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Apple says electronics recycler “illegally” reselling over 100k iPhones, iPads

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Re: Apple says electronics recycler “illegally” reselling over 100k iPhones, iPads

#51

Post by bilbo0s »

pwinnski wrote: post #7

Apple is probably legally in the right here, since the recycler violated their contract. But Apple seems very much in the wrong here on an ethical level. If the devices have resale value, then they should be resold, not destroyed! Reduce and Reuse are both higher priorities than Recycle.

Having gone through this exact situation with corporate attorneys before, I can tell you there is more than one contract in force here. Believe it or not, if you tell customers you will recycle old products for them, you'd better not sell them instead.

When you told them you would recycle the old products, you actually made a contract with them. Don't call it recycling if there is any chance at all that you may instead resell. We learned that the hard way.

Re: Apple says electronics recycler “illegally” reselling over 100k iPhones, iPads

#52

Post by IntelMiner »

_hhkc wrote: post #39

At face value, it seems like Apple is choosing not to reuse the devices. Apple determined that the devices were beyond repair and needed to be recycled for a reason (Potentially safety-related reasons). Geep decided to reuse them anyway, disregarding any potential safety reasons that Apple found not to be repairable. As much as I'd like to say that Apple is in the wrong here, I trust Apple's quality control guideline…

Except that exact same argument applies to Apple. Making it harder to reuse perfectly serviceable existing hardware simply puts an invisible hand on the balancing scale toward "buy the new shiny thing"

Re: Apple says electronics recycler “illegally” reselling over 100k iPhones, iPads

#53

Post by andrewjl »

jmole wrote: post #46
andrewjl wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why is Apple's reputation more important than the profits of a recycling company? Contracts aside, banning resale over something like this isn't capitalism. You either own something or you don't. Edit: I misunderstood the article and thought that the devices were sold. Indeed a service contract for recycling should be enforced, unless health & safety reasons preclude. Apple is in the right here, I think.

lol, imagine you paid a company to recycle old hard drives or documents and they resold them instead.

You're right. I misunderstood the article and edited my comments.

Re: Apple says electronics recycler “illegally” reselling over 100k iPhones, iPads

#54

Post by alexfringes »

sschueller wrote: post #48
_hhkc wrote: post #39

At face value, it seems like Apple is choosing not to reuse the devices. Apple determined that the devices were beyond repair and needed to be recycled for a reason (Potentially safety-related reasons). Geep decided to reuse them anyway, disregarding any potential safety reasons that Apple found not to be repairable. As much as I'd like to say that Apple is in the wrong here, I trust Apple's quality control guideline…

Safety? You mean like the latest Apple update that has many laptops running at 100% CPU because of Apples's poor software testing?

How exactly does a bug in a background process, which then executes within the same thermal performance limits as any other demanding task, present a safety issue? Product quality? Sure. Safety? How?

Re: Apple says electronics recycler “illegally” reselling over 100k iPhones, iPads

#55

Post by temp667 »

Good for apple.

The way this scam often works - you send your device in, they say there is a flaw and the device is not eligible for trade-in credit because it can't be re-used. Then they offer to "recycle" it for you. Then, instead of recycling they sell it. This is the consumer side of the scam.

It can also be run against manufacturer like apple. Apple can offer trade in credit to consumers, then send it to these guys who evaluate the device. If can be resold apple gets the $100 or whatever average per device from the recycler (who can then make a moderate profit selling for $150 or whatever). If it can't be resold the recycler promises to recycle it and doesn't have to pay out anything.

There seems too often to be a push on HN to support scams of almost every type. The outrage when apple worked to alert users when folks put the cheapo third party batteries in before reselling an iphone to make battery life look good for a few weeks (HN comments = total outrage when apple alerted users) is illustrative.

Do these "geep" executives sound like the role models you want to do business with? For many folks, myself included, the answer is heck no.

Reading hacker news, and the total hate towards apple for asking others to just do basic / fair things is really interesting. Following contracts and agreements is for idiots and chumps apparently. Be a scary world if the Zuckerbergs and other growth hacking developers end up in charge!

Consumer trust in apple is going to continue to go up - you just realize how slimy the rest of the tech world is - scammer after scammer after cheater.

Re: Apple says electronics recycler “illegally” reselling over 100k iPhones, iPads

#56

Post by [deleted] »

RandallBrown wrote: post #12
Joker_vD wrote: post #3

Well, very technically speaking, they did recycle those iPhones. Why is Apples so obsessed with controlling the entirety of their devices' life cycle, anyway?

Lets say you buy one of these recycled phones that Apple has already deemed unfixable. Maybe it mostly works, but the screen occasionally blacks out or there's a bunch of dead pixels. Maybe the battery dies almost immediately. It's Apple's reputation that gets tarnished by this.

[deleted]

Re: Apple says electronics recycler “illegally” reselling over 100k iPhones, iPads

#57

Post by pier25 »

qppo wrote: post #36
pier25 wrote: post #17

Not allowing the resale of used devices should be illegal. Not only because of the environmental impact but also because this is a way for Apple to control the market.

That would kneecap first party recycling and trade-in discounts. Apple's incentive to provide those services is to reduce the size of the secondary market.

From an environmental point of view, recycling should be the last resort.

Sending 100k usable devices to recycling is an absolute waste of resources. It's immoral and in contradiction with Apple's environmental commitment.

Re: Apple says electronics recycler “illegally” reselling over 100k iPhones, iPads

#58

Post by hcs »

Joker_vD wrote: post #3

Well, very technically speaking, they did recycle those iPhones. Why is Apples so obsessed with controlling the entirety of their devices' life cycle, anyway?

Are they perhaps booking tax benefits for having paid to have the devices recycled?

Re: Apple says electronics recycler “illegally” reselling over 100k iPhones, iPads

#60

Post by btrask »

bilbo0s wrote: post #51
pwinnski wrote: post #7

Apple is probably legally in the right here, since the recycler violated their contract. But Apple seems very much in the wrong here on an ethical level. If the devices have resale value, then they should be resold, not destroyed! Reduce and Reuse are both higher priorities than Recycle.

Having gone through this exact situation with corporate attorneys before, I can tell you there is more than one contract in force here. Believe it or not, if you tell customers you will recycle old products for them, you'd better not sell them instead. When you told them you would recycle the old products, you actually made a contract with them. Don't call it recycling if there is any chance at all that you may inste…

> Believe it or not, if you tell customers you will recycle old products for them, you'd better not sell them instead.

Legally, I'm sure you're right. But on a practical level, what do you think recycling is?

If you fish something out of the trash and reuse it, congratulations, you have recycled it in the most efficient way possible.

It's like these recyclers are "too good" at their jobs. I thought market forces were supposed to make sure of that.

The really disgusting thing is Apple coopting "recycling" for "destroying unused product to maintain brand value."

If you have an old Apple product and you want to be good to the environment, do not take it to an official Apple recycling dropoff!

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