Samsung isn't honoring its Galaxy S8 $200 trade-in discounts. Major PR blow to come.

[TylerLV76]

bah. The masses, most of whom were never caught up in this debacle, will continue to go get another Samsung. Their carrier offers it, they've been using Samsung forever, and their friends have it, so there. Problem solved. It's a solution that takes much of the uncertainty out of the decision.

The only way to kill Samsung dead is if Apple decided to offer an Android handset. Apple apps plus the Apple Store plus Apple's incredible support infrastructure, plus carrier availability using Apple's infrastructure, would woo many converts from Samsung.

Apple could play it like Blackberry does now with the KEYone: it's our phone, using our stuff. It's the only place to get our stuff on Android. Sure the underlying OS is Android; you can add your other Android stuff, but now you can also have our stuff like iMessage et al. on your Android platform. Costs the same as an iPhone (perhaps a little less), but you get the rest of the Apple package. Premium parts, premium specs, premium support. Not your grandfather's ten dollar Android from Big Lots.

People said the same about Blackberry. People also, as pointed out earlier, said the same about Sears, and as you pointed out said the same about cable companies. So Im not really sure where you actually stand lol.

 

[Adam Frix]

You appear to actively be trying not to be sure.

It took Sears a long, long time to get to this point. It took an previously unimagined and practically unimaginable upheaval--the iPhone--to take Blackberry down, and even that took a few years. When you say, "People said the same thing about Blackberry," are you saying there's a similar upheaval coming?

The smartphone world has settled down, and the choices are Android or Apple. Apple does nothing but flagships; Android is everywhere from $10 Chinese crap to $900 Samsungs. Like I said, people will continue to get Samsung because it's safe. They don't care about this debacle. They don't even know about it.

Now, if you can come up with an upheaval the equivalent of the iPhone to change the industry (such that Samsung Galaxy becomes the next Blackberry), I'd be curious to know what that is.

With things as they are right now, nothing will hurt Samsung. Not this, not the Note 7, not the washers. You can dream about it like it's a lottery ticket, but if you think it'll happen, you're wrong.

And if you think this debacle has any impact on Samsung's bottom line, you're wrong.

 

[flyingkytez]

This deserves its own thread. I am really stunned that they could be so incredibly stupid. Yeah, some people would try to take advantage of the 200 trade in offer on the S8's and some did. Loudly so. But rejecting phones that actually do qualify is a bad bad move.

People who sent in good condition, working iPhone 4's, Galaxy S6's, Note 5's ,etc. were rejected and then charged $175. Some documentation here...

Samsung isn't honoring its Galaxy S8 $200 trade-in discount for many, leaving customers frustrated

Now I have spent all morning scouring the internet, looking at this issue and it does appear that many perfectly good phones that DO meet ALL of the requirements have been rejected. What's really sickening is those phones cannot be returned and therefore that means whatever third party Samsung is using can literally keep the evidence.

I myself ordered three phones under this program. One is here and two are in transit. I spoke with Samsung customer service and told them I am rejecting delivery on those two in transit. I also told them I may return the one I have now (got it Friday and was going to send in a perfectly good iPhone 4 tomorrow).

The rep told me they have been fielding calls all morning long. This thing is going to explode.

I was going to switch myself and my fiance to Samsung and get us off Apple. But right now I am repulsed by Samsung's behavior. My wife told me NO WAY will she deal with Samsung now and only wants an iPhone. Can you blame her?

For me I need to decide do I risk sending in my iPhone 4 or do I return this Samsung S8 and take the $60 loss on both the case and screen protector I purchased. THAT pisses me off to no end.

If I do take the risk and they accept the iPhone, I will absolutely sell the S8 once the Essential Phone is out. I am completely soured on Samsung by this behavior.

What would you folks suggest I do?

I bought this S8 under Samsung financing, so it's not like I have a friendly credit card (bank) behind me. Had I used my Visa I would have a hell of a lot more firepower.

This really sux.

So glad I didn't place an order. I've ordered the S8 from Samsung before and it's an absolute nightmare. Trying to talk to a live person? Forget about it. The only way to reach someone is via email and even then it takes 2-3 days (or longer) to get a reply. By the time you get a reply, it's already too late. And also, the person you're talking to keeps changing so you have to explain your situation over and over again. Think I've learned my lesson and won't ever buy from Samsung.com again, only through an actual retailer. They need to hire more or better people.

Actually don't blame Samsung entirely, it's the people working at the fulfillment center, located somewhere in the midwest.

 

[flyingkytez]

Have you ever bought with swappa? Just in case you haven't, only go with well rated sellers and you'll be good.

Still have to be careful with Swappa. Swappa favors cellphone dealers because they sell high volume and they get profit. Bought a T-Mobile phone brand new, however it had an EIP balance. Left negative feedback for a seller and Swappa took it down.

