BestBuy.Com

[mrtech66]

PLEASE...IF YOU ARE THINKING ABOUT USING BEST BUY TRADE-IN.  DON'T!

This is one of the biggest scams ever, hidden under the cloak of the Best Buy Logo.

What happens is you have your item valued in the trade-in, then when you send it in (no matter what condition), it is value at poor by Dealtree.

When I valued the item I sent in, I used Best Buy's own definitions.

Good condition is described as "Good -- Fully functional - with no technical problems, may have a few "normal wear" scratches, smudges.

My item had normal wear scratches....Ok, if you are not going to mark it as GOOD, then mark it as FAIR....Nope they just marked it as POOR.

Can you say EXTORTION? 

Then they state you can accept their new low offer or pay to have the item shipped back.

I have filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, but I am sure that will be to know avail.

DON'T USE THIS UNLESS YOU CAN WALK YOUR ITEM INTO A STORE TO GET A VALUE ON IT.

THEY WILL LOWBALL YOU.

[bimkill]

Same thing happened to me with a cell phone; original quote was for $22.00 (not a lot, but acceptable).  Upon receipt, they deemed it poor and nonfunctional, though I had used the phone in Best Buy the day before.  After several emails, they gave me 4 separate reasons why they could not give me the $22.00 and had the audacity to demand $49 shipping/handling to return it to me.

Do yourself (and me) a favor.  The Better Business Bureau can't do anything as this is a mail-order transaction.  File with the FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION.  They handle any mail/UPS or Internet transaction.  If enough complaints come in, the FTC can hit DealTree with Federal penalties that could be in the thousands.  They also have the ability to shut them down as they set Federal Regulations.

Good Luck,

Bimkill

[sdbowen601]

I have a different view on this in that I participated in the trade in program for games a few months ago and came away thinking it was a quick, fair, good deal.  I sent them game in as outlined by the website, it was received within 2 days of me mailing it out and I received my gift card for said dollar amount about 7 days later.  The whole process took all of a week and a half.  It is for that reason, I'm typing this now.

I sent out the game back on the 1/20/11 and it shows that it was going out to Dealtree via USPS on 1/21/11.  I have heard of/seen nothing since.  It's like it has just disappeared.  There has been no confirmation e-mail of receipt and no positive response from the USPS website that it was sent.  After a week, I contacted the local post office in Landover, MD where it left from and they showed record of it leaving their facility and being dropped off at Dealtree, but nothing else.  This concerned me in that I felt as if it were lost until I read the posts below.  I understand it takes up to two weeks to get the gift card (because it tells you that), but I would expect that Dealtree would send out something saying they had the game in their hands.  I've used Amazon, Dealtree, Swapyourgames.com, etc in the past and every organization has worked the way I would expect until now.

I'm extremely disatisfied with what has occured here.  If it's what was said below that they are just busy, put something on the Best Buy trade in page saying that.  Also state that you shouldn't expect any response from the company because of their backlog so people can go somewhere else or at minimum understand what to expect downstream especially since Dealtree doesn't appear to be doing anything about it.  Best Buy, subbing out this trade-in program, ultimately has the responsibility to let those folks sending in products understand what reality is even though it is not going on within Best Buy proper.  We shouldn't have to come to forums to find out that Dealtree is behind on everything being sent in and they have a company wide problem.

Again, I'm filing this post as a direct result of the "good" experience I had with the program last year and was expecting the same.  I'm not going to lie and state my business will no longer go to Best Buy, because with Circuit City, HH Gregg's pushy associates and the lack of selection at the box stores, Best Buy is the only place to shop, but it will eliminate my dealing with the trade in program, especially since it looks like it could be months before I actually see this mythical gift card I was promised.

[Justin-BBY Community Connector]

Hello sdbowen601-

I apologize that you haven't received any status updates since sending your game to Dealtree.  I would be glad to take this opportunity in seeking a resolution for you and get some answers you're looking to receive.

To begin, I'm sending you a private message to get some details about your expressed situation.  Simply click on the letter icon in the top right corner while logged into our forums to access your messages. 

If there's anything else I can help you with or if you have additional questions or concerns; feel free to reply to this topic, or send me a private message by selecting the link within my signature bar. 

