Cash 4 Laptops review: Rip off scam 78

well this is my follow up complaint...they were exactly opposite of what i expected. the guy was nice and asked a few questions concerning the use of my laptop and when i bought it. he offered me 98 bucks. without attitude, i told him the complaints ive read and i empythized with him and told him i understood what he goes through. with me saying that i basically had him at my mercy, and had a decent conversation with him. what i experienced, if you act like a human and reason with them you will get what you want. i got my 125 i asked for simply because I DID THE TALKING before he could say anything else. put a good attitude and be realistic and you will get what yoou want. its not a scam, just a company trying to make their money too. (i also told him that i expected a lower quote and understood why, which was huge help) my advice to anyone is treat them with respect and you shall recieve it

well ive already sent my laptop. so i excpect to play hardball. i have pictures that i took of my laptop b4 i sent it in, so i kno exactly where whats wrong with it. i was quoted 150 online so i expect an offer of 75. ill tell them my bottom dollar (125) or they can send it back. no negotiations, thats it. ill be calling them today and ill post the results.

I just recently reported this place. I sent them an iphone 3GS the first week of FEBRUARY. It is now over 2 months later and no sign of anything. I have called and spoke to 6 different representatives and get nowhere. They claim that the phone was never received and g ive me the run around every time I call. They repeatedly take messages & say someone will call me back but don't. My phone was quoted at $115, I expected to get maybe $75 or so after reading quotes on how they "do business".. This place is terrible. The people who answer the phone are ignorant trained monkeys.. Its pretty horrible. I reoported them & thank God through my in laws I have some connections to Better Business Bureau. I filed a complaint with them last week & was sent an email asking availability for phone conference type investigations with this company along with the BBB. Hopefully the piece of ### of a business gets what they deserve. On a brighter note, if you are a highschool drop out, felon or complete [censored], apply now at cashforlaptops.com :)

Wish I had read this before dealing with this awful company! They offered $120 on-line for an iPhone 3GS 8GB. I received an email stating my iPhone had been inspected and to expect a call from them to finalize the transaction. I'm thinking to myself, what's is there to finalize, just send me my check. Boy was I wrong. I had to call them since 2 weeks went by and I never received the call back. Their first offer based on not having cable and some scratches they found was $45. My jaw dropped and I quickly realized I was in for a nice haggling battle. Numerous times I just told them to ship me the phone or pay me $100. Their counter offer was $60 and finally up to $85, which I took just to get this headache to go away. I felt I was dealing with an old school used car salesman on the other end. HATE THIS COMPANY!

I really wish I read these reviews first. I don't understand why businesses like these are still operating. How are they getting away with it.

I had an $125 offer online. It was very gently used and worked perfectly. After inspection, they told me they found problems and that they would give me $5. I thought no harm done, I would get the phone back as they promised. Well, when I got the phone back, it was split open in 3 pieces. They broke the back piece, so it would not fit again. I complained. They blamed UPS. They are monsters. Someone please help me get the word out about them.

In October I sent in 2 iphones, an iphone 3Gs and an iphone 4 that was 11 months old. I was quoted $111 for the iphone 3Gs and $209 for the iphone 4. I received the boxes and sent them immediately to the company. I did not hear anything right away and eventually made contact with someone in December. They ABSOLUTELY pulled a bait and switch, giving their standard response of "excessive wear and tear and scratches". There was one slight scratch on the iphone 3Gs, but the iphone 4 was in pristine condition with NO wear that could be seen with the naked eye. Bottom line, they offered me $140 for BOTH. I was very angry. As a business owner, I am appalled at the way they do business! After voicing my opinion of the way they inflate offers to customers in an attempt to take advantage of them (who, after all wants back a phone that has been replaced, wiped and is now 2 months older!), they agreed to pay me $200 for both which I reluctantly accepted since they had depreciated while they had them in their possession. My advice? Sell them on Ebay!

