Apple’s iPhone trade-in program is causing buyers headaches again

In recent years, Apple has increasingly focused on its iPhone trade-in program. By offering lucrative trade-in details, often in partnership with carriers, Apple can entice iPhone users to upgrade every year. However, this trade-in program has caused users a number of headaches and the situation doesn’t seem to be improving…

I’ve traded in quite a few iPhones to Apple over the years with no problems. However, this year, about a week and a half after I sent in an iPhone 13 Pro Max, I received an email saying the box had arrived at Apple’s trade-in facility, but there was nothing in the box.

When we received your trade-in kit, there was no device in the box. If this was intentional or you have already contacted us regarding this issue, please ignore this email. Otherwise, it is important that you reply as soon as possible with the following information:

– The exact items you placed in the return packaging

– A detailed description of how you packed and sealed the goods

This is an email no one wants to receive. The idea that you could suddenly be on the hook for the $700+ trade-in credit you received for your new iPhone 14 Pro Max is stressful. Indeed, a day later, Apple charged my card on file for that $705 trade-in value.

When I posted about this situation on Twitter, it quickly became clear that this is a common problem. Countless iPhone buyers seem to get an email like this every year, and this year’s launch of the iPhone 14 seems to be no different. A quick look at forums like Reddit shows that this is a fairly common problem.

The good news is that Apple solves this problem without too much hassle in most situations. If you reply to the first email, the company will “investigate” the situation and credit your account with the trade-in amount. However, there are situations when this is not the result. And either way, it’s a stressful situation that makes a customer less likely to buy an iPhone next year.

9to5Mac’s take

There is a clear problem with Apple’s iPhone trade-in program process. The company relies heavily on third-party providers for critical aspects of this program, including UPS and FedEx for shipping and other third-parties to manage receipt and inventory of traded-in iPhones.

What is most likely happening here is that the iPhone is stolen from the box somewhere between dropping the iPhone off at a courier (like UPS in my case) and receiving it at the trade-in facility. Someone involved in this process opens the box, takes the iPhone, reseals it, and it’s shipped to its final destination as if nothing happened.

In response to my tweet, one of the most common suggestions was to simply not do any trade-ins via email. Instead, people suggested, you should always complete your trade-in at an Apple Store. This is excellent advice if you live near an Apple Store. Many people, myself included, don’t have that luxury. Dealing in an iPhone aims to make the process of buying a new one as convenient as possible, and the ability to send it in the mail is an integral part of that.

The best solution to this problem is for Apple to add a kind of “trade-in mode” to the iPhone. This could be a software mode you put your iPhone in before sending it in and completing the trade-in. Most importantly, this mode could put your iPhone into a version of Find My where you (and Apple) can track progress towards the final trade-in goal.

Have you ever had this problem? What is your experience with trading your iPhone to Apple? Let us know in the comments.

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