A Best Buy policy

[RESORT2ME Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close RESORT2ME]

Check this out. I thought you might like to know.

snopes.com: Best Buy Restock Fee

[stasik Member Find all posts View Profile Close stasik]

Yeah, there is a big sign in the BB disclosing that. If you are buying something there, make sure that you really want it.

[PigsDad Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close PigsDad]

On the other hand....

People assume there is no cost to the store if you return an item. They assume they just put it back on the shelf and resell it as new. That is not true. If you look at Best Buy's return policy, you will see that the restocking fee is only for subset of items, like GPS, computers, etc.

Once they are returned, the store can never sell those again for full price. (Ever see those "open box" specials? Those are returned items!!) So why do some people assume the stores should bear the cost of a customer not doing their homework before they purchase? I have no problem with restocking policies in those cases -- in the end, it keeps the prices lower for everyone else.

Kurt

[dougp26364 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dougp26364]

This really shouldn't be news to anyone. Best Buy is not the only store to charge a restocking fee on opened merchandise that is not defective. There are many clothing retailers that will do the same thing......if they'll even accept the item back at all. This practice discourages people who only want to "borrow" the item for a few days and then return it. I have known several girls that "borrowed" a new dress for one specific dance, party, dinner et.... and then wanted to return the dress for a full refund.

[garyd210 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close garyd210]

What fees are next?

Unfortunately "good customer practices" are something of the past. Does it really pay the retailer to have poor experiences spread over the internet for a couple of bucks of restocking charges? I've had some negative comments at my e-mail classifieds about Best Buy that were distributed to 700+ co-workers and as a result, Best Buy is probably the last place I'll go to. My daughter bought a new tv a couple of years ago and it had internal damage to the screen. She took it back the same day and got it replaced. Should Best Buy offer her gas money or perhaps she should have charged her own re-stocking fee, re-packaging fee, delivery charge. K-Mart has changed their return policies, too(not a restocking fee....yet) and as a result I don't shop there as frequently as I once did. Sears once stood by their Craftsman items with a free replacement and I only presume that they've changed their attitude with other retailers who have changed from 'the customer is always right" "customer service is our goal" "service with a smile" to "make them sorry for doing business with us!". Vote with your buying dollar. Sam Walton er ..... garyd210

[Kay H Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Kay H]

I have news for you. If someone returns a defective item, they rewrap it and resell it. I know because I bought one. The idiot who rewrapped it didn't even have sense to remove the penciled note that said, "rewrap and sell as new". I paid by check and when I returned the item in 15 min they lied and told me my check had already gone to the bank and I had to wait 30 days to get my money. I have never set foot in a Best Buy store again. I refuse to even read their ads.

[vintner Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close vintner]

Unfortunately "good customer practices" are something of the past. ....

And also, unfortunately, good customers are are a thing of the past.

Shoplifting is up, buy and return for any number of reasons have increased, some customers have bought an item, copied software and then returned the item as new.

I bought an ‘open box’ computer from a store. It could not be operated. It had to have the complete operation system reloaded.

Out of box failure is one thing, stores will replace with the same unit if the unit they bought is defective. Most returns are not because of failure. But when the customer takes advantage of the store, or the item they purchased, they loose money everytime. You pay for it one way or another, through a fee to the customer that returned the item, or by raising prices to everyone. And frankly, I think prices are too high in box stores anyway. Charging the ‘buy and return’ customer is, to me, more fair.

I shop at Bestbuy and will continue. It may be that in my tiny town of Minneapolis, my selections are limited, but Bestbuy is the best choice for a wide variety of products.

Okay, I’ll get off my soapbox now.

Oh, one more thing before I step down; in my rental unit, I am finding quality of tenants to be down. The landlord pays for the heat, and the tenants leave windows open, tenants want security deposit back when they move, but they leave dirty diapers, a can of grease on the stove, food on the fridge a totally messy unit and a closet full of shoes that I have to take to the garbage and a broken TV set to the recycle center, and then they wonder why charges were taken from their deposit.

The world is changing. $*^%# happens.

[dougp26364 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dougp26364]

Unfortunately "good customer practices" are something of the past. Does it really pay the retailer to have poor experiences spread over the internet for a couple of bucks of restocking charges? I've had some negative comments at my e-mail classifieds about Best Buy that were distributed to 700+ co-workers and as a result, Best Buy is probably the last place I'll go to. My daughter bought a new tv a couple of years ago and it had internal damage to the screen. She took it back the same day and got it replaced. Should Best Buy offer her gas money or perhaps she should have charged her own re-stocking fee, re-packaging fee, delivery charge. K-Mart has changed their return policies, too(not a restocking fee....yet) and as a result I don't shop there as frequently as I once did. Sears once stood by their Craftsman items with a free replacement and I only presume that they've changed their attitude with other retailers who have changed from 'the customer is always right" "customer service is our goal" "service with a smile" to "make them sorry for doing business with us!". Vote with your buying dollar. Sam Walton er ..... garyd210

Exactly how was it Best Buy's fault that the TV was defective out of the box? Do you expect them to open every box and test all the TV's before selling them? What affect do you think would all those open boxes have on customer confidence. IMO, this was not Best Buy's fault but that of the original manufactorer.