I agree, total scam artists. I was quoted $215 for my IPhone. It was in great shape. They make you call (which I thought was a clue vs awesome Gazelle). Once on the phone they said because they didn't have the charger and it has some minor scratches (which of course it is used) they tried to offer me $100. I was P(ssed. After a while of arguing, I was able to get the rep to offer me the same that Gazelle had for a quote. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY, IT IS BAIT AND SWITCH. STAY AWAY, THERE ARE MUCH BETTER COMPANIES TO DEAL WITH.

Cash For iPhones is a complete rip-off. They quoted me $180 for an iPhone in excellent condition. And I know it was in excellent condition because it was a 2-month old phone from Apple due to an AppleCare replacement. After sending it in, they changed the offer to $129. I then asked them to ship back the iPhone and they said it would be 3 weeks before I received it. They are rip-off artists that have no interest in service. The "Customer Service" almost sneered at me when I told him to ship it back. Do Not Trust This Company Under Any Circumstances!

I used Cash For Laptops back in 2008. I cashed in a 3 year old HP. They quoted me 235 online and I received a check within two weeks. No phone calls or anything. Just email updates on the status. Last week decided to upgrade and sent in a 3 year old HP, ( quoted at 195). I just received a call from them. They said that there were scratches on the laptop so they were reduced their quote. I asked him to describe where the scratches were. After tripping over his words, and giving very vague descriptions I knew he didn't have a clue. I stuck to my guns and told him that if they couldn't live up to their original quote then send it back. I mentioned that the same laptop sells on Amazon used for 230 so why would I take 80. He came up to 120 and said that the highest he could go. So I said, "send it back then." Then he came up to 150. I proceeded to laugh and ask if his earpiece was working. Finally, I told him to either send me 195 or the laptop, Its non negotiable. Of course, he gave in and verified my address to mail the check.

The moral of the story is...

If you do business with this company be prepared to fight for check. Don't take any reduced quote whatsoever.

I agree with most people here. The guy on the phone didn't even listen to me. This company does exist but they just take your laptop for free and give a few dollars back. Don't ever send your laptop. Don't waste your time with the guy there.

Hey guys! I just want to say that this place sucks. Be careful! Don't ever send your laptop to them. The quote was never right. They said that it could be right! A joke! They never answer the phone until the last minute. Very nasty! " We haven’t heard from you in a while and we want to help you get paid fast for your unused electronic devices. The last offer we made for your device was $5. According to the terms and conditions on our website (http://www.cash4laptops.com/terms), if we haven’t heard back from you in 30 days after we make an offer, we will automatically issue a payment in the amount of the last offer. Today is Day xx. We need you to call us at [protected] in the next seven (7) days if you want to discuss this offer further. We're sorry, but, at this point, we cannot accept communication via email. On Day 30, we will pay you using the payment method you chose during the initial process on our website so it's really important for you to call us today! We’re really looking forward to speaking with you and putting some cool cash in your pocket! Cash for Laptops Customer Service Department [protected]"

This is a true bait & switch. I was quoted $130 for an iPhone 3G and $80 for an iPhone 2G. I knew when they refused to communicate by email that i was going tohear a sob story about why they were worth less. A legitimate company with an establisblished technology site would deal by email where possible. When I finally got through to a person, they offered me $130 total. he outright lied about things being broken. I said i would only take my original quoted price or he could return them. He tried repeatedly to get me to name a number I would take, but i held my ground and he finally agreed to return them. I won't be surprised if they try to return a different phone. Best advise, make them go through the expense of getting and then returning items, and file a BBB complaint.

I agree with you guys they cheated me out on my ipod touch that they promised me 35 for but emailed me only 5 dollars sure enough i talked on the phone with them threating to take my ipod back and instead of sending me my 35 dollars they ended up sending me 70 dollars. i know the 70 dollars was a mistake they ment to only send me 35 but im not reporting it i kept the extra. thats what they get for cheating me out. I got it through paypal.

