Google Store trade-in confirmations disappear for some, leaving them with full price Pixel purchases

The Google Pixel 7 Pro and its smaller siblings were an absolute steal when they launched. By trading in the right phone, you could significantly reduce the price, allowing you to enjoy your brand new phone for much less than the asking price of $600+. But it seems the process is not without a hitch. Several people claim that even though they went through the exchange process on the Google Store website when they bought their new phones, Google has no memory of it.

When you order a phone from the Google Store, you can optionally add your old phone for trade-in. Depending on the condition and exactly what product it is, you can get a large amount of money back after sending it. Some who wanted to take advantage of Google’s excellent trade-in offers when the Google Pixel 7 launched had to go empty-handed, however.

People claim they added their trade-in units during the checkout process and everything seemed to have gone smoothly, only to notice that they never received the trade-in box they needed to send back the phone. Upon investigation, these people then discovered that their exchanges were simply not part of the order summary, as if they disappeared after making the purchase. There are many reports about it on Twitterincluding incidents that have affected former and current members of the Android Police team.

It’s worth mentioning that this isn’t the first time we’ve heard reports of botched swap deals – it’s been something tied in with other Pixel phone launches. It’s also possible that some of these lost trade offers came together due to user error, like people accidentally deleting the trade or forgetting to add it. However, given the large number of reports about it, it seems almost plausible that there are also technical issues with the exchange process, especially since some people are affected who have already made several successful exchanges and took care to select the right options.

Google’s response to those people who still have their old phones in their possession may seem tone-deaf. After many back and forths with support, Android Police founder Artem Russakovskii, who was also affected by the issue, was offered this solution, which we can confirm has also been offered to d ‘others :

For starters, I know this isn’t the most ideal scenario we’d want to be in and Google is always on your side to help and guide you in the right direction.

Ideally, any order on Google Store can only be cancelled/edited within 60 minutes of placing the order. Therefore, the system will not let us modify the order on your behalf.

I had this checked with my team of experts and after checking the details it appears that the exchange was not selected when ordering. Therefore, you did not receive an email regarding the exchange kit.

However, I have a job here for you. I see that your order was delivered to you on October 13 and that you have 15 full days to return the device according to the standard return period. I suggest you return the device and once we receive it you will be refunded. In the meantime, you can place a new order with the exchange.

Essentially, the only remedy the company could offer was to ask people to make another purchase and then add an exchange, while asking them to return the unit they previously received (if they are still within the 15-day return window, ie).

The problem with that is that many early orders also included other goodies, like earbuds or trade-in specials, which have now expired. This will leave many people with fewer products than expected or with a higher price than what Google would otherwise have offered. Even in the face of the high number of failed trades, support would remain adamant that the trade option was not selected at checkout.

We can only hope that Google finds a better solution to this situation, because sending a new phone back and then waiting to receive another just to trade in your old phone is convoluted and pointless.

While you absolutely must be able to trust a company’s workflow when buying their products, it can remind you that you need to document the process when making an expensive purchase like a new phone. Turning on your screen recorder for proof of what you did with your purchase could work wonders when you’re talking to support the next time you order a big-ticket item with a seemingly lost trade-in. It also costs you nothing if everything goes well.

After initially posting the story, a Google spokesperson responded to our request for comment, saying the company was aware of the issue and that the issue was resolved last week. The problem is said to have affected a small percentage of buyers. The checkout workflow is supposed to be changed, with users now having to explicitly add or decline an exchange when checking out.

UPDATED: 2022/10/28 04:38 EST BY MANUEL VONAU

Updated with Google comment