around that, really.
The problem OP is raising is that at launch, consumer psychology is notably different. It's less about "I think I want it, but what if I discover I don't, or if it arrives in a damaged box with a broken screen" and more about "I don't think I want it but what if it turns out I do and I don't have it now, now now?". Even for those within range of an Apple store, you can't see the physical phone until launch day so waiting to look at it means not being first to have one. Instead of people returning on the off chance they were wrong, they're buying on the off chance they're wrong.
And OP is right, it's a destructive behavior. I'm not sure it's one Apple will really bother doing anything about. The best they could do is charge a $50 restocking fee for phones bought in the first month after release but that's just going to lead to people claiming they got screwed because Apple refused to replace a phone when their microscope shows clear molecular misalignment in the titanium near the lower volume button.
Oh BS. That is fraud and against the law in the US to represent a used or previously sold item as new:
https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-20/section-20.1
That said, I never ever buy launch-day anything. I want to physically see and hold, and at least see other reviews on something before I buy. I'm 100% anti-early adoption, for anything and everything, hardware, software or otherwise.
Last edited:
If someone "desperately" needed a smartphone there are many choices available to them, from Apple or otherwise, instantly available. The "desperation" the person I quoted was talking about is a marketing-driven, privileged-class construct to have the latest and greatest. There is no actual scarcity and therefore no real reason to engage in "desperation."
This is what happens when people fall in love with brands—they get lead around by the collar.
I have yet to upgrade; however, I usually buy my upgrades without visiting the Apple store to size them up. Given that the physical size increased I will have to. Otherwise, I would probably be dissatisfied with a Pro MAX size and would return it for a Pro not-Max.
Back when I used to work at AT&T and we used to have exclusivity on the iPhone this would be a problem. New iPhone would come out and Id sell a ton and receive great commission checks. Then over the next 30 or so days I would be inundated with chargebacks and would have to pay half the money back. Doing this can hurt folks
It’s also adding cost. Apple is taking return costs in account when pricing devices.
What I don't get is the indecision. I've seen people order two or three colors of the same phone to return the 2 they like least.
I consider myself indecisive, but even I know I won't like the natural or desert options.
I consider myself indecisive, but even I know I won't like the natural or desert options.
I also see this with other tech that I follow like mirrorless cameras and drones. People will buy items and then post videos to see how far they can push it to the limit without actually using the item in a real use case scenario.
In a way Apple kind of enables this behavior.
I wonder if Apple put the phones on display before preorders if it would cut down on some returns?
I know a lot of people preorder multiple colors because they can’t decide. But if Apple made the announcement on a Monday, had them on display on Tuesday, and then preorders on Friday that would allow people time to visit an Apple Store to view these phones in person or at least pictures that others have taken while in an Apple Store.
I wonder if Apple put the phones on display before preorders if it would cut down on some returns?
I know a lot of people preorder multiple colors because they can’t decide. But if Apple made the announcement on a Monday, had them on display on Tuesday, and then preorders on Friday that would allow people time to visit an Apple Store to view these phones in person or at least pictures that others have taken while in an Apple Store.
I don't care what others do - Apple certainly encourages the behavior. But buying something with no intention of keeping it is pretty low class, IMO.
It is allowed by Apple. They know that people that are on the fence, more likely than not will keep the phone. Some of them may be returned, but ultimately, they'll end up selling more phones allowing this, than if they didn't allow for any returns or had a fee. For people it is ultimately risk free without any commitment to just get a phone and try it, and for Apple is a win as most of those will likely keep the phone.
Last edited by a moderator:
The way Apple hypes there new products makes us want them. Sometimes it turns out to be just hype and the new product doesn't live up to it so we return it. There is nothing wrong at all with buying something with the intention of keeping it but then change your mind. Nothing wrong with that at all!
Now if you buy to specifically return it then that's abuse and is a different conversation.
Now if you buy to specifically return it then that's abuse and is a different conversation.
Last edited:
Yeah, so what’s the problem? If they have the money, let them do what makes them happy.
It’s not taking away from anyone. The iPhone 16 series was available for same day pick-up on day 1. And the returned phones end up being refurbished and resold.
There are always refurbished iPhones available in the US, they sell very quickly.
That is not legal, and if Apple got caught selling used as new, be absolutely sure governments and lawyers would be all over that.
Apple sells 200 million phones a year, and it is very likely the “repeating returners” make up less than 1%, maybe less than 0.5%.
It’s a non-issue.
Because there are costs to all that... shipping, logistics, inspection, "refurbishing", whatever, and diminished value. And Apple is not doing this for free, it gets added into the purchase prices for new phones that we all pay. IOW, we are all paying a premium for these fools to be able to buy 5 phones and return some or all of them on a whim.
Last edited:
Wonder how the OP would feel about Apple's "test drive a Macintosh" campaign from 1984...
Oh no, someone might've actually *needed* one of those Macintosh's, but the testdrivers causing all of these problems..........
Oh no, someone might've actually *needed* one of those Macintosh's, but the testdrivers causing all of these problems..........
Yes, absolutely agree. Like, what else do you expect to see in a phone that all those numerous reviewers didn’t tell? There are no any additional “Easter eggs”, especially in the iPhone box which now has just a cable and a phone.
Tho I understand people returning it for legit reasons (inconvenient camera button, bad camera performance, too large to handle, defects)
Tho I understand people returning it for legit reasons (inconvenient camera button, bad camera performance, too large to handle, defects)