First a disclaimer, this message isn't telling you NOT to use samsung trade in. It's a free country (at least for now lol) and their trade in values are usually very good when a new round of devices are released. I would strongly advise, however, against succumbing to their trade in values until they have shown that past tradein issues have been satisfactorily resolved. I have experienced about 2 personal nightmare experiences with their tradein program and these aren't even the worse case scenario compared to what others have gone through. My first bad experience- a lost/stolen note 20 ultra tradein (i received the dreaded empty box email from samsung) that I couldn't file insurance on since FedEx only allows the creator of a shipping label to file a claim for a lost or stolen device. And of course samsung refused to file a claim or request an investigation because they told me that I would have to file the claim but samsung still tried to charge me $600 for my trade-in. That issue wasn't resolved until several calls and complaints and finally a formal complaint filed with the BBB. My second bad experience- I decided to give samsung one more chance 6 months later and i traded in my surface pro 6 for a tab s8 ultra. I thought everything with this tradin went ok since I didn't receive an email to the contrary at the time. Words cannot express my dismay and anger when i suddenly received an email 10 MONTHS LATER on a Saturday afternoon from samsung tradein that my device was rejected and I would now receive a $400 charge back on my credit card because it was not a surface pro 6. I immediately called samsung wondering why I wasn't notified about this at the time of the trade-in? I was under the impression that a tradein result was final within 7 to 10 business days of them receiving the device. This email was sent to me almost a year after samsung confirmed to have received my tradein. Furthermore, I used my surface pro device for many years and took multiple videos of my device prior to sending it to them showing that it was in good condition and it was in fact a surface pro 6. (I started doing this after the 1st bad experience) After several more complaints a representative dropped the charge back but it was extremely disturbing that samsung even put me through this.
So here is the tl dr summary. If I were you, I would NOT use samsung tradein. If you want to tradein your device, go to best buy where you can trade in your device physically and get your results immediately. Best buy tradein values are usually not as good as samsung's but its better to lose a little to a tradein compared to being at samsung's mercy when a fedex worker decides to steal your tradein device. Or you could decide to use swappa or ebay or a similar online auction site to sell your device. Or just keep your device as a back up.
If, however, you do decide to use samsung tradein you should do the following to protect yourself, especially if you are getting a high tradein value. 1. Record your device including its working condition and clear images of any damage or lack there of on its screen and/or camera. 2. Record yourself packing up your device and handing it to the FedEx representative. I would just do the entire video in the FedEx location with one continuous recording. If you pause or stop the video samsung could later claim that you took your device out of its shipping box after you stopped the recording. And 3. follow up with samsung immediately if you get any notification that something went wrong with your tradein or if you don't hear back from their tradein department about the results within the 7 to 10 day time frame.
I realize my post is very long but I went through a lot of stress and grief as a result of my experiences with their tradein program and I want to do what I can help a fellow techie avoid what I went through.
So here is the tl dr summary. If I were you, I would NOT use samsung tradein. If you want to tradein your device, go to best buy where you can trade in your device physically and get your results immediately. Best buy tradein values are usually not as good as samsung's but its better to lose a little to a tradein compared to being at samsung's mercy when a fedex worker decides to steal your tradein device. Or you could decide to use swappa or ebay or a similar online auction site to sell your device. Or just keep your device as a back up.
If, however, you do decide to use samsung tradein you should do the following to protect yourself, especially if you are getting a high tradein value. 1. Record your device including its working condition and clear images of any damage or lack there of on its screen and/or camera. 2. Record yourself packing up your device and handing it to the FedEx representative. I would just do the entire video in the FedEx location with one continuous recording. If you pause or stop the video samsung could later claim that you took your device out of its shipping box after you stopped the recording. And 3. follow up with samsung immediately if you get any notification that something went wrong with your tradein or if you don't hear back from their tradein department about the results within the 7 to 10 day time frame.
I realize my post is very long but I went through a lot of stress and grief as a result of my experiences with their tradein program and I want to do what I can help a fellow techie avoid what I went through.
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