Amazon... deceptive crooks?

The Driver

The Driver

Detailers Workshop
So I figured I should warn all on this board. I opted to trade in camera through amazon, the price for the condition the camera was in was fair. The price Amazon appraised the camera at over the net BEFORE inspection was 344. Keep in mind I know the camera is worth 400 on the market but less headache why not, right?

I sent in the camera in and a couple of days go by, finally get a notice your camera has been accepted and your it is worth 293... I literally read the email and called them no more then 20 minutes later. The reason stated was light scratches, now maybe thats subjective as I take immaculate care of my stuff but hey their tough graders, who knows? I then tell the rep it`s fine just send me back my camera, he says no we can`t do that. He says my account "gift card" balance has already been deposited.

I don`t mind them putting a lesser value but, no option to get it back?....

You be the judge....
 
Better to sell it on eBay and get closer to what you think it`s worth. I wouldn`t want someone I don`t know address the condition of my item, then not be able to get it back. Sounds like bad business to me.
 
That`s lame that they "can`t" give you the item back. To me they have one of the best customer service of any online store and i say this because i`ve had many issues with the carrier dropping the ball, and Amazon has always come through for me . Looks like their trade department needs some attention. Is there anywhere where they showed you in writing that they cannot return the item to you? seems kind of suspicious and unreasonable to me unless they have a fine print somewhere.

I would assume they could just undo the gift card transaction, if they are able to refund money to it electronically as well as take it out when you pay with it during check out, so i don`t get it. Giving you the camera back equals that they should just do a dummy charge to the gift card and call it a day. Many customer service operations allow you to put comments/notes as to why the transaction was made, they could explain in short and call it a day.
 
dcjredline said:
That is usually the price you pay for "less headache" in my experiences. Sorry to hear that.
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The price they offered me initially was, when they got it they dropped it a good amount lower. I told them I have no problem paying shipping back but they refused. They basically said if it wasn`t good enough they would have rejected it but if they can beat you over the head and make even more money, they steal it (Literally).

I told the guy "this isn`t a trade this is theft", I just want my camera back.

Amazon Trade in policy

However, if the item was Downgraded to a lower condition that is still eligible for trade-in, and you opted to receive the trade-in value for the lower condition when you selected the Return Option, then you will receive an Amazon.com Gift Card(s) in the amount of the trade-in value for the lower condition instead of receiving the item back from us. Rejection reasons and return package tracking progress can be viewed from Your Trade-In Account .
In addition, we may not return items to you if the number of Rejected Items received from you reaches a limit that is determined by us in our sole discretion.
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I never opted for a lower trade in option....
 
Keep bugging them about it and ask them where, in their terms and conditions, states that once they receive your item they cannot give it back to you due to them dropping the value on it. I`d do it over chat rather than phone, that way you have records and it`s more monitored.
 
Yeah, exactly. They got you over a barrel cause you didn`t want to deal with the headache of selling it on your own. I`m not saying what they did was right. I`m saying you have to protect yourself from things like this, and it`s not their job to protect you. It sucks but don`t let anyone ever have that kind of control over you again. My philosophy.
 
dcjredline said:
Yeah, exactly. They got you over a barrel cause you didn`t want to deal with the headache of selling it on your own. I`m not saying what they did was right. I`m saying you have to protect yourself from things like this, and it`s not their job to protect you. It sucks but don`t let anyone ever have that kind of control over you again. My philosophy.
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Well the amount they just cost me, will most likely cost them far more after I share this experience with Family and Friends. If they have every right to do this to a consumer then I as a consumer have every right to share this experience....

Funny this never happened to me. I guess if they can make money, don`t give it back but if it`s not any good send it back to them!

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Damn right! We run the market not them. Businesses always seem to get this backwards. The consumer makes you, you don`t make the consumer!!! I never would have prolly used their trade in feature but I FOR SURE will not now and will tell everyone I know not to also. Again, sorry you are having this trouble. Shame on Amazon.
 
Anytime I`m confronted with a response like that from a customer service rep, I use a trick my Grandfather must`ve picked up in the Marines, and state calmly but sternly "That`s not acceptable." Then, you just wait.

First one to speak next loses.

Usually works.
 
Funny how they tried to pitch me on the phone.

CSR - "You know when you go into a car dealer they may not give you the value you want..."

Me - "Yes, then I`m allowed to take my car back an go somewhere else"

CSR - "Silence..."
 