I'm reading all these complaints and I've checked the website of cash4laptops on how they do business. All I see on this website are complain. My questions is, does the seller actually tell the real condition of their laptop or phone when they sell them? How many sellers try to hide or masquerade the real condition of their phone or laptop in order to get a high quote? Just like when you are trading your car, you tend to hide all the defects to get the best quote. When you don't get the price that you like, you just simply back out. There is always going to be negotiation. The point is, if you are not satisfied with the price, have them ship your laptop or phone back to you. Period. I'm just wondering on how many people made negative comments over here who are currently working or paid for by their competitors. Anyone can post anything in the Internet...

My dealing with this company has to be one of the worst decisions ive made in my life. I was quoted $170 dollars for my computer and when I recieved the phone call they had of course marked it all the way down to $70 because of wear and tear. even though i was upset about that I assumed that was better than nothing. The part that most annoys me now is the fact that the check they sent me DID NOT CLEAR and my bank even charged me for paying a bad check into my account. Ive called, emailed, used their contact form but still havent gotten any sort of reply from them. This company is the worst excuse for a business ever. Im definitely going to file as many complaints as I possibly can.

Do what I did.
File a complaint with both the Better Business Bureau and the Consumer Protection Agency.
If enough of us do this, they'll get shut down. We have to stand up for our rights as consumers, and show this company that they can't screw us and get away with it!

hrg2, thank you for the info, AND the referral to Gazelle. Definitely don't want to get into a used-car-salesman slime deal. Who wants to deal with a business that enjoys beating the customers up?

I went as far getting a quote from Cash4Laptops, and yep, it's too high. You're right. It would be what my Powerbook would be worth if it was never used. Something didn't feel right. Glad I found the complaint board.

I sent my iPhone in and have a quote of $185. They have received the phone and it says on the website that the inspection is complete. I have emailed 4 times and gotten no response. I have called about 10 times and the same message saying they r busy or closed cones on, so I push the option to hit 0 for general questions and then I hear a click and it hangs up. What do I do know? I want either my money or phone back..any suggestions?

This place is a joke! I was quote $190 for a iphone 3Gs white 16GB, and once they received the phone, stated they will only pay $80 due to a small craze line near the head phone jack. Phone worked great. No other problems. I told them in that case, please send the phone back and I'll ebay it and get more then $80. We started to negotiate and ended at $140. I was fine with $140, but its the principle that Cash4Laptops was trying to Low Ball me at $80. They're trying to scam their customers.

you can get your money if you follow my free advice, but i would not use them at all because you will go through a lot of trouble
http://hubpages.com/hub/Review-of-Cashforlaptopscom

Sent in two iPhones. 1st quoted for $55 second, quoted for $70. Got a call and got offered $10 and $5 respectively. When I asked why, they said there was damage on the phone, which, of course I had indicated online, but, still they persisted. So, what was once, $125 total became $15. Dude was rude on the phone, despite me trying to make light of such a big difference in the quote and the actual offer. I'd stay away from these guys, clearly they're dirty [censored]s.

As a former employee I can tell you the good and the bad. The good part is that the do not put anything into landfills. The have stacks of junk hardware setting around waiting for a green way to dispose of it. The second good thing is that they will pay you promptly. Another good thing is the buyers you speak with on the phone are trying there hardest to return calls, answer inbound calls and make outbound calls. This is done by four people.
Now the bad. The price you are given online is what they would pay for a device if it was never used. Employees performance is based on how large of a deduction they can make from the original price. Anything less then a 50% reduction is a failure on there part. They are told not to listen to so called sob stories or care about the customers financial concerns of the client. It's actually a contest to see who can get the most devices for the least amount of money. I seen a buyer talk about screwing a guy by lying about the model of the MacBook that he sent in so he could get the price down. I seen the same buyer simply lie to a Rabbi about the condition of his new in the box iPad. I quit because, as a sales professional I could not continue with this practice and feel good about myself.
There BBB rating went up simply because they included the recycling crew in there employee count. As far as education goes only one inspector has a degree and it is in microelectronics. Yes, it's a real field of study.
My advice is to demand your quoted price or the return of your hardware. Then file a BBB complaint and FOLLOW UP with it. If you want a fair price use gazelle. They pay what they quote as long as you are honest with your assessment.
Ya, I am still unemployed but I do not leave work having to scrub the filth from my body. The people that work there are not bad people but are imbedded in a corporate structure based on using legal jargon, delay tactics and lies to turn a buck.