Cyper terrorism lives off people's inability to think for themselves. If you're ticked off because you were unreasonable and didn't get your way, write and E-mail and spam it to the internet. You're bound to connect with people who will trust anything they read.

The customer is always right went out the window when the customer started using that slogan to rip off retailers on a regular basis.

[garyd210 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close garyd210]

Some of the responses are true, I have heard of people buying dresses, wearing them and returning them soiled expecting a full refund. As hopefully rare as this might be, sure it does occur and that is dishonest. Is there shoplifting, sure there is, but just because someone wants to return something, I don't think they should be treated like a thief until the salesperson feels differently. If the store posts something about returns and their refund policy, that's a thumbs up. In the original Snope it mentions that the conditions of the sale wasn't revealed until the item was returned, and then it was discussed. It also said that the customer wanted an exchange, but was told that they had to wait for a corporate check after a $45.00 restocking fee. The Snope does not describe what damage there was to the packaging and the claim it was exactly as purchased might be untrue. People to exaggerate to inflate their position(believe it or not). K-Mart has a poster size listing of their rules, which has been changed from past years, but they are straight forward about their policy. I appreciate this and puts me on full notice if I should do more "homework". Some of the product packaging lacks information and commonly you see a picture of the item and not the item itself. I think we can agree that if something is returned blatantly damaged, something not sold by the store, something bought under dishonest means, etc, etc are wrong, dishonest or criminal. Any store should not have to take the brunt of all returns. The store and the customer owe it to each other to both be fair. Businesses of all types act as an agent for the manufacturer. If a China made tv doesn't work immediately, the warranty will set guidelines on how to get it repaired. Is there a reasonable expectation that an item straight from a sealed box operate? I would hope so unless there are signs that the box was obviously mishandled(dropped). It's sad that there are dishonest people, there are rude, mean, rigid to their principals people no matter how civil you try to be with them. Speaking as an ex-drug store assistant manager and retired law enforcement, everybody deserves to be treated with respect until they act otherwise. I'm sorry that if an item has been carefully opened, the contents appear to be all accounted for and a simple re-taping would return it to a salable condition, issued a $45 restocking fee, and the unposted store policy of issuing refunds via mail 7-10 later when the Snopes person said they desired an exchange be reasonable in all situations? And I'm being referred to as a terrorist, what the heck is that all about? I realize everyone doesn't need to agree with me. Retailers and consumers both need to be fair and reasonable. I've seen and have had to deal with some of the worst, but this world is fortunately made up of many more honest, ethical, kind and fair people who shouldn't be automatically dealt with by unclear, undisclosed rules and unreasonable standards. The Snopes offered some good advice, protect yourself by buying with a credit card. It'll somewhat help many recent Aloha and ATA airline customers left stranded. Life's not fair, but I try to be.
Gary

[dougp26364 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dougp26364]

OK, so Best Buy has an overzelous employee or two. It happens in all stores.

Sometime back I was setting up a wireless router on my old computer. I originally bought Netgear equipement. No matter what I did, it would not work. It was extremely slow. I contacted Netgear's tech support and found out there was a glitch between their system and my ISP that prevented it from working properly. I returned all the opened equipement to Best Buy for exhange. The took it without question and exchanged it for D-link equipement, which worked fine.

Even further back I purchased a Sony Vio laptop computer which, after 24 hours, had a fatal error and wouldn't even start up. I returned it opened and there was no questions asked, it was exchanged. The exchanged computer ended up having a CD drive which did not work. I took this computer back for exchange. This time Best Buy upgraded to the next model without question or charge.

Finally, just last year we purchased a built in LG model dishwasher and paid for Best Buy installation. The installer was not very mpressive and did not really seem to care about his job. One week after installing the dishwasher if failed. Best Buy gave us the number of a repairman for us to contact. He came out, measured our cabinets and determined that the cabinets we had were to narrow for this particular model. By installing it into our cabinets the drain hose had become kinked and was not draining properly putting strain on the motor until it burnt out.

Now this time we did have problems with Best Buy. They did NOT want to replace the unit due to imporper installation. I did have to argue with the store manager who called his installers who in turn told him that model could be installed in standard cabinets. I had already been shown the installation manual by the repiarment indicating my cabinets were clealy 2 inches to narrow for proper installation so, I challanged the manager to call LG directly and ask them. It ended with us recieving a more expensive dishwaher installed without additional charges and a review of how to properly instal LG dishwashers.

This has been my only negative experience with Best Buy and we shop with them quite often. Most of our camera's, computers and home appliances have come from Best Buy and I somehow have always been aware that they have a restocking fee. Maybe I just pay attention because I've never done any "homework" before buying a product.

I'll continue to shop at Best Buy because, in most cases, they can provide the products I want at a reasonable price with less hassle than most.

[vintner Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close vintner]

...If the store posts something about returns and their refund policy, that's a thumbs up. In the original Snope it mentions that the conditions of the sale wasn't revealed until the item was returned, and then it was discussed. It also said that the customer wanted an exchange, but was told that they had to wait for a corporate check after a $45.00 restocking fee. ... Gary

Not picking on you Gary, but the customer did not want an exchange. He did not want that GPS because he did not like the way it could not find store names. He wanted a refund. Since that item was over their set fee, in this case, $200, the check would come from corporate. Because he made the call, he would not only get the check, but a $45 gift card, so would in fact, get all his money back.