A Best Buy policy

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

http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/restock.asp

Best Buy

Thank you for the information.........

Best Buy, CC, H H Gregg (their policy is even worse ) and even Sears has a 15% restocking fee. If it was within the 14 day return policy and still in the original packing there should have not been a return fee. shaggy

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

There's several stores that do this. It discourages "borrowing" items for a few days.

I will share your information.

If the package seal has been broken and/or the plastic wrapping has been removed, I don't have a problem with the store charging a restocking fee for a non-defective item. I would not pay a new price for the returned item, and if I were to purchase it, I would expect a discounted price.

Interesting information. It's good to know these things before you buy.

We had an experience with Toys-r-US last christmas. My son got a light-saber for a gift and when we opened it for the first time it didn't work (it was an electronic one). We took it back to the store (we knew it was bought there even though it was a gift) and they refused to exchange, return, or do anything about it because we didn't have a receipt. All we wanted was an exchange because the first one didn't work but they refused to do anything about it, even after we explained that it was a gift. We spoke to the manager and he said that was their policy and there was nothing he could do about it. We were left with a crying child and a nonfunctioning toy- what a great experience. Luckily my son decided he didn't care and now plays with it anyway despite the fact that it doesn't light up or make the noises. Needless to say we don't shop at Toys-r-Us anymore. You really have to watch these policies- they catch you.

This is why I try to do all my shopping at Costco. Even though they have tighten their return policy, its still the best out there.

Regards
Joe

www.cambrafamily.com

dougp26364 said:

There's several stores that do this. It discourages "borrowing" items for a few days.

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I really don't see a problem with the policy at all. It does not apply if the merchandise is defective, and it doesnt apply if the original packaging has not been opened. When I shop at Best Buy (or anywhere else) I don't buy "used" merchandise at full price. I NEVER buy anything in a box that has been opened unless it is discounted.

Too many people "borrow" things knowing they will be returning them - which is also why you can not return "special occasion" dresses I think the rule would not be there if there was not a need for it to protect the store.

I expect unopened merchandise and a discount if it isn't

laura1957 said:

I really don't see a problem with the policy at all. It does not apply if the merchandise is defective, and it doesnt apply if the original packaging has not been opened. When I shop at Best Buy (or anywhere else) I don't buy "used" merchandise at full price. I NEVER buy anything in a box that has been opened unless it is discounted.

Too many people "borrow" things knowing they will be returning them - which is also why you can not return "special occasion" dresses I think the rule would not be there if there was not a need for it to protect the store.

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Agreed. Once the product is opened there is a good chance something is abused, missing or just screwed up. While I do buy the often discounted "open box" items I do expect a significant discount for the chance of problems it represents. Why should Best Buy or any other store eat that? If I take home an item and open it I should know what the consequences are if I decide to return it - unless it's defective of course. Even then it may require a replacement with the same brand/model not a change to a different one at no cost. Best to be aware of the policies and not assume.

This policy is common with most stores, not just Best Buy. But as stated above, it is a policy for specific types of products. Example, you buy a GPS, rip open the blister pack, use it for a few days and decide you don't like it, you'll be charged a restocking fee. The store doesn't have a blister pack molding machine that can make this product look like new, so they are required to sell it as "Open Box". This means they have to resell it at a lower price, so they share that cost with you.

On the other hand, there are some pretty shady selling behaviors that I have seen allowed by the stores. I worked at CC just after college for a little while. I sold car audio and cells. We had a Kenwood amp that had a defect. Because of some weird policy, we as a store could not send the amp in for service. Only a customer could. We sold that same amp about 10 times as an Open Box buy and it kept getting returned because of the defect. We actually notched the bottom plate every time we sold it.

Open Box can be a blessing, because you can get some incredible buys on truly new products. But you could also get a lemon (rarely). Make sure to be diligent and return it quickly if you feel there is anything wrong with it.