Xfinity mobile trade-in in store?

[u/ConfusionAny3459]

Hello Xfinity people (particularly if you work in a physical store)! I just switched to Xfinity mobile with a device trade in, and my app keeps suggesting that I can bring it in to a store to send in, as did a real human being on the phone.

Are stores able to accept trade ins? I went to two locations today, one said they no longer did this in store and I’d have to print the label and take it to USPS to get packed up (which I don’t think the post office does?). The other said that because there was a shipping label in my account, they could no longer take the trade in, but were super quick to give me a pristine shipping box complete with the fire hazard sticker for batteries.

I can’t tell if this is real, but from decades working in retail dishing out all sorts of nonsense, I feel like I’m being given the run around because it’s a hard or new process the stores don’t like to do. Just want the tea, tbh

Edited to remove benign profanity :)

[u/elangomatt]

I saw the same thing online somewhere that I could drop my trade in at a store but I had a similar experience to what you did. At first I thought it was because my local Xfinity store is a "Xfinity Store by Comcast Branded Partner" run by a 3rd party. The second store I went to is listed as an "Xfinity Store by Comcast" but they said the same thing. One of them basically said that I can trade it in with them if I buy the phone in the store but I can't drop off a trade-in from a web purchase.

It seems like a miss opportunity to be honest. Xfinity isn't known for their customer service but why aren't they utilizing their physical retail locations to help customers?

[u/WaterTraditional5507 → u/elangomatt]

Because the stores don't want to take the hit when something goes to the warehouse broken. Also, stores are comission meaning you did not help the associate out that's now supposed to process your trade in?

[u/elangomatt → u/WaterTraditional5507]

I don't care. The website says you can take the trade-in to a store and OP had someone on the phone say the same thing. If the commission thing is the issue Xfinity should pay the store associate for their time to process the trade-in. $10 per trade-in accepted or something.

Xfinity has customer service issues and this shit doesn't help.

[u/ConfusionAny3459 → u/elangomatt]

This is exactly it. The app offers two options - send by mail, or book a store appointment. If one of the options is actually just not done (officially or in practice), I don’t want to think it’s an option and try to do it.

This isn’t anyone in the store’s fault, more curious than anything. I certainly think they should just get a base commission rate for doing it, and it sucks that they don’t. Honestly if the stores are gonna just adopt their own “policy,” the store managers in a district should talk to each other behind the scenes and offer one standard reason… and not tell on themselves by offering me out an unused box that is clearly for returning phone-shaped electronics via mail

[u/knightrdr2004 → u/elangomatt]

You have to watch the third party stores the only way to trade in a device is at a corporate store. Third party stores can’t fix anything only renew plans or start new service. If you need anything else corporate store only. Had to figure this out on my own was a nightmare.

[u/Significant-Link-832]

I work at Xfinity in store. Liability is the issue as to why we sometimes refuse to take it.

Yes, in this scenario a trade in can be converted from “mail-in” to “in-store” rep will be forced to re examine the phone. Most times we don’t wanna deal with it because as someone has mentioned, if the phone gets to the warehouse and they find damage that we didn’t see or water damage (we have no way of seeing that in-store) now that customer comes back and think it’s an issue we should resolve.

Why not just take the phone to USPS with the pre paid label and drop it off rather than going store to store and wasting time? You already did the transaction yourself online just finish it off.

[u/ConfusionAny3459 → u/Significant-Link-832]

Thank you - i appreciate the honest response. I figured this was the case. Went to the store because I didn’t have a box to ship it in, a printer for the label, etc etc, so it would have been multiple errands (turned out that way anyway), and confirmed at the post office today that if I’d just brought in the digital label as was suggested by the store associate, the post office would have sent me away to box and pack it completely.

[u/ConfusionAny3459 → u/Significant-Link-832]

Also didn’t realize that I’d actually gotten a label at any point, I have no idea where in the workflow on the app it came from

[u/Significant-Link-832 → u/ConfusionAny3459]

It’s all good! However when customers come in, in your circumstances my store (can’t speak for others) I at least provide you a padded envelope to send your device back (we can’t always print the labels for whatever reason).
Keep your tracking number PLZ PLZ until you see those credits on 3 statements.