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

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31–40 of 98 posts

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

#31
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.

From the article it seems they're far more concerned with not getting their cut of the resale profits.

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

#32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

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.

What is the purpose of discussing a made up scenario? Obviously there are contract terms that Geep violated, and it even admitted it by blaming it on its employees. I don't know what you mean by capitalism, but two businesses voluntarily entering into a contract, and then litigating when one of them breaks the terms of the contract is pretty normal stuff for any society, capitalist or not.

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

#33

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.

What is the purpose of discussing a made up scenario? Obviously there are contract terms that Geep violated, and it even admitted it by blaming it on its employees. I don't know what you mean by capitalism, but two businesses voluntarily entering into a contract, and then litigating when one of them breaks the terms of the contract is pretty normal stuff for any society, capitalist or not.

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.

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

#34
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.

> It's Apple's reputation that gets tarnished by this.

We should care more about the sustainability of environment, consumer benefit and consumer rights and not the reputation of rich megacorporations.

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

#35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is the purpose of discussing a made up scenario? Obviously there are contract terms that Geep violated, and it even admitted it by blaming it on its employees. I don't know what you mean by capitalism, but two businesses voluntarily entering into a contract, and then litigating when one of them breaks the terms of the contract is pretty normal stuff for any society, capitalist or not.

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.

Why?

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

#36
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.

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

#37
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.

What a silly reason to ruin the environment! Apple (and to be fair most electronics companies) are already designing irreparable land-fill-ready devices. We have companies who are willing to do the hard work of repairing/refurbishing them to prolong their life-span, only to have Apple block them.

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

#38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Of course not.

Apple’s concern would not be whether they are technically liable, but whether or not the cost of determining if they are liable and being scammed is more than simply destroying the items thereby reducing the probability of being scammed in the first place.

That's not their real concern anyhow. They just want to monopolize the supply by crippling the aftermarket as much as possible.

That's been their MO for over a decade. It's also why they fight the right to repair court cases and third party repair services tooth and nail ( https://www.ifixit.com/Right-to-Repair/Intro )

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

#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 guidelines over some device recycling company executives trying to make some extra cash.

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

#40
post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

> It's Apple's reputation that gets tarnished by this. We should care more about the sustainability of environment, consumer benefit and consumer rights and not the reputation of rich megacorporations.

It's a fake argument anyway. People perfectly understand that when they buy a used car, it could have had damage from the previous owner or other wear and tear. Is this common-sense somehow magically forgotten when Apple is concerned?
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