When they first arrived, the Google Pixel 7 Pro and its lesser siblings were a complete bargain. You may be able to enjoy your brand-new phone for much less than the $600+ asking price by trading in the proper phone, which could result in a considerable price reduction. But it appears that there are some bumps in the road. Numerous individuals assert that, despite going through the trade-in process on the Google Store website when they purchased their new phones, Google has no record of that.
You can choose to add your previous phone for trade-in when placing an order for a phone at the Google Store. You may be able to receive a significant amount of cash back after sending anything in, depending on its condition and the precise product it is. However, some people who wanted to take advantage of Google’s excellent trade-in offers when the Google Pixel 7 had just arrived ended up leaving empty-handed.
People assert that they added their trade-in units during the ordering process, and that everything appeared to have gone through successfully, only to discover that the trade-in box they needed to put the phone in had never arrived. These consumers discovered after looking into it that their trade-ins just weren’t listed in the order summary, as if they had vanished after the purchase. There are numerous accounts of this on Twitter, including situations that involved members of the Android Police crew, both past and present.
It’s important to note that previous Pixel phone releases have been associated with reports of failed trade-in deals, so this is not the first time we’ve heard about them. It’s also possible that user error, such as forgetting to add or accidentally withdrawing the trade-in, contributed to some of these missed trade-in deals. Given the volume of reports, it is almost certain that there are also some technical problems with the trade-in procedure, especially given that some of the afflicted individuals have previously successfully completed several trade-ins and took care to make the appropriate selections.
Google’s approach to those who are still in possession of their outdated phones may come off as tone deaf. Artem Russakovskii, the founder of Android Police, who was also plagued by the problem, was offered this remedy after much back and forth with support, and we can confirm that it was also provided to others:
To begin with, I am aware that this is not the best situation, and Google is always there to support you and point you in the proper direction.
Ideally, Google Store orders can only be modified or cancelled within 60 minutes of being placed. As a result, we are unable to update the order on your behalf through the system.
My expert team and I have verified this, and after looking through the information, it appears that the trade-in option was not chosen when the transaction was being placed. As a result, you didn’t get an email about the trade-in kit.
I do have a workaround for you though. I notice that you received your order on October 13th, and you have a full 15 days to return the item in accordance with the policy on returns. I would advise returning the item, and after we have it, we will provide a refund. You can still use the trade-in to place a fresh order in the interim.
In essence, the only solution the business could provide was to request that customers make another purchase, add a trade-in at that time, and then return the device they had previously acquired (if they are still withing the 15-day return window, that is).
The issue with this is that many early orders also came with extras like headphones or exclusive trade-in offers that are no longer valid. Due to this, many customers will end up with fewer options than they had anticipated or products that are more expensive than what Google would have otherwise supplied. Support would insist that the trade-in option wasn’t chosen during checkout even when confronted with the significant number of unsuccessful trade-ins.
We can only hope that Google will come up with a better solution for this issue, as it is cumbersome and needless to send a new phone back and then wait to receive another one simply to trade in your old phone.
This may serve as a reminder that, although though you should always be able to depend on a company’s workflow when you buy its products, you should nevertheless document the procedure when buying an expensive item like a new phone. The next time you order an expensive item with a seemingly lost trade-in, turning on your screen recorder to have documentation of what you did when completing your transaction could be extremely helpful when speaking with support. If everything goes smoothly, it also doesn’t cost you anything.
