Illustration by Dustin Elliott.

By Christopher Elliott
Guest Columnist

Where is Joan Cassell’s iPhone? Gazelle says it sent it back to her, but there’s no evidence it was delivered. Whose responsibility is this lost phone?

I sent in an iPhone XR to Gazelle (ecoATM), a company that recycles used electronics. Gazelle had offered $120 for my iPhone if it was in good condition.

Christopher Elliott

But when Gazelle received the phone, it claimed it had scratches (which is untrue). Gazelle reduced its offer to $105.

I declined the offer and asked Gazelle to return the phone. Gazelle claims it mailed the phone to me and said it would arrive in 10 days. I never received it.

Gazelle says the phone was delivered but stolen and asked me to file a police report. I requested a tracking number from the company, and it shows the phone was sent, but there’s no evidence that it was delivered.

Can you help me get my phone back? — Joan Cassell, St. Louis, Mo.

Gazelle should be able to show you a tracking number with a confirmed delivery. If it can’t, then the phone is still the company’s responsibility.

I see this kind of thing constantly. Companies are quick to blame their customers when a package gets lost, and slow — often painfully slow — to take responsibility themselves.

Gazelle’s site has information on what constitutes a “good” condition for a device. According to section 9 of its Terms and Conditions, “If you elect not to accept the recalculated offer price, your product will be returned to you.” (The terms do not specify how Gazelle will send it back, but in your case, it was via USPS.)

By the way, Gazelle is hardly the only company to make its offers on old electronics contingent on an inspection. When I return my old Pixel phones for a trade-in credit, they always say the credit depends on what they find. So I’m always nervous for a few days while Google decides what to do with my old phone.

I highly recommend a durable case. I’ve used OtterBox products on my last few phones, and they have protected my device so well that I always pass my inspection with flying colors.

You might have appealed this to a Gazelle executive (here’s how to find a manager). But I’m not sure if it’s worth it over a $15 price difference. In fact, I think it probably cost Gazelle more than $15 to return your phone.

I contacted the company on your behalf. It investigated your claim and determined that USPS was at fault for losing your device after it left Gazelle’s facility.

“We investigated the matter with USPS to the best of our ability in order to retrieve her property, but unfortunately, they were unable to recover it,” a representative said.

“We also recognize that there was a delay during this process in getting Ms. Cassell the answers she needed,” the representative added. “As a way to make up for this shortcoming, Gazelle has issued Ms. Cassell a total payment of $170 representing the original quoted value of her phone ($120) plus an additional $50 as a means of apology.”

The Gazelle representative said the company is committed to honest pricing at no risk.

“When we receive a customer’s item, if it’s in better condition than expected, we increase our original offer. If we need to lower the offer, our customers can always have it returned,” he says. “Unfortunately, in this case, the item was lost due to circumstances out of our control. We regret the loss and hope that we were able to do right by Ms. Cassell and settle this matter in the most satisfactory way possible for everyone involved.”

Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy, a nonprofit organization that helps consumers solve their problems. Email him at [email protected] or get help by contacting him.