If you’ve heard about or used the Cult of Mac buyback program, you might be wondering what we do with your old devices — especially if you sent in broken gear. Is your old-but-loved iPad or iPhone in good hands?
Here’s the skinny. We’ve partnered with a tech startup in Fayetteville, Arkansas, called MyPhones Unlimited for our buyback program. They started out as a few University of Arkansas college guys buying iPhones from their fraternity bros. Now they have an amazing brick-and-mortar store in downtown Fayetteville and are partnering with sites like us to help refurbish or recycle old gadgets from around the world.
I sat down and talked with the MyPhones Unlimited fixer crew and asked them a few questions about repairing devices and some of the weird things they’ve seen.
Lewis Hall
Lewis Hall is one of the top dogs at MyPhones — he’s been there since almost the beginning. He actually likes accounting, fixing phones and is always playing weird rock music.
Photo: Gabe Trumbo/MyPhones Unlimited
What’s your job?
I fix phones.
What’s the weirdest problem you’ve fixed?
I had to get cheese dip out of a phone one time.
What’s the worst excuse you’ve heard for a broken device?
When they don’t remember how their phone broke.
What’s your least-favorite part to fix?
The glass on the back of the iPhone 5 and 5s.
Luke Hall
Luke Hall and his brother Lewis (see above) are locally known as “The Fix-It Bros” and they really don’t like that title.
What’s your job?
I just fix iPhones.
What’s the weirdest problem you’ve fixed?
Someone’s back camera put a random black blob in the middle of their pictures.
What’s the worst excuse you’ve heard for a broken device?
When someone says, “I never dropped it, it just broke in my pocket,” and the screen is shattered.
What’s your least-favorite part to fix?
Probably the volume/lock flex on an iPhone 5 and 5s.
Spencer Finney
Spencer Finney is the kind of guy you don’t want to get into an argument with because he’s that much smarter than you. Even if you’re actually right, he will convince you otherwise by the end of it.
What’s your job?
I fix the laptops.
What’s the weirdest problem you’ve fixed?
Removing tons of Pokemon stickers off a laptop.
What’s the worst excuse you’ve heard for a broken device?
One time a girl spilled vodka all over a guy’s laptop at a party.
What’s your least-favorite part to fix?
Definitely the broken/cracked glass on the laptop.
Carter Franklin
Carter Franklin is the only high-schooler MyPhones Unlimited lets work with them. Maybe it’s because he’s nonthreatening — or maybe because he’s the coolest high-schooler they know.
What’s your job?
I fix anything wrong with iPhones or iPads.
What’s the weirdest problem you’ve fixed?
One time an older lady came in with a phone she tried to fix herself and there were at least eight screws missing.
What’s the worst excuse you’ve heard for a broken device?
Someone walked in and claimed they just took the phone out of their pocket and it was broken. They had no idea how it broke.
What’s your least-favorite part to fix?
A really cracked iPad screen.
Sell your iPhone, iPad or other Apple device today
Selling your used or broken Apple (or Android) device has never been easier — or more lucrative. Just check out our buyback page, select your device type, click through to select your carrier, and identify your device’s condition.
Once the MyPhones Unlimited box arrives in your mailbox, simply put your used gear inside and use the free return label to send in the box. Then just wait for your check. Easy money.
Get a quote today and see how much your old devices are worth.
