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Level 1

6 points

PowerOn Recycling

Has anyone recycled a Mac using Apples recycle program to get a gift card from Apple?
http://www.apple.com/recycling/computer/

Basically I want to know if they stick with their estimate and give the amount they offer or do they stick it to you once they have the computer in hand.
They are offering:
Apple MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo 2.16 Ghz 15" (T7400) (MA609LL/A)
Estimate provided by PowerON:
$487.62

But do they deliver. I'd hate to find out after they get the computer that they will only pay $300 and then charge me to ship it back or worse yet refuse to ship it back.

2009 MacPro 2x2.26 ATI 4870 6GB RAM, Mac OS X (10.6.2), 650GB Bootcamp Drive 3x1.5 TB jHFS+

Posted on Jul 25, 2010 11:01 AM

Best reply

SlamSlam

Level 1

4 points

Posted on Jan 30, 2017 6:55 PM

They quoted me $296 for a Macbook Pro. I sent it in and awaited the audit results.

They wrote me back claiming the iSight camera doesn't function and they were therefor dropping the condition of my laptop from "Good" to "Poor" and reducing the quote by $40 to $256 (I looked on eBay and a replacement part is $4: a 10X markup).

Problem is, the Macbook was at the Apple Store a week before I sent it off to PowerON and had a full diagnostics test. No issues with the camera. And of course the camera worked just fine when I owned it.

Furthermore, the photo the PowerON technician sent as "proof" of the faulty camera (a photo of the laptop screen) had an OS X Snow Leopard desktop wallpaper. But I sent them a laptop with a fresh install of OS X Lion; a completely different desktop wallpaper. Their photo was also low-res and poor quality, with no date or time conveniently featured.

I was preparing a reply to PowerON about these points when I stumbled onto this thread and began reading horror stories about people receiving drastically reduced quotes. Or even worse, broken devices returned or parts swapped out with dents, etc. So I figured I was "getting off good" with just a $40 difference in my quote...So I cut my loses and just kept my mouth shut and took the PowerON offer.

Total scam. I'm partly to blame for doing zero research on the company prior to sending my Macbook off. I just assumed that they were 100% legit since Apple.com links directly to them for their recycling program.

If I were to do it over, I would just go with Gazelle.com which offers the same amount for my laptop.

PowerON? More like PowerOFF.

View in context

162 replies

Aug 22, 2014 12:21 PM in response to Ryan007

I wasn't impressed with the quote process. I sent them my 4s for a gift card, the initial number seemed fair, great convenience. Before the phone even went through their "audit" process, the base quote was whacked down 10%. I'm supposed to be getting my phone back.

Given the overwhelming number of unhappy campers who have posted in the forum, Apple should bear down on these folks to do the right thing or sever the relationship. I teach at a local college & intend to post against Poweron's shoddy business practices to a fairly sizeable audience. Apple seems to be more uncaring about customer relations.

Run Forrest, run! Stay away from Poweron.

Nov 21, 2014 1:43 PM in response to ncvlen

I just sent back my MacPro. Using my serial number, they quoted me a one year newer model for $203. I just got my audit back and it's now $77. Not sure why that happened. They downgraded the condition from good (I babied this computer) to fair and send a picture of case damage which I never noticed before (like happened in shipping). I had my original packing materials and wished I could had used them—much sturdier then what they provided. I was stupidly trusting and did not take photos before sending it off. Lesson learned. Next time, I'll try gazelle. I've used sell your mac before for phones with a good result.

Overall for a computer this old, the $203 did seem optimistic, however, quite the price difference from quote.

Nov 21, 2014 1:51 PM in response to Jeff Self

They definitely over quote and under deliver on the price.

mvasilakis13 Author

Level 1

6 points

Nov 21, 2014 4:49 PM in response to mvasilakis13

I had forgotten I made this post. 4 years and 147 replies. I read through the replies and fond some disconcerting similarities with the complaints here. I don't know if the problem is endemic with the company or just a rogue team within the company perpetuating fraud but this deserves to be looked into. It couldn't be too difficult for Apple to send in some old laptops and track the process from time to time to make sure the company is staying honest and complying with Apple standards.

In the end I kept the laptop and gave it to my son to play with. The battery is now shot and I've had to replace the HD but it still cranks away and plays Minecraft for him like a boss.

I never did have any experience with PowerOn but Apple really should audit the company periodically and make their findings public.

deb178

Level 1

0 points

Dec 4, 2014 4:05 PM in response to mvasilakis13

I have a box on the way because I was planning to sell my iMac (24-inch, Early 2009) through PowerOn instead of dealing with one of the other questionable services; however, I don't like what I'm reading in these posts. I am definitely having second thoughts.

Deb

Aug 3, 2015 12:00 PM in response to abcApple

They did the same thing to me. I shipped them a working MacBook Pro in excellent condition. There was nothing wrong with it, it was just 6 years old. I wanted to upgrade my laptop and it was quoted for $300. They claim the laptop has a cracked screen. They are full of it.

I DO have high definition video that shows me packing the MacBook Pro up. In the video I start with it booting and go around the computer showing its excellent condition. the recording concludes with me packing up and taping the box. Im not sure if I should pursue legal council here. Especially if there are enough people that have been ripped off like this. I'm shocked Apple would do business with them.

Jan 22, 2016 1:41 PM in response to Renee Jackson

My macbook pro 13 inch with retina launched in 2012, the quote was around $466, but after they audited, they paid much much much lower! Under their audition, my macbook value @ only $ 206! From $466? More than half from their listed price! More importantly, I have no ideas what standards they use for evaluation. My macbook working perfectly, and only the batteries need to replace. The Apple guys told me to replace the batteries cost me around $389 with the labor fee, and the PowerOn guys said it will cost them around $488 to replace the batteries. I felt like they just want to take advantage from us. PowerOn is the worst recycling program ever!

Oct 11, 2016 9:10 AM in response to mvasilakis13

I was hoping my transaction would be better than some that I've read here.

Anyway, had my first interaction with PowerOn and unfortunately it was a terrible experience. It really feels like they're scamming people.

About a week ago, I sent in a late 2012 Mac Mini in great conditions, with an online quote of about $200. Today I received an email from them saying that the systemboard was defective and attached a picture of a screen with graphic issues, all that resulted in a $0 value. I was using the computer up to the day I wiped the drive and re-installed the OS, before putting it in a box. So Either it got damaged by Fedex/PowerON, or they just sent me a random screen to claim that my computer wasn't working.

I'm fine with them lowering the offer a bit due to scratches (there aren't any btw), or whatever small issues they find, but what's happening feels completely shady and unethical. This just seems like PowerOn is trying to get people's computers for free.

Apple should stop being associated with PowerOn.

Oct 24, 2016 10:27 PM in response to mvasilakis13

I Will pay 50 dollars more quotes by poweron

Oct 24, 2016 10:29 PM in response to cptsilver

WWhen you ask for your computer back , they will give you a runaround .

Oct 24, 2016 10:32 PM in response to cptsilver

They will give u a runaround or offer 10 dollars more to keep from sending the computer back. It is one **** of a shady company. i don't think know how to manage a business.

PAMark

Level 1

4 points

Dec 3, 2016 8:15 AM in response to mvasilakis13

My first transaction with PowerOn was successful. The new one smells like a ripoff.

PowerOn Recycling