Thanks for posting,  

[gladks]

Yep, I got scammed by Dealtree too. I just filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau and wrote a review on the Trustlink board (which is linked by the BBB).  This whole experience has soured me on Best Buy and after having read several years' worth of complaints I find it pathetic and disgusting that Best Buy is still doing business with Dealtree.

My story:

On Jan 31, 2011 I submitted a trade in estimate {removed per forum guidelines} for a fully functioning, perfect condition laptop and was quoted a $120 Best Buy Giftcard. I thought $120 was quite a bit low for a P4, 3.0ghz, 1GB RAM, DVDRW Toshiba, but figured that I wouldn't get much more trying to sell it on C's list anyway. So, I shipped the laptop via UPS in a large box stuffed to the brim and secured with bubble wrap. It was packaged so well you could have dropped it from a 10 floor building and it wouldn't have broken. I even have pictures of the laptop in perfect condition before I shipped it to them. A couple of weeks later I received the "Verified Value" which was listed as "Poor" with only one (very odd) discrepancy. They claimed "Front of computer broken" which doesn't exactly make much sense when talking about a laptop. They refused to return calls or emails and have yet to provide me with any information, details, pictures or other evidence of this so-called damage. They just say it's broken and I'm pretty sure they are lying. If the laptop was damaged, it likely occurred at Dealtree's warehouse after they received it. If it had somehow occurred during transport (which is unlikely given that UPS delivered it and isn't known for being callous with their shipments), a claim could and should have been made.

During my last call to Dealtree (when I actually got to talk to someone) they said they would have the laptop reinspected and provide me photos of this so-called damage. As it stands, I still have not received any communication from Dealtree or Best Buy or the girl I talked to who said her name was "Lauren" and gave her email as {removed per forum guidelines} and to whom I sent my pre-shipment photos. I did however receive a $50 gift card in the mail some weeks later but I have yet to use it because I am so turned off by Best Buy and this scam that I have no desire to buy anything in their stores. I wouldn't be surprised if the card doesn't even work anyway. I read about that happening to people too.

Shame on you Best Buy for continuing to do business with this company after knowing full well about the scams they have conducted. 

[moparbob67]

The trade-in is a joke. Have to pay Best Buy for the program and in a couple of months you sell the item back to them for half price!!!!!   That is a joke. I would sell the item to a friend or on ebay for 3/4 the the price I paid for it!!!!!!! What a rip off!!!!!

PEOPLE PLEASE DO NOT USE THIS PROGRAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[CrystalWoW Community Veteran]

They aren't even talking about buyback they are talking about the trade in program...

[Justin-BBY Community Connector]

Hi gladks-

I sincerely apologize to hear about your Dealtree issues that you had with your Toshiba laptop.  I know you've stated that you've already received your estimate, but I would be glad to further look into this for you. 

In order to get started, I'll send you a private message to gather necessary details.  You can check your private messages by logging into your account and selecting the letter icon in the top right corner.  If you have any other questions or concerns, feel free to reply to this topic or send me a private message.  

Thanks for posting,

[gladks]

**Update**

So almost immediately after I filed a complaint with Better Business Bureau and wrote the original post here, Dealtree emailed me a new estimate removing the "front of computer broken" note (but leaving the overall condition as "poor") and promised an additional $70 gift card that would be sent in the mail "within 7 business days." Still never heard anything about the so-called damage (of which I am almost certain now that there was none) and I have yet to receive this additional gift card.

I have since updated the BBB complaint with this new information and sent a PM to Moderator Justin. We'll see what happens next.

[HebiyO]

Dealtree Trade-In {removed per forum guidelines}

So after two weeks of silence, I finally received my estimate from Dealtree.  I was trading in an Apple Macbook and the the website gave me an estimate of $259.00.  After their inspection, they said the laptop was broken and gave me a $0.00 trade-in value and they are further asking me for roughly $50.00 to cover the shipping.  I verified that the laptop was working before I sent it and even did the valuation on the laptop.  I have responded to their email about my displeasure and I hope I can resolve this without filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau.

This is my first negative experience dealing with Best Buy and I wish I had seen this thread before I decided to send in my laptop.  Going forward, I will most likely not use Best Buy's Trade-In program unless I can physically hand over the items in store.