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Unboxing Surprise

Itinj24

Itinj24

Contributor
Original poster
Nov 8, 2017
4,694
2,764
New York
Long story short. I preordered with a 33W and left the store with a 21W. They had to go through this whole rigmarole of processing two different receipts for the change in light seal size that extended my stay at the store.

Anyways, when I got home and unboxed it, I noticed that the my solo band was attached backwards. The adjuster dial was on the same side as the battery port.

From what I understand, the contents of the boxes are assembled in store. I think Brandon Butch mentioned that in his unboxing video which is why they have red pull tab arrows instead of green.

Now I know this is a very minor thing but if you’re gonna sell me a brand new $4K device, at least present it as such. Kind of deflated the excitement of my unboxing experience. Oh and I also noticed some finger prints on the inner lenses and one big one on the outside glass where I was extremely careful not to touch myself.
 
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Itinj24 said:
Long story short. I preordered with a 33W and left the store with a 21W. They had to go through this whole rigmarole of processing two different receipts for the change in light seal size that extended my stay at the store.

Anyways, when I got home and unboxed it, I noticed that the my solo band was attached backwards. The adjuster dial was on the same side as the battery port.

From what I understand, the contents of the boxes are assembled in store. I think Brandon Butch mentioned that in his unboxing video which is why they have red pull tab arrows instead of green.

Now I know this is a very minor thing but if you’re gonna sell me a brand new $4K device, at least present it as such. Kind of deflated the excitement of my unboxing experience. Oh and I also noticed some finger prints on the inner lenses and one big one on the outside glass where I was extremely careful not to touch myself.
Click to expand...

Bummer. Not the best experience for such an expensive device but hopefully its working ok for you.
 
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tobyringle69 said:
Minor indeed.
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Yep yep, I admitted it is, however, I’d like to feel like I’m opening a brand new device, not something with fingerprints and an incorrect assembly. I remember also now, one of the attachments on the band wasn’t even secured. Just not what you’d expect from an Apple product at any price point.
 
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I definitely would’ve been disappointed if that happened to me. Time is such a precious resource, however, that I might save myself a trip to the store and just mention it in my survey, or maybe call AppleCare to pass the feedback on.
 
mattopotamus said:
You acknowledge they are assembled in store. Why go through the hassle when the same thing might happen? Use that apple cloth that came with the device.
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Yeah I get it. Trying to justify with myself why it came looking like a demo model. It’s still being assembled whether in store or at the factory. I don’t know, maybe principle. I would expect it to be handled with care. The more I think about it, the more it annoys me.

Look at it this way. You just opened, a brand new iPhone 15 Pro Max in the comfort of your home. The factory screen protector is on sideways and there are fingerprints all over the screen and the rear glass. You go through the contents and find the USB-C cable to not be seated properly in the paper ring holder. Never mind where the contents of the packaging were assembled, would that be acceptable to you?
 
AVP_NEWB said:
I definitely would’ve been disappointed if that happened to me. Time is such a precious resource, however, that I might save myself a trip to the store and just mention it in my survey, or maybe call AppleCare to pass the feedback on.
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The Apple Store is 10 mins from my house and it gives me a reason to coming there and look at the shiny Apple devices lol. Plus my regular days off from work are alternating three and four off so I have the time.

Oh and the box also has a nice dent in the corner. Might not be a huge deal to some but I’m also an Apple box collector and this is a nice addition to the collection. Again, never got this from any device bought at an Apple Store. They usually handle with the utmost care.
 
I completely empathize with OP. Details like these matter at that price point. You don't expect a Vacheron Constantin, for example, to arrive with a backwards band and Big Mac sauce stains, even if everything is easily fixable and washable. You send it back. Try harder.
 
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Itinj24 said:
The Apple Store is 10 mins from my house and it gives me a reason to coming there and look at the shiny Apple devices lol. Plus my regular days off from work are alternating three and four off so I have the time.

Oh and the box also has a nice dent in the corner. Might not be a huge deal to some but I’m also an Apple box collector and this is a nice addition to the collection. Again, never got this from any device bought at an Apple Store. They usually handle with the utmost care.
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The people having a go at you and calling you a whiner wouldn't have accepted it, so you shouldn't either.
 