True bait/switch techniques. This company is a bottom-feeder. My laptop offer was 40% of the initial quote. Their 'certified technicians' claimed it had 'loose hinges' & wear on the bottom. I asked what their technicians were certified for & his genius reply was 'they all have college degrees in microtechnology', what is that? I finally got my asking price. DO NOT use these folks. This is my last experience with C4L.

I agree with most people, but I argued with the guy and got most of my quote. I was quoted $57. I was offered $5 and argued with the guy until he offered $50 which I accepted.

I agree this company is unethical. They run a bait and switch scheme. Do not consider doing business with this company.

Here's the deal. Your device is worth the least amount of money your willing to accept for it. If you get a quote for 150 you are going to get an offer of no more then 70.00. This is how it works. You go online and get a quote for you computer or whatever. You fill out all the information and click the little box saying you read the terms and conditions. Now, you most likely didn't bother reading them and move on in the process. At this point you will be sent a couple e-mails and shipped out a box to return your device. You then send your phone or laptop in and await for that check to come in the mail. It will not. You WILL be called. A representative will give you an offer about half of what your quote was. This is what the person on the phone is paid to do, get you to sell that computer or iPhone at the lowest price possible. They have a goal to meet just like every other call center in the world. Once you agree to a price you will get your money sent to you as fast as they can, once you accept that pay pal payment or cash a check the deal is done. If you want to get the most for your device simply ask for it back. Ya, the hinges on your computer are loose or the phone is scratched but it still has both a real value to the company but most of all an intrinsic value to the rep on the phone. He or she is penalized for returning a device. So do this. Take that quote you were given of 150 and reduce it to 45.00. This is the price you will be called and offered. This is what you say. "I want 150.00". They will [censor] and moan but just keep it short and simple. You want what you were quoted. If you simply do not negotiate, demand a price of 150.00 and you were honest about what you sent in you will get your quoted price. Now, if you send in a pile of crap and were told they would give you ANY amount above zero you can get no more than 50.00 for it. That it what it costs, on average to return a computer or what have you.
They will pay you.
Demand what you were offered originally.
Do NOT haggle over price, you are not buying spices at a market in Thailand.
Do not be afraid to file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau if you feel lied to or otherwise mislead.
Read the terms and conditions. This is the "gotcha" of many such sites and will let you know just what to expect.
Be polite. Cussing, yelling and making personal remarks about the person on the phone is not going to help you. If you are polite and proper you will be treated as such.
If you want your laptop shipped back to you call every day until it is returned. They may just offer to pay you what the quote online was.

What a crock of crap ... cashforlaptops.com is a bait and switch operation. They quoted me $130 for my Gs. This phone was armor protected and had a ZAGG invisible shield. There were no scratches, dents or dings or anything wrong with it. They quoted $60 upon "inspection" ... BS! Now, they don't want to send it back?

I had a similar experience with cashforiphones.com. They quoted me $75 and I was very clear about the condition of my iphone 3gs. When the phone was received they offered $10. I understand that there is no way to be absolutely sure with a description but an 85% markdown is ludicrous. Someone above stated that this isn't a scam as they will send you your phone back and I agree with that but it is definitely a form of bait and switch. They simply hope you will just take whatever offer they throw at you so that they can make out big.

I ordered TWO boxes from them over TWO MONTHS ago. This morning I get a nice little wakeup call from a robot claiming they shipped me a box and received no laptop, etc. but that I can pay a "small fee" to keep the box. I sent them a message saying take me off the suckers' database or I call the FTC.

