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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

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Question marked as Best reply

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.

162 replies
Question marked as Best reply

Jan 30, 2017 6:55 PM in response to mvasilakis13

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.

Feb 27, 2017 1:34 PM in response to mvasilakis13

Really appreciate everyone's feedback and definitely makes me question sending my iMac to PowerON. I'm glad I checked out the forums before sending my old iMac! I'll try out both PowerMax and Gazelle to see what kind of quotes I will receive, but I can see that the online form for PowerMax is already more sophisticated as it asks several questions beyond just model & serial number, so should take into account the upgrades like processor, memory and drives.

Mar 14, 2017 8:19 AM in response to mvasilakis13

I bought a new MacBook Pro with touchbar, and decided to send in my 2015 MacBook Pro after being quoted 533. It was until after I had sent my package through FedEx that I came across this thread. After reading through all of the post, I thought to myself, "What did I just do?". Thankfully, after receiving my MacBook, PowerOn quickly audited my computer. They reduced my initial quote due to heavy scratches on the screen, but that is something I expected. I just received my gift card this morning and I am so glad I did not have an experience like most on this thread. The process was quick and easy, and I'm now on my way to apple to get myself a little present with the money.

May 16, 2017 7:38 AM in response to mvasilakis13

I read this thread after sending in my 2011 MacBook Pro in to PowerOn and was kind of terrified about what would happen. I wanted to write in that less than two weeks after they received my computer, they did the audit and gave me the full dollar amount they originally quoted me for. I got an email saying they were going to send the Apple gift card within 24-48 hours and I got the gift card about 4 hours later. Maybe PowerOn is trying to do better or maybe I got lucky. I just wanted to add my experience here so others could know that every experience isn't bad.

May 27, 2017 9:33 AM in response to mvasilakis13

I made the mistake of sending my computers to them before reading this thread! What a mistake!


I sent them a MacBook pro (2009) and a MacBook Pro Core 15" Retina (2012). The quoted me $545.67. I just got an email from them saying they will be sending me a gift card for $349.67??? This is almost $200 less than the amount quoted. There was no explanation as to why the amount dropped drastically.


The biggest joke is that they quoted me $106 for the MacBook 2009, and they want to give me $30 for it. I sent this computer to them with a NEW power cord in the box worth $79. It doesn't make any sense! And the only reason I wanted to sell my other MacBook Pro (2012) is that I wanted the MacBook Pro with the touch bar. My 2012 MacBook was not acting up, not broken, not scratched, etc. I just wanted the newest model.


I am very disappointed that Apple does business with such a dishonest company. The whole thing was a fiasco from the start! I spent almost an hour on the phone with Apple inquiring about their buy back program and they assured me I could go to the store, do the exchange there, and immediately get a gift card towards my purchase. When I got to the store they told me they do not take care of this program. I wasted my time, bought the new computer anyway, and decided to try the PowerOn program and get a gift card later. I was at first leery but since Apple was backing them up, I figure why not! I wish I would have gone with my gut.


I tried to call them today but they are closed during the weekend. I sent a reply email to them asking for my computers back. I much rather give them away to charity than have a greedy company such as PowerOn make a profit. We will see! I have the feeling after reading the reviews, I am going to continue to be disappointed.

Jun 28, 2017 1:54 PM in response to marisol FL

I trusted Apple to use a legit vendor for their recycling program so I sent my Macbook pro core i5 2.4 gHz 15" to powerOn. Instead of a online quot for $177. I got $40. Out of no where it mentioned that my systemboard is defective, the laptop is working fine. And they are saying the condition is poor without any detail. I'm very disappointed. I should have to read the review before sent. To whom hasn't gone through this process with powerOn: Don't do it! You will be donating your laptop for someone to make a profit.

Jul 26, 2010 9:08 PM in response to outputlevel

You know what? Thank you for replying. You just saved me some aggravation. I'd rather take my chances selling it on ebay. $25? Dude even if its a little banged up how can the price go from 400+ to $25?

Mine is in mint condition but again I'd rather sell it on ebay than have to deal with returns and headaches.

Again thanks for taking the time to respond.

Aug 12, 2010 11:33 AM in response to mvasilakis13

I'm not the only one who were offered $25. What a joke. It's definitely a scam. I have a one year old MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz 15" (2008) (T8300) (MB133LL/A). It's fully usable, just a dent and some scratches on the housing. Estimate is $555 and "audited offer" is $25. May be the entire estimate of $555 offer less $25 is based on a used average condition housing.

Don't waste money on shipping! Don't do it.

Aug 12, 2010 1:10 PM in response to mvasilakis13

PowerON Services Inc. was ranked the #1 fastest growing, privately held computer hardware company in America by +Inc. Magazine+ last year. We have been in business for over 16 years and are dedicated to quality customer service and end user satisfaction. Since the beginning of this particular recycling and reuse program an average of 2% of participants have requested their products be returned. Should you request your product be returned, we ship it back to you at no charge. If, during the quoting process, questions are answered accurately, and issues are not found during the audit process, you should be awarded the full amount of the quoted value. 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. If you have specific questions or concerns regarding the recycling and reuse program, please do not hesitate to give us a call.

<Edited by Host>

Aug 12, 2010 1:06 PM in response to bzhubetty

bzhubetty wrote:
Don't waste money on shipping!


Hi b,

I hate scams as much or more than the next person. However, according to the link in the OP, if the computer is eligible for reuse (as opposed to recycle), PowerOn sends you a prepaid shipping label. And according to the PowerOn post of a few minutes ago, they also pay for return shipping if you want it back.

So where's the shipping cost?

And if there is no shipping cost either way, what's the problem?

PowerOn Recycling

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