 

[flyingkytez]

As a current owner of the S8, I'd say stick with Apple. They have better customer support while Samsung's is almost non-existent.

True, Apple support is VERY good, even if you're not an Apple customer. Samsung needs to step up their game with customer service. However, all is forgiven because Samsung makes excellent devices.

 

[flyingkytez]

Samsung put themselves in a position where they could just lie, then made it impossible for the user to prove that they lied or for the user to pull back from the deal as a result of that lie.

Was Sammy responsible? Sure. Was the end user responsible for putting himself in such a position where, if he was lied to, he could never recover? Yes--because while Sammy may have lied in their T&C about "we'll give you $200", they were clear about the position the end user would be in with respect to not being able to pull back from the deal.

People saw "free $200" and ignored the "but only if Sammy does what they say AFTER you give them your device through the mail without any way of getting it back or disproving Sammy's judgment on the device".

People engaged in highly risky behavior for the hope of getting $200, and were caught by surprise when it went south on them? Shocking.

People DO own their own behavior. By Sammy's own T&C it was very clearly a very risky deal for the end user to begin with, because of the bad position it put the end user into relative to Samsung.

T&C was not clear enough. Should have said "no old phones" or "generic phones" regardless if it's in good condition. Sucks for people that got trapped by this deal.

 

[TylerLV76]

You appear to actively be trying not to be sure.

It took Sears a long, long time to get to this point. It took an previously unimagined and practically unimaginable upheaval--the iPhone--to take Blackberry down, and even that took a few years. When you say, "People said the same thing about Blackberry," are you saying there's a similar upheaval coming?

The smartphone world has settled down, and the choices are Android or Apple. Apple does nothing but flagships; Android is everywhere from $10 Chinese crap to $900 Samsungs. Like I said, people will continue to get Samsung because it's safe. They don't care about this debacle. They don't even know about it.

Now, if you can come up with an upheaval the equivalent of the iPhone to change the industry (such that Samsung Galaxy becomes the next Blackberry), I'd be curious to know what that is.

With things as they are right now, nothing will hurt Samsung. Not this, not the Note 7, not the washers. You can dream about it like it's a lottery ticket, but if you think it'll happen, you're wrong.

And if you think this debacle has any impact on Samsung's bottom line, you're wrong.

Refresh my memory. You don't have a Samsung, you won't buy a Samsung, because they screwed you over right? How many years ago was that? Interesting that your arguing people won't abandon a company for the same reasons you abandoned said company.

Did I say they will crumble? Nope. Did I say it will cost them dearly? Yep. Meaning it could cost them millions more than it already has. No matter how big the company, you find me one that is ok losing the amount theyve lost in the last year.

Your comments contradict themselves and at this point you've argued against you're own arguments. You made a mistake and that's fine. At least own it and stop trying to hide behind inconsistencies.

Feel free to have the last word. There is zero reason for me to continue with you.

 

[xDonJuanx]

When I saw the deal I bit. I even sent back my unopened OnePlus 5 because the S8 would be cheaper. The S8 is on backorder and I've been worrying about which phone to send them (a Nexus 5, a Galaxy S4, or a OnePlus One). They all meet the requirements, and are in great condition. But I'd be perfectly okay with keeping the phones lying around if I'm only going to get $25.

 

[polo2883]

Hopefully I get the $200 for the Droid 2 Global. If not I used my Amex card and they seem to usually side with the card holder. I have the chat and terms and condition for proof with Amex if needed.

 

[AustinTech]

People said the same about Blackberry. People also, as pointed out earlier, said the same about Sears, and as you pointed out said the same about cable companies. So Im not really sure where you actually stand lol.

Yup. People said Blackberry was never going away, but they quickly died for all intents and purposes. I watched an old Flossy video where he was reviewing a phone and he actually said he didn't think anyone could touch Blackberry for email or work. Two years later they were largely irrelevant.
One bad phone and it's hard to recover. HTC had a blockbuster hit with the M8 and faulted with the M9. As a result nobody bought the 10. Here comes the u11, an awesome device, and they can't even get it in most stores.

Samsung's saving grace is their diverse product lines and superb hardware.

 

[ScottsoNJ]

You appear to actively be trying not to be sure.

It took Sears a long, long time to get to this point. It took an previously unimagined and practically unimaginable upheaval--the iPhone--to take Blackberry down, and even that took a few years. When you say, "People said the same thing about Blackberry," are you saying there's a similar upheaval coming?

The smartphone world has settled down, and the choices are Android or Apple. Apple does nothing but flagships; Android is everywhere from $10 Chinese crap to $900 Samsungs. Like I said, people will continue to get Samsung because it's safe. They don't care about this debacle. They don't even know about it.

Now, if you can come up with an upheaval the equivalent of the iPhone to change the industry (such that Samsung Galaxy becomes the next Blackberry), I'd be curious to know what that is.