What a weak analogy hahaha, they need to redo their scripts . I hate their generic apology every time I chat with them, It`s so fake and I wonder how many people fall for that.
 
They are big like Walmart big.. sounds very similar to their cust. Service approach. I worked at WM 8 yrs one of our inside policies were " take their money" and I`m not joking

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I did not even know Amazon had a trade in program but I would never think any company would give a fair price. It is better to sell direct.
 
Trade in programs are usually terrible. I`ve never gotten a fair price for trading in anything anywhere.

Just as an FYI - here`s the page about canceling trade-ins:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=201125710

Once your trade-in is processed, you won`t be able cancel the trade-in and request that your item be returned to you.

Guess the issue here is how fast they processed the trade in. Amazon has always been incredible in my dealings with them. Last month when I was told I`d have to pay $50 to ship something to a manufacturer for repair Amazon stepped in and refunded me the money instead. Sorry you had a bad experience.
 
Amazon Trade in policy

However, if the item was Downgraded to a lower condition that is still eligible for trade-in, and you opted to receive the trade-in value for the lower condition when you selected the Return Option, then you will receive an Amazon.com Gift Card(s) in the amount of the trade-in value for the lower condition instead of receiving the item back from us. Rejection reasons and return package tracking progress can be viewed from Your Trade-In Account .
In addition, we may not return items to you if the number of Rejected Items received from you reaches a limit that is determined by us in our sole discretion.
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This is the nail in the coffin for your argument. You never opted to receive the lower value, so I completely agree that they`re in the wrong. I bet someone already sold the item or already processed the camera into "sales" and they`re trying to cover their butt.

If I were you, I`d keep raising hell with a manager or supervisor until you either get the camera back or the original quoted value. Escalate it all the way to the top. Didn`t someone email the CEO of Amazon and sometimes he personally handles things?

Jeff Bezos may run Amazon and he may be a billionaire, but he is very accessible to his customers with an easy-to-find email address, [email protected]. And when his customers aren`t pleased, Bezos isn`t either.
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Contact Jezz Bezos.
 
The Driver said:
I never opted for a lower trade in option....
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Sorry to hear about your experience, but I suspect you were not paying attention when you traded the camera in. When you opt to trade the item in to Amazon, it gives you the quoted price and the option to accept the price if the item is graded lower than the condition submitted, or have it returned. You literally have to select one of the two choices before the system will allow you to continue. On the final confirmation, before you accept the trade, it even tells you which option you chose. If you don`t believe me, attempt to trade in the same camera and you will see the options of which I spoke.

I used their service quite often in the past, but since the grading is subjective, I always chose to have the item sent back to me because when you aren`t dealing face to face with a person, you can`t be sure if the item is being processed fairly. Incidentally, the trade-in program is handled by Noram International, not Amazon, and a quick Google search will yield more than a few unsatisfied patrons. The only thing that I can suggest at this time is that you might have success with pleading your case with a different Amazon CSR.

Best of luck. Hopefully Amazon will issue you a one time exception.
 
RavenHawk said:
Sorry to hear about your experience, but I suspect you were not paying attention when you traded the camera in. When you opt to trade the item in to Amazon, it gives you the quoted price and the option to accept the price if the item is graded lower than the condition submitted, or have it returned. You literally have to select one of the two choices before the system will allow you to continue. On the final confirmation, before you accept the trade, it even tells you which option you chose. If you don`t believe me, attempt to trade in the same camera and you will see the options of which I spoke.
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My problem wasn`t the money, it was not being able to get my camera back. They are supposed to inform you first. I literally called less then 20 mins after receiving the email of the appraised value and they told me it was processed and done. Nothing I could do about it, for me that is pretty bad.

It`s like me calling a dealership, knowing I have a car worth 40k but also knowing they need to make money so they tell me it`s worth 35k. Then me going to the dealer to trade in and them saying oh it`s only worth 29k because of a light scratch. Then them taking the car and saying you don`t have an option, it`s ours now an by the way that 29k is only good at our dealership.

They just credited me, the amount but my grip is this, the grading system is subjective and by selecting the one option you are foregoing all your rights as the owner. I`m glad they made good on this but it was not about the money, I have read far too many of others like me. To me that is just not a good thing, period. I`d even be fine with the appraised price if they just would have told me upfront instead of this bait an switch.

To the hired company who does these so called evals, they really must be a bunch of winners.
 
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