I sent them two laptops. One antique Dell, wouldn't turn on, they quoted me $50. The other one, an HP Pavillion, was beat to death, all of the check boxes on their website I was able to check though, so they quoted me $200. I knew they bait and switch their offer and I knew my laptops were in really bad condition so I was only hoping for $100 total. After a few days after sending them in via pre-paid (by them) UPS boxes they countered with a final offer, via email, of $20 and $45, respectively. They also left me a voice mail around the same time I got the emails. So, I called back Chad, he left his extension, and told him I was hoping to get $100 for both of them. He said, "done, you'll have your payment via paypal in the morning". I was thinking, damn I should have started higher in the haggle. In no way are they a scam company, you just have to play hardball. Its like haggling in a some market in some other country (I love traveling). I didn't even know of any sort of money for laptop service until I was looking for a place to recycle my machines, so $100 is better than zero, I bet I could have gotten $150 too if I went into the negotiation correctly.

Haha u got your [censor] took son. Yo send me some [censor] in the mail i promise i might give you money for it some day too.

I sent in three iPhones. One, I made a mistake on thinking it was a 16gig unit but was in fact an 8gig unit. I was quoted $110 for that. The email offer then came in at $10. They claim the phone was pitted and scratched (case) and my response was of course it is, it's used. No where on their site does it have a check box for "pits and scratches" so how would I have known? The next 2 phones were 16gig 3G (non s) units. Again, quoted $145 (each), actual offer then comes in at $70 (each). Their reason? Pits and scratches on rear casing.

So I call, and the gentleman says well we can negotiate the price now? I say no, send them all back. He laughs at me and says you won't get anything for these so you might as well take my offer. I tell him no, I would rather get nothing than have THEM make one penny.

I follow up with an email telling them to send them back, and to issue me the tracking number and of course, no response.

These people are worse than used car salesmen. Avoid at all cost if you value your time.

Everyone got a quote for there device. Not a firm offer but a quote dependent on the condition of there laptop for phone. Everyone here was then given a counter offer over the phone or via email. If you did not like the offer and wanted your device back it was sent back to you at no cost to you. Where is the scam here?

Cash for laptops is a scam company, I have sent my laptop and now they say that they haven't received my laptop and the package was empty. They informed me about this when i called them two days after the package was delivered to them. Such a bunch of lier's, do not send your laptop or iphone or other devices to these people, you would not get money for your device.

Update from walksoftly:
They paid $15 for my husband's iPhone after three rounds of negotiations and an original quote of $35 for the damaged phone.

I had two similar experiences with cashforlaptops.com — masquerading as cashforiphones.com. Their website is cashforiphones.com, but when their response comes, it's from support@cashforlaptops.com.

A few months ago, I sent them my iPhone after they quoted me $95. They ended up offering me $65 and said it had excessive wear. That was the first experience, and I should have learned my lesson then.

This week I googled and shopped around around for the best offer I could find for my husband's water-damaged iPhone. The best offer was from cashforiphones.com — I checked the boxes indicating water damage, no cables, and defective/damaged screen — and their offer was $35. However when I received their email this morning, their offer turned out to be: "$0.00. We can recycle your phone for you at no cost, to keep it in the land fill". So not only do they expect to get the phone for nothing, they are going to put it INTO the landfill.

I went online to cashforlaptops.com and received a quote for $95. The laptop was in great condition, however the hard drive was trashed. When I sent it in, they stated there was excessive cosmetic wear & tear and lowered the quote to $75. That laptop was in great condition and in no way did it exhibit any form of excessive wear & tear. So I had them ship it back to me. What a bunch of ###.

Hi guys i was having the same problem with my D600 but couldn't fix it. I got cash for it at www.mylaptopbroke.com, I had a good experience and would recommend them. check them out - i got exactly what i was quoted, no surprises!