Swappie has officially arrived in Spain as one of Europe’s largest iPhone sales platforms. The store is presented as an alternative to pages like Backmarket or Certideal, with the difference that the sales process is even more agile. Because of its short history in Spain, Swappie has sown many doubts regarding the store’s reliability: is Swappie reliable? Is it safe to shop at Swappie? Is it safe to buy refurbished iPhones at Swappie? We have compiled some technical questions on the web and real customer and user reviews and opinions to answer all these questions.
REASONS WHY SWAPPIE WAS LEGIT
Although Swappie is new in Spain, the truth is that the store has been operating internationally throughout Europe for a few years. With more than 11,000 reviews on platforms such as Trust Pilot, the store has an average rating of 4.6 stars out of 5. Let’s see some of the reasons why the store seems trustworthy.
24-MONTH WARRANTY AND 14-DAY WITHDRAWAL PERIOD
That’s how it is. All iPhones purchased from private individuals have a 24-month legal guarantee from the date of purchase, which doubles Apple’s guarantee if we purchase devices outside the store. Swappie gives us a legal term of 12 months if we are self-employed or a company.
On the other hand, the store offers a withdrawal period of 14 days, complying with current regulations regarding the sale of online products. Within this period, we will be able to make any return whatever the reasons: state of the product, disagreement with the characteristics…
PAYMENTS THROUGH PAYPAL AND CASH ON DELIVERY
Regarding payment methods, the safest options are always PayPal and cash on delivery. Fortunately, Swappie supports both of these ways. The first one ensures us some coverage if the company does not respond so that PayPal’s mediation service will intercede for us if any irregularity is detected: an order that does not arrive, iPhone in poor condition… If the mediation does not come to fruition, PayPal will refund the full amount of the purchase.
Regarding cash-on-delivery payments, the page does not specify the conditions, although it is likely that a slight surcharge will be applied to payments made through this channel for the cost of the service.
IMMEDIATE DELIVERY IF WE LIVE ON THE PENINSULA
Whether we buy or sell an iPhone through Swappie, the product’s delivery, and collection is carried out within 24 and 72 hours within the peninsula. This period also applies to orders placed from the Balearic Islands, so the Canary Islands, Ceuta, and Melilla are excluded from the platform’s services, at least on the publication date.
IT HAS A HUMAN CUSTOMER SERVICE
No bots or automated responses. In this sense, the page makes a live chat available to users from Monday to Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., as well as a telephone number (518 889 459) that we can contact within the same hours as the chat.
REASONS WHY SWAPPIE DOESN’T SEEM TRUSTWORTHY
When we talk about stores whose only sales channel is limited to the Internet, it is not always possible to control the different sales processes: shipping, product status … A simple Internet search helps us to find out some of the deficiencies that users report and that the website itself presents regarding platforms such as Amazon or eBay, as we will see below.
THE STATE OF THE IPHONE MAY NOT CORRESPOND TO WHAT IS DESCRIBED: BATTERY, SPEAKERS, MICROPHONES…
Some users report that the state of the iPhone does not correspond to what is described, especially when we talk about items with a ‘Like new’ status. The general trend of negative opinions concerns batteries, microphones, speakers, and screen defects. On the other hand, Swappie does not ensure the tightness of the equipment due to the different IP67 and IP68 certifications, probably due to the device’s opening to make the corresponding substitutions.
THE ACCESSORIES DO NOT APPEAR TO BE ORIGINAL APPLE
Although not specified in the sales conditions, users ensure that the accessories included in the original box are not Apple originals but compatible. However, neither the brand nor the technical characteristics are specified. This could compromise the integrity of the equipment, either by using low-quality chargers or cables or by handling them. For this reason, purchasing original accessories before proceeding with the purchase is recommended.
NO REPAIR OR HANDLING POLICY SPECIFIED
Although all iPhones have a legal warranty period of 24 months, the website does not specify the repair policy in its conditions beyond the exemption of products that have suffered liquid damage. The process that refurbished iPhones follow to be restored is not specified, as with Certideal or BackMarket. Hence, the origin of the installed components and the verification process that the phones follow to be put up for sale are unknown.
Remember that replacements and repairs made outside of official Apple sources are made with non-original components due to the company’s policy on third-party repair services. Since the components used and the repair process are not specified, it is difficult to estimate the useful life of the products.
POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE SWAPPED REVIEWS AND OPINIONS
To assess the reliability of Swappie, it is necessary to know the real opinions of users who have used the platform’s services. Here are a few taken from pages like Trust Pilot, one of the most reliable opinion platforms.
I am a writer with eight years of experience writing in business and technology. I always carry a passion for learning and discovering new knowledge.