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Apple to Recycle your iPod for Free

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the reduce-reuse-rerock dept.

rdarden writes "After you get your dough from the recent iPod settlement, why not recycle your old iPod at an Apple retail store (US only). Starting today, that worthless hunk of environmental unfriendliness can be turned into a 10% discount on a new iPod (purchased at the same time)."

11 of 290 comments (clear)

  1. Market Saturation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Ok, I am not an evil stock analyst. But is this a sign of market saturation? BAsically, a couple days ago there were rumoes that iPOd inventories were building up because of oversupply. This could be a move to get rid of that excess inventory. As in, they figured out basically that most people who want an ipod already got one .. and so now they are trying to sell it to those who have old ones. Plus they want to reduce the number of people selling their second hand ipods to people (this way they make two sales instead of one).

    Hey people saw star wars three times didnt they?

  2. Gabba Hey! by Sporkinum · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Apple sold millions of them. Many of them to retarded, wealthy, fashionistas who would think this is a "really good deal" and helps save the Panda from extinction.

    --
    "He's lost in a 'floyd hole"
  3. ...not from "consumers" by lxt · · Score: 2, Interesting

    You point is completely true - but the money is not reobtained from consumers, but from savings made in the repair shop. Apple (like other electronics companies) state in their warrenties they can replace defective parts with refurbs, which are obviously cheaper than new items (example - my battery replacement they gave me for my iBook was a refurb). Thus, the cost of repair is reduced, and that's where the money is recouped.

  4. This is a ripoff! Sell on eBay instead. by enosys · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The story makes it seem like this is a great deal but in fact it is a terrible ripoff. Search for "broken ipod" on eBay.. For example "ipod 15 gig 3g 3rd gen broken" with what appears to be a broken hard drive is at $82.01 after 8 bids and with 5 and a half hours left.

  5. Re:This doesn't make a lot of sense. by crawling_chaos · · Score: 2, Interesting
    Unless you have an iPod broken for some other reason, I think the recycling is a bum deal.

    Or if you were planning to buy a new one anyway and your old one was going to end up in a landfill. It looks like Apple is begining to get ahead of the curve as there are several states that are forcing computer manufacturers to either recycle old equipment at the time of purchase or pay a hefty tax to pay for the state's recycling program. I can easily see these laws spreading to any rechargeable battery powered device, as battery disposal and recycling is a major headache for local governments. With this program in place, Apple is ready if such laws become widespread.

    My Dad worked for the EPA for twenty years and I remember I had a conversation with him in the eighties where he predicted that sometime in my lifetime, all purchases would have to include the cost of disposal in addition to the cost of production. There's a finite amount of space to store trash. Perhaps he was right.

    --
    You can only drink 30 or 40 glasses of beer a day, no matter how rich you are.
    -- Colonel Adolphus Busch
  6. Re:Well, that goes a long way... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting
    China: Total CO2 production=3,051,110,000 metric tons = 2,530 kg per person
    UK: Total CO2 production=535,290,000 metric tons = 9,030 kg per person
    US: Total CO2 production=5,584,760,000 metric tons = 19,910 kg per person
    (1999 figures, http://earthtrends.wri.org/pdf_library/data_tables /cli3_2003.pdf )

    Oh, and global warming is generally accepted as scientific fact by most real scientists worldwide - but you will always find a (US) kooky charlatan to say otherwise.

    You may like to stick your head in the sand, but don't whine when others use your stupidity as an opportunity to kick you in the arse. Yes, you are at fault, by a large %age.

  7. RE: iPod Photo 60GB problems by King_TJ · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Actually, one of my good friends works a second job at a large electronics retailer, and he said they had a "large number of returns" of the 60GB model of the iPod photo. None of the other models were affected. He suspects they had a bad production run of the 60GB microdrives in them, and Apple hasn't openly acknowledged it yet (perhaps because it's such a limited issue).

  8. Re:10 fricking percent? by pintomp3 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    more importantly, they get to sell more new ones. 1. make mp3 player 2. market heavily so most ppl don't know other exist 3. drop quality so they break down faster 4. offer to buy back and sell new one 5. profit! 6. repeat

  9. Re:yet more apple suck by MoneyT · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Good asthetic design? Prevention of pieces going everywhere if you drop it? Saving space? So that they don't have users opening up an iPod and zapping the HDD because they aren't grounded and then bitching to Apple?

    --
    T Money
    World Domination with a plastic spoon since 1984
  10. This is just pathetic by bumptehjambox · · Score: 2, Interesting
    Are consumers so repressed to where it is socially acceptable to sell a well-known poorly made product, and then offer us a coupon towards another one when it breaks?
    Kudos to Apple, keep them jumping through the hoop... makes me wanna dance.

    (perhaps this is just a rhetorical question)

  11. iPods as replacements under battery settlement by Go_Ask_Alex · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Is it possible that Apple will use recycled iPods as replacements under the recent iPod battery settlement?

    http://www.appleipodsettlement.com/
    http://www.appleipodsettlement.com/claim.pdf