I’m guessing this has happened to all of us at least once: you finally cave to temptation and buy that Apple product you’ve had your eye on, only to have Cupertino release a new version a couple weeks later.
To be fair, Apple’s usually pretty good about at least giving you some money back when that happens, but it’s true that our wallets are often the casualty of Apple’s secretive product release schedule.
Good on Apple for doing the right thing in this case, though: an Apple retail store in New Jersey has agreed to exchange an order of original iPads and replace them with iPad 2s.
Why the exception? The iPads in question were ordered by a class of students at Rutgers’ Center for Management Development, which was scheduled to start on March 11th. Since an iPad was necessary to take the course, but because students had to pay for them themselves, Apple decided to take pity upon a class full of kids who literally couldn’t have waited to buy the iPad and exchange them, even eschewing their usual restocking fee. Good for Apple.
John Brownlee is a writer for Fast Company, and a contributing writer here at CoM. He has also written for Wired, Playboy, Boing Boing, Popular Mechanics, VentureBeat, and Gizmodo. He lives in Boston with his wife and two parakeets. You can follow him here on Twitter.
36 responses to “Apple Exchanges iPads For iPad 2s For Unlucky Rutgers Class”
and thats what makes Apple an Evil closed corporation selling expensive products right?
Just another example of the benevolence of Dear Leader.
i see what you did there
My understanding is that Apple does not charge restocking fees at their stores any longer. That last line may need an edit. Just sayin’.
I missed the “unlucky” part of the article. What was unlucky about this?
Go Seton Hall!
Um, this actually sounds like a *lucky* Rutgers class.
Apple has done similiar things for me although clearly outside any warranty window.
Example, they replaced a laptop battery that was swelling at no charge although it was over 2 years old.
Unlucky? They are attending Rutgers and can afford an iPad. So they wouldn’t have the newest…poor babies.
I want to know why was an iPAD necessary for the course? Was it a course in iPAD app development?
oh you silly joey o’toole
In my experience with Apple over the past 5 years they have always done the right thing.
You do realize that Rutgers is not a private college, don’t you? It’s the State University of New Jersey, and as such, has a low tuition for in-state residents.
I only mention that, because I sensed a bit of resentment in your post.
These kids can afford to go to college state run school or not. Why doesn’t apple throw come at a school that could really use technology upgrades. These kids needed them for a class, they probably took the class just to get mommy and daddy to buy them. Lets be honest…
Chances are these ipads were just ordered within say the last 30 days. So it isn’t like they are replacing ipads from last fall.
Hell my own sister bought an ipad 3 weeks before the announcement, also for school. She went back to the store, asked the manager nicely and the guy wrote a note on the back of her receipt to allow an exchange for up to 2 weeks after the release.
Correct, they dropped it like 2 months ago.
That and the grant program they are apparently doing for low funded schools to buy ipads for student use. Really really evil of them
Are pleased to be able to accidentally navigate to the article you write, write very well.
After often to patronize
Are pleased to be able to accidentally navigate to the article you write, write very well.
After often to patronize