Alienware Trade-Up program....Trustworthy?

I was looking forward to trade in my Alienware laptop and purchase another one. However, I've stumbled upon several threads on Dell community site where people haven't been paid for their trade-ins after waiting 30+ days.

Dell is great when you don't have to call them..i.e. when everything works as it should. In another words, i'd hate to spend time on the phone to have Dell pay my trade-in.

Having said that, can anyone comment on the trade-in service's quality based on personal experience? thank you

 

What model and specs are you trading in? Why not sell it instead?

 

I'm pretty sure you can trust the trade-in program. It may take a while for the check or credit to arrive but I'm sure you'll get it along the way.
If not, you can always sell your system here on the Marketplace or on eBay.

 

Definitely sell it private. You'll get several times the amount dell with give you

Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk

 

Doing a computer trade-in is even worse than a car trade-in. Expect to get nothing close to what it is actually worth. The dealer/reseller needs to make a profit so you can't reasonably expect to come out ahead on that kind of deal.

 

I looked at the trade program earlier and attempted to trade an M18x R2 with 3940XM and dual GTX 680M's and SSD, etc... The value offered by Alienware was like $1800. Pretty low offer. That's about half of what the specifications I entered would sell for on eBay.

It may be negotiable, though. If there's anything I've learned about Alienware over the years, it's that they negotiate. But they are trying to make a profit, so...

 

They wanted to buy my R4 as spec'd in sig for 500$

 

I did a quote, followed all of their directions, shipped the system, and received an email stating that they had accepted the system (it matched the quote system and was functional) and was told to expect payment within 30 days, that was 11 Nov,... I have still not received payment & they have/had the system for almost 2 months.

Emails to the trade-in support address resulted in one reply of, "We will escalate this payment issue and let you know as quickly as possible" on 29 December and nothing since, to include a reply to a second this past Monday.

Be aware that the trade-ins go through/are processed in Germany, and the support number to call is a 3rd party contractor in NJ, who doesn't even have anything resembling this program in their phone tree/menu.

 

I was offered $150 for a 17r3 in excellent shape....

 

FOLLOW-UP

After having the laptop for almost 2 months, still no payment, and calls to Dell/Alienware direct you to the NJ 609 number, who then directs you back to Dell. So far no one at Dell/Alienware will acknowledge the program or that there is actually anyone within the company responsible for oversight/managing the program. I've seen a number of individuals complaining about not getting paid, despite Dell having accepted their trade-in over 40 days ago, but not a single post stating that someone received payment.

 

It may be time to set up a BBB claim.

 

I find it laughable at most.. offer penny's on a machine that sells for so much.. like my system lol 650 bucks.. hahaha alienware bumped there heads..

 

i wonder if the reps feel like tools, quoting prices like that to the enquirers...

 

They're assuming a lot of risk when accepting your system as a trade. It's sort of like trading a car in, private party sale is always thousands more. It's because they have to invest more money into your machine before it's ready for sale, they don't just flip them. The prices are quite low - no doubt about that - but it's a company, not a person. They have to profit when it's all said and done to make it worth their while.

If they offer you $800 for your computer that's worth at least $2,000, they probably put another $500 to $700 into the system (labor, shipping, repairs, etc.) before it's ready for sale. Then they have to advertise it and wait. Time is money. So, in the end, they're only making like 20% to 30% profit per unit. You also have to take into account depreciation...

They're probably offering you half of what they have to spend to make it ready to sell. It's VERY low, no doubt. Go use eBay! If I took my brand new Alienware 17 to a Pawn Shop, they'd probably offer me like $1,800 for it as well, which is a ridiculous offer.

 

This is true for all items you can either sell yourself vs. selling to a dealer/store/comic shop etc...I haven't looked at the Dell pricing, but unlike a private party sale, they are ONLY doing it to make a profit. There's no other reason so obviously, it's a bad deal compared to direct selling on eBay / private party.

Worst for computers vs. collectibles like toys/rare comics/birkin bags, etc...is while you wait, the item keeps going higher in price while with tech, it drops immensely each year.

I'm tempted to upgrade my smart phone this year and instantly flip it new and continue to use my old one and pocket the cash...

 

do they offer a choice of cash vs coupons? something like 800$ vs 1200$ coupon wouldn't hurt as much i guess...

 

One thing to remember with this trade-in is that you have to purchase a new Alienware system also.

Still no money from an accepted trade-in back on Nov. 18th. Trying to decide if I should report the laptop as stolen or file a fraud complaint and where- here or in FL where Alienware is headquartered.

And it seems like they've lowered their quote amounts, which also explain why they are trying to avoid paying out on earlier claims (same way they cancel orders that took advantage of offers and got discounted to low).

 

DavidIt why don't to put this issue to an Alienware rep on NBR. There are several around. Perhaps they can help you.

Either way you can't wait any longer! Otherwise they will have already sold your system on!