PowerOn Recycling

"If any discrepancies are found, we provide a detailed explanation of the discrepancies, complete with photos if necessary, to assist you in the decision to accept the corrected value."

I have used PowerOn for three machines so far, all PowerMac G5s... each was quoted a certain amount and I was paid $20 less for each on my Gift Cards with no explanation. They send an email to you advising the product has been audited and that you can review the audit, but when I clicked the link, it provided no such detail and showed that the audit was "accepted". $20 is nothing I'm going to complain about, but if it was more, I would definitely be calling.

In any case, it would be appreciated if the workflow that PowerOn specifies is actually followed properly (as it has not been for the three quotes I have had with them so far). A fourth machine is on it's way back to them and I'll be interested to see how this one turns out. If it ends up less again, I will be calling because that will be at least $60-80 I have lost during the process with no explanation or audit details so far.

As for the OP, I wouldn't waste my time if its for a MacBook or MacBook Pro... I would sell that sucker on eBay for cash. I sold an older MacBook Pro 2.5 GHz machine for $1100 when PowerOn quoted me around $500-600 from what I remember. The only reason I'm using them now is to get rid of the machines that have no value/demand on eBay... all of the others end up there and get me significantly more cash than I'm getting with PowerOn.

Thank you for posting your concerns. I reviewed your account in detail and cross checked the information with the gift card payment processing center. After reviewing your account, our system shows no deductions and that gift cards were processed for the full amount quoted. Your message is of genuine concern for us, so please contact a customer service representative so that we may work with you to investigate this further.

I've had very good experience with PowerON when I recycled by MacBook White 2008 (Non-unibody.)

The quote was around $410. When I sent PowerON my MacBook, it is in great shape - No marks on palm rests, screen's flawless, and the shell has minor scratches on it - I did not use an invisible shield/skin to protect the shell, but I do my best to take care of it. 3 weeks later, I got my gift card in mail at full amount.

Based on my experience, I don't think it's a scam - You should know whether your computer is in great shape or not. If you can't, there are guidelines on their site to help you decide.

P.S. I do hope they'll recycle my old iPod and iPhones, as they're just laying around and I don't know how I can recycle it...

FYI - I just received my audited quote and it was for the full amount of $400+. I was very relieved, after reading some of the replies here I fully expected a $25 offer.

Thank you for the post and for recycling your computer with us! As for your iPod and iPhones, you can responsibly recycle them at this link. http://www.apple.com/recycling/ipod-cell-phone/

Thank you for using the program and recycling your computer and a big thank you for taking the time to post your positive experience here.

*Pasted below is my result (just sent to me via e-mail) and it was revised to $0.00 - the DVD was working when it was sent to them. With this said, I believe they are in the business to sustain/preserve themselves as an organization and will not [the majority of the time] honor their original quote. Be careful as this may not be the route for you...*

AUDIT COMPLETE: The PowerON Reuse and Recycling Quote XXXXX was successfully audited; however, our audit technician has notated a discrepancy with what was declared as the item(s) description or condition resulting in a revised quote value.
Listed below are the discrepancies:

Quoted Actual
Model Intel Pentium M 2.5 - 3.0 GHz Notebook Pentium 3 1.0-1.09 GHz Notebook
Description
Item Condition Excellent Poor
Item Value $78.70 $0.00
Audit Detail
Defective DVD Drive

To accept or reject the revised quote value for Quote XXXXX, simply reply to reuse@poweron.com
Sincerely,

PowerON Customer Support Team

Hi abc, and welcome to Apple Discussions.

A few things I'm not clear on:

Their original quote/best case scenario was $78.70?

Why wouldn't you sell it on eBay, or for parts, for more than that?

If that's what they quoted you, and now they won't give you that, why not just have them ship it back to you free of charge (as they said they'd do in earlier posts in this thread)? And then sell it for more or donate it and take it as a tax deduction (worth more than $78.70)?

I know I'll never use this service, so it doesn't matter to me in that respect, but it sure would be nice to have accurate, unbiased information posted here for those who do want to use it.

I just accepted a quote from PowerOn.

It was quote number 96880. It was for a Mac Pro 1,1 vintage 2006. It was model MA356LL/A, which is a quad-core dual 5100-series ("Woodcrest") Xeon 3.0GHz, about 4 1/2 years old. It had 16GB of DRAM, the most that particular model could take.

I used it constatnly with few problems the entire time I owned it. I had (2 years ago) upgraded the video card from the original ATI very hot card to an NVIDIA 8800 model Apple was selling especially for the Mac Pro 1,1. Apple's original 500GB hard drive failed last year, and I had replaced it with a Seagate 1TB drive that as of two weeks ago reported no errors or problems and no replaced sectors or pending bad sectors in the SMART utility. This 1TB drive was in the machine when I sent it to PowerON, the original bad drive had long since been recycled.

