I should have opened the box. I didn't.
June 3, 2008 2:14 PM Subscribe
Bought a refurb 16gb iPhone on the 20th. My intention was to hold onto it until after the keynote and evaluate which one I wanted. I even called customer service at AT&T and she said "30 days" and "request return box", yadda yadda. I was very disciplined in that I wouldn't open it until the keynote. I broke down and opened it last night to find the stipulation "Apple products must be returned within 14 days".
I called immediately only to find the call center was closed 15 minutes ago. I called this morning and asked politely, asked to raise it to a manager's decision, and asked to involved Apple if there was any leniency. I told them either way they are getting a sale. No luck.
I know it's still a nice phone and it's unlockable today vs. who knows when on the 3G. I'm trying to convince myself it's no biggie. Selling it is a tough decision to make today... the market is semi-flooded and anticipating the new release. What if the new release doesn't offer much over this phone and I just sold it? After the fact, this phone probably won't attract as much from buyers as the new version.
What is the worst deadline you missed? About how long after did you miss the deadline? How did you swallow the loss (monetary, in this case) and convince yourself to accept it?
I called immediately only to find the call center was closed 15 minutes ago. I called this morning and asked politely, asked to raise it to a manager's decision, and asked to involved Apple if there was any leniency. I told them either way they are getting a sale. No luck.
I know it's still a nice phone and it's unlockable today vs. who knows when on the 3G. I'm trying to convince myself it's no biggie. Selling it is a tough decision to make today... the market is semi-flooded and anticipating the new release. What if the new release doesn't offer much over this phone and I just sold it? After the fact, this phone probably won't attract as much from buyers as the new version.
What is the worst deadline you missed? About how long after did you miss the deadline? How did you swallow the loss (monetary, in this case) and convince yourself to accept it?
This post was deleted for the following reason: You're not asking a question, you're telling a story and then asking for people to tell their own. This is chatfilter. -- cortex
Just thinking- perhaps the AT&T rep was quoting you AT&T's return policy. Where did you buy the phone from? If it's refurbished, I'm guessing from apple.com, right?
posted by self at 2:40 PM on June 3, 2008
posted by self at 2:40 PM on June 3, 2008
Bought a refurb 16gb iPhone on the 20th....
This should answer your Q, thilmony.
More often than not, rather than fight a battle I'm bound to lose I'll eat whatever loss is coming my way if I miss a return deadline. If there's any hope whatsoever that I might actually get somewhere, I'll surely try, but these days more often than not, it's simply not worth the effort.
In your case I would stress what you were told by the Apple rep vs. what the printed material inside the package says. It'd be nice if that actually counted for something, ya know?
posted by SoftSummerBreeze at 2:40 PM on June 3, 2008
This should answer your Q, thilmony.
More often than not, rather than fight a battle I'm bound to lose I'll eat whatever loss is coming my way if I miss a return deadline. If there's any hope whatsoever that I might actually get somewhere, I'll surely try, but these days more often than not, it's simply not worth the effort.
In your case I would stress what you were told by the Apple rep vs. what the printed material inside the package says. It'd be nice if that actually counted for something, ya know?
posted by SoftSummerBreeze at 2:40 PM on June 3, 2008
Just so you know, once the new iPhone comes out that means apple will NOT be carrying the current one anymore, so.....more than likely they will NOT let you return it because they don't carry the product anymore (unless it's defective). You may get lucky by pleading your case to a manager to let you exchange it for a new (ie 3G or whatever) one but don't count on it.
That being said, go to an apple store and speak to a manager and see if they'll make an exception. If they take it back (items bought from online generally can't get returned to a store) they'll probably charge you the restocking fee. Worst case scenario is that you still have a great phone.
Really though, yes a new model iPhone will probably have a couple of "features" that you'd die for but it's really also just great marketing. If the one you bought does what you need it to do then you didn't waste your money on it.
posted by eatcake at 2:50 PM on June 3, 2008
That being said, go to an apple store and speak to a manager and see if they'll make an exception. If they take it back (items bought from online generally can't get returned to a store) they'll probably charge you the restocking fee. Worst case scenario is that you still have a great phone.
Really though, yes a new model iPhone will probably have a couple of "features" that you'd die for but it's really also just great marketing. If the one you bought does what you need it to do then you didn't waste your money on it.
posted by eatcake at 2:50 PM on June 3, 2008
If you are reasonably comfortable with technology, one thing that you could do, if you decide you want the new model and you find that the company stonewalls you about returning it, is unlock it with ZiPhone or a similar program and sell it on eBay. You may very well make a profit that way--they're still selling for a lot (I've seen new unlocked iPhones ones selling for above retail), and yours is practically brand new. You'd have to be wary of scammers, etc., but it is an alternative.
posted by Kosh at 2:58 PM on June 3, 2008
posted by Kosh at 2:58 PM on June 3, 2008
I cope by remembering why I wanted the thing in the first place. I waited and waited and finally bought an iPhone and kicked myself for not getting it earlier. Thirteen days (no lie) later, they came out with the 16Gb model. I winced briefly, then thought, "Meh" - I was happy when I bought the phone; I'm happy now. If my wife wants my current phone, then maybe I'll get a 3G phone.
To keep my streak going, I recently bought a top-end iMac about nine days before they gave a speed bump to the entire line. Again - it wasn't worth my time or the bother of trying to disentangle the rats nest of computers in my office, attempting to locate all the packaging and figure out how to rebox it, lug it to the store, possibly pay restocking, etc. I love my iMac and in a few years, I will also love whatever replaces it, no doubt seven days before some newer version gets announced.
posted by cairnish at 3:02 PM on June 3, 2008
To keep my streak going, I recently bought a top-end iMac about nine days before they gave a speed bump to the entire line. Again - it wasn't worth my time or the bother of trying to disentangle the rats nest of computers in my office, attempting to locate all the packaging and figure out how to rebox it, lug it to the store, possibly pay restocking, etc. I love my iMac and in a few years, I will also love whatever replaces it, no doubt seven days before some newer version gets announced.
posted by cairnish at 3:02 PM on June 3, 2008
On some blog today or yesterday there was an article about someone selling an unlocked iPhone last week for more than they paid for it. There is still a demand for iPhones and the second-hand market is by no means swamped. Remember, there is no legit iPhone distributor in China where there are a lot of iPhone users...
posted by GuyZero at 3:15 PM on June 3, 2008
posted by GuyZero at 3:15 PM on June 3, 2008
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by thilmony at 2:35 PM on June 3, 2008