PowerOn Recycling

sorry... there was a typo in my previous post. I was quoted $246 for my ipad and just received an email saying poweron would honor the entire amount. It goes on to say that I will be emailed the gift card within 24-48 hours. Yay! I'll be getting a new ipad just in time for Christmas!

They probably monitor this discussion and knew you were coming, but regardless, count yourself very lucky.

Ditto!

Well, if that's the case, I'm about to send my 3rd gen iPad (32GB Wi-Fi + Verizon) to PowerOn myself, for the same quoted price. So here I am, PowerOn! Pander to me!

I'm so furious. I also thought that Apple would be working with an ethical and responsible company. I was given a quote for a 2007 Macbook, which obviously doesn't have too much value. But it was well taken care of, has a good battery, new casing, new DVD drive, and normal wear/tear scratches. This computer works. They greatly decreased my quote, sent me pictures that may not even be from my computer - one of the two "defects" is a scratch that is they zoomed in so far on that I can't tell if it's even my computer. Maybe its the bottom of the laptop?

Either way - yes there were some cosmetic issues, but based on their ranking system - it might be considered "fair" but definitely not the "poor" condition as they stated. Because "poor" refers to "significant scratching and/or scuffing, dents larger than dime sized, cracks longer than one inch, broken hinge, defective trackpad, and/or minor discoloration."

I'm shocked that Apple works with this company. I wanted a responsible way to recycle my computer. PowerON did not offer that to me. I'd rather donate it to a local program or someone that I know can use it. I only hope that PowerON will actually send me my computer back. I just wish I'd taken pictures of it before I sent it away. I'm concerned that I'm going to get back a damaged computer.

Shocking.

We recently shipped 3 iPads to them and appear to be getting the 'bait and switch'; the quote on mine came back lower than estimate due to two claimed defects which I know did not exist on it when it was shipped (all of our units have always been case-enclosed). We haven't gotten audits back on the other two yet, but it appears that PowerOn's tactics continue to be shady; I am REALLY disappointed in this company and in Apple for using them. nclven - don't use these people - go to Gazelle or Best Buy instead.

They have my 3rd Generation iPad now and they've started the audit process. The iPad is almost flawless (babied and Smart Cover'd since I got it), and I'll report my results when I get a quote.

So far, they're batting 1 out of 3 - they honored the quote on the iPad2 we sent them in full, but then they mis-identified the third unit that we sent them as an iPad2 rather than an Ipad3, and lowered the amount they would reimburse because of this, plus they grossly misidentified the condition of the unit. This leads me to believe that either their audit process has flaws and they inadvertantly attached the audit report from a different unit, or this is near-fraudulent behavior on their part.

We rejected the quote because of this and wrote their customer service explaining the situation and asking for a re-audit because they got it wrong - if they can't provide us a re-audit and a correction on the amount, we're going to go talk to Apple about this.

Hopefully, you'll have better luck than we've had with them.

Good for you in pursing this. Keep us posted on your outcome.

Even though I had a great experience with PowerOn, I really regret not recycling with Bestbuy or other retailers offering giftcards. Apple is by far the most expensive to buy Apple products, now I am stuck with having to buy from the Apple website, which unlike many retailer in my area, never ever gives discounts. Very frustrating!

So, to round out my experience with PowerOn:

1)We got an e-mail back with the CSR with a serial number (which turned out to be the serial for the iPad 2, which they had already audited). We sent back the serials for the two iPad 3s and again rejected the audit until the matter could be cleared up.

2)The CSR sent us back a list of the audit numbers with items and serials - one of the items was an iPhone 4s belonging to another customer; when they asked us "are you x", we told them that it wasn't us and the phone wasn't submitted by us.

3)We called them and got the CSR who had been replying to e-mails and pointed out to him that they had listed an item which didn't even belong to us. We also inquired about the apparent mixup and about the damage claims.

4)They called us back, claiming that the iPad2 and the second 3 had somehow inexplicably been swapped in the audit process. They blamed FedEx.

5)They still stood by their damage grades, even though we insisted that one of the audits showed damage to the Home button on one unit that did not exist on the device prior to shipping.

6)All in all, they conceded the mistake on the swap and added $60.00 to the estimate on the third iPad, which was more than they offered but still far below the original online estimate.

My thoughts on the matter:

1)Their audit process and documentation appears to be very sloppily handled. If you use them, make sure you have detailed photos (front and back) of your item, and also record all serial numbers.

2)Their grading process appears highly biased toward downgrading offers and is potentially fraudulent.

Their CSR, once on the phone, did make a slight effort to help resolve the issue, but overall, our experience with the recycle program was very unpleasant. We will never use it again, would not recommend using it, and if you do use it, document what you are sending as thoroughly as possible.

A followup from me. Just got my audit results, and the condition was downgraded with some pictures of flaws I'm sure were not there before I shipped. It all looks like damage that could have happened during shipping, however, which makes me wonder if the packing procedure they have pre-arranged with Fedex is wanting.

On the plus side, the final quote is significantly higher than the "Fair" quote I get on the website. The audit knocked $30 off the "Good" quote, rather than close to a hundred. The damage being done (I checked, the serial number matches in a picture of a cross-shaped scratch I have never seen before) I replied and accepted the quote.

Intiial quote: $246

Final quote: $216

Still more than what was quoted at Gazelle and Best Buy, anyway.

So, final verdict? YMMV.

WARNING!!! DO NOT USE PowerON. Worst company EVER. I have a 2008 Macbook Air that I was greatly encouraged by apple employees at the store to recycle through PowerON. I trusted Apple so I got a quote (194.00) and sent it to them. I had no idea they were going to disassemble my computer or I would have never sent it to them. They sent me photos saying I had water damage, I don't believe this at all. They offered me $50.00. I told them I wanted it back in the exact same condition that they recieved it in. By the way they give you 48 hours to decide if you are going to accept their offer and if they don't hear from you they send you a Apple gift card, terrible customer service. I got my computer back scratched up and the cover would not close, there was at least a 1/4 inch gap, the bar on the bottom also clicks where before it made absolutely no sound. I was so furious-I contacted PowerON and sent it in again. They told me the cover wasn't closing and the clicking on the bottom bar was due to a battery that needed replacing. I never had any problem with this computer until they took it apart and ruined it. When I got my computer back the second time the return address was half printed off and I can't believe it even got delivered to me----no full name and no full address only my state and zip and very partial street name. Fed Ex said they had to do a lot of research to get it to me. NICE PowerON. Once again, computer was scratched up even more but my lid closes, clicking sound still there. I could have sold this on Ebay for a decent price, now I feel like it's ruined by a company that Apple endorses!!! STOP IT APPLE.

I have never written a review anywhere but Apple needs to cut ties with PowerON, they are a SCAM.

They did the same thing on my mailing label, so I can vouch for that as well as your overall experience. For those reading this please mail a letter to Apple with your experiences and requrest they reconsider their relationship with PowerON. Don't email it, paper carries more weight.

Also, you can get more money for your device on Ebay. I got over twice what PowerON offered me by selling on Ebay.

To be honest I had a pretty good experience with them. They gave me the quoted price for my iPad 2 and delivered the gift card to my email within 2 hours of the audit being complete. I will use them again when I trade in my next item.