With things as they are right now, nothing will hurt Samsung. Not this, not the Note 7, not the washers. You can dream about it like it's a lottery ticket, but if you think it'll happen, you're wrong.

And if you think this debacle has any impact on Samsung's bottom line, you're wrong.

You don't think the Note 7 debacle hurt them ??? You're wrong !!!! Maybe not so much from the tech people on the android boards etc. but to the everyday person it most certainly did affect them. I've talked to people when it happened and they were like " screw Samsung, they sold a crappy product blah, blah, blah and went to Apple or back to Apple".
The point I don't understand with you is you keep telling people they were stupid to trust Samsung and Samsung can and will screw you. Why???? 2 weeks ago they had buy 1 get 1 free. So why would they go out of their way to screw people out of a measly $200 when they were giving away $750 phones 2 weeks agao????

 

[sulla1965]

Well I hope Samsung is honoring it. I wouldn't have bought the s8+ (great phone) but not at that price. When I saw it for $525 it was too good to pass up. Now I'm stuck paying close to $800 after tax is they don't honor the promo. My donor phone was delivered on 7/3 so I should be hearing back soon.

 

[Golfdriver97]

This is actually the 4th story for Samsung in the past year that has gained national attention.

Didn't know about the S7 Active. But either way, this isn't a good way for them to stay in the limelight.

 

[Almeuit]

Yup. People said Blackberry was never going away, but they quickly died for all intents and purposes. I watched an old Flossy video where he was reviewing a phone and he actually said he didn't think anyone could touch Blackberry for email or work. Two years later they were largely irrelevant.
One bad phone and it's hard to recover. HTC had a blockbuster hit with the M8 and faulted with the M9. As a result nobody bought the 10. Here comes the u11, an awesome device, and they can't even get it in most stores.

Samsung's saving grace is their diverse product lines and superb hardware.

Blackberry sat around and thought they were king of the castle. Basically they had big heads and thought there was "no way" anyone could touch them (like Flossy thought) and they got complacent.. That is why they fell off. Samsung definitely isn't doing that .

 

[galaxyfive]

Hmm let's see. Would you have me believe a corporation as large and wide as Samsung is purposely setting consumers up to fail then take their money? Or should I believe that the world is full off opportunists with an unrealistic sense of entitlement? Let me think on that for a while...

What else you gonna do with an Iphone 4 anyway besides keep it in a drawer and believe that it's somehow still relevant and of good use to somebody when it's clearly not.

 

[Golfdriver97]

Samsung's upper management is no doubt operating in a vacuum, thinking that they are the only choice for a premium pocket computer that runs Android.

I am somewhat inclined to agree. I would love if HTC started skyrocketing, or if Sony could pull it's head out of the sand, that might make Samsung sweat a little.

Your Sears analogy is a good one. People have choices. If they don't have choices now, the universe will recognize that there's a better way and will create those choices, and users will move to embrace those choices. (The cable TV industry is recognizing the same thing after 35 years of Ernestine-like "we don't have to, we're the cableco" attitude.)

I almost left it at Compaq, but I was thinking it wouldn't have any meaning to a lot of users here (Compaq went under a long time ago). I added Sears as they were probably a good equivalent to the juggernaut that is Samsung, still around, but currently in trouble.

 

[Golfdriver97]

Samsung definitely isn't doing that

I'm not that inclined to agree. True, Samsung is making endeavors to bring new things to the industry, curved screens, pressure sensitive glass, etc. This is where BB seemed to stumble. They kept churning out the same looking device for years.

But the complacency, at least in my opinion, does seem to be taking root. Backtracking on the trade in like this somewhat points to that.

 

[Zendroid1]

This is in no way, shape, or form as large or as bad as the Note 7 debacle and the the washing machine thing. This is a tiny, tiny blip on the radar compared to those. It's exaggerated greatly by the enthusiasts on forums such as this who follow this stuff closely and are always looking for a deal. Yes, it sucks for for those affected but it's a minuscule issue in comparison.

 

[Almeuit]

I'm not that inclined to agree. True, Samsung is making endeavors to bring new things to the industry, curved screens, pressure sensitive glass, etc. This is where BB seemed to stumble. They kept churning out the same looking device for years.

But the complacency, at least in my opinion, does seem to be taking root. Backtracking on the trade in like this somewhat points to that.

I do agree they may be falling into a rut with ideas but they are still trying to keep moving forward. Blackberry literally did nothing and just sat back thinking they had corporate on lock.. Somehow they thought Android/Apple wouldn't want the business market (no clue why they had that idea) and they were wrong which then came to bite them in the back. Hell it bit them so hard they now make BB running Android versus their own stuff just to sell lol.

 

[Averix]

Does anyone have a copy of the "fine print" legal terms of this offer? I keep seeing the promotional text, but I'm curious to see what exactly the actual terms were.