I upgraded both original Apple "superdrives" with (now discontinued) Pioneer 117D's, which were essentially in brand-new condition.

This computer was far from new, but it was still serviceable and was working just fine when I secure-erased the disk and re-installed Snow Leopard before shipping it to PowerOn on the 9th or 10th of September (i.e. less than two weeks ago).

Power-on's original quote based on my description of the machine as "good" was $740.54.

Power-on's "audit" determined that the condition of the machine was "poor" due to what they described only as a "defective system board". Exactly what the defect or problem was, was not specified. No further details were given. I have no idea what problem they discovered. I know the machine was running when I sent it to them. It's entirely possible that an exhaustive hardware probe turned up a problem of which I was unaware...but it would certainly have been nice if they had bothered to tell me what it was. It was a running computer with a lot of memory.

After the "audit", Power-On revised their quote down from $740.54 to $215.88.

I accepted it mostly because I just don't want to mess with it any more. I have my new Westmere 6-core mac pro installed (and I love it, by the way), and don't feel like wrestling with any more 60-lb boxes. If I had them ship the old computer back, I would just have driven it to my local recycling center. I don't like ebay, especially with used computers. I think that this attitude is common, and that PowerOn and similar enterprises rely on it.

I make no judgment or generalization about PowerOn. I am simply providing all the information I have concerning my own single recent transaction.

I personally would not use PowerON's service again, but this is just one person's experience.

I will not use PowerOn again because of their lack of communication. I have been patiently waiting on my audit but it has yet to come and my computer was delivered to them almost 4 weeks ago. My first email was answered quickly but my last one has yet to be answered.

The quotes I got for a couple computers I have are silly low and are easily blown out of the water by looking at some closed auctions on eBay.

I have to agree with all those who conclude that PowerOn's business practices are highly suspect. They seem to be no more than a bait and switch operation.

In my case, I sent them my Mom's iMac G5. In perfect condition - my mom had only ever used it to check email. Never any problems. Their original quote was $132.17. Upon receiving the computer they changed their offer to $47.97, claiming the computer was in "poor condition".

It surprises me that Apple would risk sullying their brand by associating with these scammers. In the very least, I think Apple should investigate what these guys are doing, because it is not right.

Conclusion: do not use PowerOn to recycle your computer - they will cheat you.

In defense of Power ON, you have a choice of accepting the amount they give you after their assessment of your machine, and they ship the computer back to you for free if you decide that you are unhappy or if there is a different amount. They also provide shipping supplies (Which includes foam, the box, and a shipping label) for computers that have value on the web page. I got quotes from a lot of different buy back programs but none of them offered to pay for all the materials needed to ship a computer.

I didn't get the full amount on the website, but they explained why in an email, and it made sense.

Message was edited by: Jim431

I got a quote from them yesterday for my mac mini of 212 dollars and some change. When I received the confirmation email from them later and clicked the link I couldn't find the quoted dollar amount anywhere. Even though they just sent out the packaging materials to me today, I am hesitant to use the service if I can't even access the original quote. I am skeptical of any service that has you send in your computer especially if they don't provide you with any proof of the quote. The only other option is that I am just not looking in the right place. Any suggestions or advice? Should I avoid this service altogether and just try to sell it on craigs?

We recently looked up Apples recycle program contracted by Poweron Services Inc. After accurately describing our unit and receiving an offer of $352.17 we received their approved shipping container and label. We packed and shipped as instructed. After about a week or so, we get an email with photos of some computer with horrible damage and an offer of $59.00. This is not the condition of the unit we sent them, there was no damage at all and the unit ran. I spent 1/2 a day using the unit and have several witnesses to this effect that saw me use and pack the unit. After several inquires these kind of problems seem to be a pattern with this company. And what would I gain by sending them a unit that was in such bad condition and lie about it? I challenged there findings and they offered me 94.00??
We did take the money assuming that if we had it shipped back that we would be left with a now damaged unusable unit.
Something happened to this unit after it left our hands and as Poweron stated there was no shipping damage. Several things ring as suspect behavior. 1.There are several complaints of this nature against this company. 2.The nature of the scratches in the photographs provided by Poweron are clearly suspicious they look intentional. I am not sure how something like that would even happen.And I would certainly not send a unit out in that condition and expect full payment?? 3. I also find it strange that after questioning them about this that they offered me more money so they didnt have to send it back?? A whole 94.00 still much less than the original quote.
Apple needs to address these complaints they are responsible for the quality of the vendors they use.