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It's disappointing for sure just imagine buying a new iPhone or an Apple Watch and finding 1 or 2 fingerprints on the display. It surely ruins the unboxing experience.
 
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Itinj24 said:
Yeah I get it. Trying to justify with myself why it came looking like a demo model. It’s still being assembled whether in store or at the factory. I don’t know, maybe principle. I would expect it to be handled with care. The more I think about it, the more it annoys me.

Look at it this way. You just opened, a brand new iPhone 15 Pro Max in the comfort of your home. The factory screen protector is on sideways and there are fingerprints all over the screen and the rear glass. You go through the contents and find the USB-C cable to not be seated properly in the paper ring holder. Never mind where the contents of the packaging were assembled, would that be acceptable to you?
Click to expand...

I completely understand where you are coming from. I won't pretend like I wouldn't be annoyed, but exchanging it would personally be more of an inconvenience to me.
 
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It’s not going to stay perfect forever, I know it didn’t come in pristine shape but if you can restore it yourself to the condition it should have came then I say keep it and move on with your life b/c ultimately you’ll save time and wear and tear in all areas.
I’d just bring the box in the next time your around and ask for a new one, suggesting you’ll return the whole thing based on your experience if they don’t want to be cool.
 
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klasma said:
I think that’s on purpose, for the polishing cloth tutorial session.
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When I returned mine, I knew I should have kept that damn little cloth. They literally opened the the box to make sure the headset was in there and nothing else.
 
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mattopotamus said:
When I returned mine, I knew I should have kept that damn little cloth. They literally opened the the box to make sure the headset was in there and nothing else.
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Haha, before release I was joking that people would buy the AVP and then return it just to get the special-edition polishing cloth, and was wondering if Apple would charge you for it if they noticed it was missing.
 
klasma said:
Haha, before release I was joking that people would buy the AVP and then return it just to get the special-edition polishing cloth, and was wondering if Apple would charge you for it if they noticed it was missing.
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I seriously debating keeping it, or just having it in my pocket in case they asked for it during the return. Had that bad boy packaged as if it was unopened just for them to see the headset was there and process the return. They didn't even lift the headset up and check the rest of the contents.
 
Itinj24 said:
Yeah I get it. Trying to justify with myself why it came looking like a demo model. It’s still being assembled whether in store or at the factory. I don’t know, maybe principle. I would expect it to be handled with care. The more I think about it, the more it annoys me.

Look at it this way. You just opened, a brand new iPhone 15 Pro Max in the comfort of your home. The factory screen protector is on sideways and there are fingerprints all over the screen and the rear glass. You go through the contents and find the USB-C cable to not be seated properly in the paper ring holder. Never mind where the contents of the packaging were assembled, would that be acceptable to you?
Click to expand...
I don't blame you. I'd be annoyed too. But I also know that if I did nothing and just ignored it for 2 days, I'd completely get over it (assuming the device is undamaged, of course). In the end, I'd probably mildly regret making a stink about it.
 
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AgeOfSpiracles said:
I don't blame you. I'd be annoyed too. But I also know that if I did nothing and just ignored it for 2 days, I'd completely get over it (assuming the device is undamaged, of course). In the end, I'd probably mildly regret making a stink about it.
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I wouldn’t make a stink per se. Just a tactful return and let them put it on the refurbished store where it should’ve been in the first place, given the not so new looking condition it was in.

At first, I wasn’t so sure I was keeping it. For a device of that price and promise, had to make sure it lived up to my expectations. This only started bothering me when I realized that I’m 100% keeping it.
 
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FreakinEurekan said:
Should you return it? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ up to you.

Should you whine about it on MR? If you do, expect some abuse.
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Eh, I don’t see it as abuse. Just differing opinions. I didn’t ask any questions in my OP, like whether I should keep or return it. The purpose of this post was to see if someone had a similar experience and what the community felt about it.

Apparently, 3goldens in Post #5 gets to decide what is acceptable for me to whine about and what not. Didn’t know I needed approval first. Thought that was funny.
 
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