Pixel 2 Trade-In Nightmare - Buyers Beware!!!

FoneFreak

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I just wanted to give the community a heads up to see if anyone else had the issues I'm going through now or warn everyone of the shenanigans that Google is pulling with their trade-in program for the Pixel 2 / 2 XL.

I preordered the Pixel 2 on the announcement day and selected the trade-in option as they were giving a reasonable $360 for my old Pixel 128GB black model. It was in mint condition with a screen protector, D-Brand skin and Spigen case on it since I took it out of the new box. I knew it could fetch a bit more on Ebay, but figured the trade-in amount was fair and it would save me the trouble of listing it and having Paypal and Ebay fees withdrawn from it.
I got the Pixel 2 and proceeded to send in my old Pixel after removing the skin, case, screen protector, wiping it to factory default and removing the SIM as instructed. I then packed it in the original box and then bubble wrapped it and put it into another shipping box. I found the padded envelope they supplied for the trade ridiculous as it wouldn't have survived a USPS journey very well.

Fast forward to Friday, 10/4 where I get this email:

"Hi,
After examining the device you submitted for Trade In, we found that it was different from what you indicated in our Trade In wizard.
Because of this, we've adjusted your Trade In credit from $360.00 to $260.00. Look for a refund of $260.00 on your form of payment(s) soon.
To get more info about how we evaluated your phone, see the device checklist in this email.
Assessed device condition
Unknown Phone
neutral Incorrectly reported phone model "


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I called on Friday and got a sympathetic customer care agent that was going to work on resolving this and email or call me later about the status. I then called yesterday to find out what is going on as I've heard nothing back and my AMEX just got the credit for $260 applied to it. The agent keeps putting me on hold and coming back saying it was an unidentified phone and I'll only be getting $260 for the trade. That makes zero sense as it's a Pixel 128GB in mint condition I kept stating. He then tells me a third party company reported this, so obviously some fraud is going on here, I'm thinking. I was furious :mad: and politely told him I'd like to set-up a return on my Pixel 2 and get my old Pixel back and will be taking my purchase elsewhere as this is a bait and switch and is being handled very poorly. He then puts me on hold and has to speak with someone, comes back to tell me I have to wait another day for someone to contact me about this as he can't finalize things right now or resolve it. He would only give me his first name and some long # for tracking of this problem.

I hope others have been getting a smoother experience on the trade-in. I'll definitely update this thread once I hopefully hear more.

Until then just beware that they aren't honoring the trade-in amounts and I sent them a phone that looked brand new and worked perfectly.
 

Aquila

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It is a third party company that handles these, so if a mistake was made it does take time for them to reach out to that company to try to get it sorted out.
 

alarsen77

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Thanks for the "heads up" - something to consider in the future. Wonder if Verizon does any better with their plan.

I can tell you from my experience with Verizon on trading my S7 edge in for the Pixel XL I have now and they tried to charge me for my remaining phone payments saying they never received the phone and I had tracking proof that it was there. They then had to "look into it further" it took over a week for them to get it straightened out and then the credit didn't show on my account until the next billing cycle which was almost a month away as my billing cycle had just renewed. So I had a negative balance on my account for 2 months because I refused to pay them the payments on my old phone when it was their mess up in the first place.

So while it did get handled it was a bit of a cluster with Verizon as well. My girlfriend traded hers in as well but she did it right at the Verizon store not mailing it in since she got her phone at the store. I had to order mine since they didn't have any XL 128gb in stock when I got it. Her trade in was smooth and no issues. So I guess doing it right at the store is the way to go.
 

Jaycemiskel

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Seems like all trade in deals are hit and miss. Samsung had a ton of problems with theirs ad well. Doesn't inspire confidence in any of these companies for me.
 

FoneFreak

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It is a third party company that handles these, so if a mistake was made it does take time for them to reach out to that company to try to get it sorted out.

That's what I'm hoping, but after the poor follow up with no call or email it had me questioning the process all together.
 

FoneFreak

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Seems like all trade in deals are hit and miss. Samsung had a ton of problems with theirs ad well. Doesn't inspire confidence in any of these companies for me.

I agree. I'll continue to sell my mint phones on Ebay after this. Not worth the aggravation and time spent on the calls, emails and tracking of it. Stupid me figuring the first time doing it would be smooth.
 

anon(10274434)

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I agree. I'll continue to sell my mint phones on Ebay after this. Not worth the aggravation and time spent on the calls, emails and tracking of it. Stupid me figuring the first time doing it would be smooth.

That's how we learn how to do things the 2nd time, buy screwing up the 1st time - life 101 - ;)
 

mikef91

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That's why I use Swappa. No BS eBay fees as the buyer pays the listing fee. You only pay PayPal fees. I've never trusted anything where I've had to send in the device and wait for a credit. You could have easily gotten $100 more than the original trade-in estimate on Swappa.
 

FoneFreak

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That's why I use Swappa. No BS eBay fees as the buyer pays the listing fee. You only pay PayPal fees. I've never trusted anything where I've had to send in the device and wait for a credit. You could have easily gotten $100 more than the original trade-in estimate on Swappa.

Good to know, I might try that next time...>Thanks!
 

libra89

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Ugh this is really disappointing to read. Sad that they do this. Hopefully you can get your original phone back.
 

FoneFreak

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Ugh this is really disappointing to read. Sad that they do this. Hopefully you can get your original phone back.

If I sent them something beat up or questionable I would expect the drop in value assessed, but I couldn't have sent them a more perfect phone and took extremely good care of the packaging of it.
 

gmermel

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I agree. I'll continue to sell my mint phones on Ebay .....

I've got a seller beware warning:

eBay has a 10% fee applied to cell phones. I was stunned when I found this out when I considered selling my Pixel XL.

I'd suggest Swappa. They have a very reasonable fixed fee based on the sales price.

Just sayin'.
 

gmermel

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Fast forward to Friday, 10/4 where I get this email:

"Hi,
After examining the device you submitted for Trade In, we found that it was different from what you indicated in our Trade In wizard.
Because of this, we've adjusted your Trade In credit from $360.00 to $260.00. Look for a refund of $260.00 on your form of payment(s) soon.
.[/U][/B]

Thanks for this warning.

I'm going to take several pictures of my device, then show it bubble wrapped going in to the labeled box and finally the sealed box.

THEN let them try to mess with me......
 

FoneFreak

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Thanks for this warning.

I'm going to take several pictures of my device, then show it bubble wrapped going in to the labeled box and finally the sealed box.

THEN let them try to mess with me......

Great idea! I'll be doing the same next time to cover myself.
 

libra89

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I've got a seller beware warning:

eBay has a 10% fee applied to cell phones. I was stunned when I found this out when I considered selling my Pixel XL.

I'd suggest Swappa. They have a very reasonable fixed fee based on the sales price.

Just sayin'.

OMG I never knew that. Thank you for sharing this.
 

Ca_lvn

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I've had good success on swappa, sold any phone I listed in just a few minutes, can always adjust your price to comp for the fee
 

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