New AES catalogue (or, "catalog" to you whippersnappers) today...

[n0eq]

[return something because you simply don't like it]

...good luck with that. ham radio retailers != nordstrom's. this drives up the cost of stuff for everyone and puts the merchant at (modest, imho) risk since they then have to return the item to the manufacturer and hope to get credit for it. when folks are as price conscious as they are this becomes a practice that's hard to justify.

They don't have to return something to the manufacturer if the customer simply doesn't like the color or the perceived quality. And if it IS a defective product, then they do indeed need to deal with the manufacturer, not just leave it in the hands of the consumer and say "no, sorry". Besides, the option is I can have my CC vendor reverse the charge, then the retailer will be out the total of the income. I can also get a refund from the manufacturer, bypassing the retailer, which is what I did in this case.

In both cases, the retailer loses because not only will I no longer spend money there, I'll come on a forum like this one and share my negative experience.

It's all just something retailers have to figure out how to deal with. And the ones that survive do figure out how to deal with it. Just another cost of doing business. Still way, way less expensive than keeping a physical store front open for me to physically walk in, examine the color of the widget, then deciding not to buy it.

Craig 'Lumpy' Lemke
www.n0eq.com

[n6hcm]

They don't have to return something to the manufacturer if the customer simply doesn't like the color or the perceived quality.

they can't sell it as new, either, since it isn't.

getting a refund from the manufacturer is lucky at best--most warranties don't say anything about cash refunds. that you were able to get it this time was nice, but i wouldn't expect that as a matter of course.

[n0eq]

they can't sell it as new, either, since it isn't.

getting a refund from the manufacturer is lucky at best--most warranties don't say anything about cash refunds. that you were able to get it this time was nice, but i wouldn't expect that as a matter of course.

Sure they can sell it new. Happens all the time with all kinds of products. It hasn't been
used, it simply wasn't what the buyer expected. Had nothing at all to do with
warranty. It's no different than me going to HRO, picking up a widget and then
setting it back down because I didn't like the looks of it.

Are you of the opinion that once a retailer sells something, if the buyer doesn't like it, that buyer is SOL?
I'm certainly not. I can take my receipt back to the grocery store if I didn't like the taste of the
bananas and they'll give me a refund. I can take my/send my clothing/tools/food/blow up dolls back
to whoever sells it to me and get a refund.

Apparently GigaParts didn't feel like I automatically had that right. So, instead of dicking
around with their dickaround attitude, I simply bypassed
them and got the refund via another channel. No matter which part of the seller chain
balks at the idea of a refund, they will always lose. A 5 min phone call to your credit
card vendor will have a refund in your account immediately.

And again, the idea of a vendor saying "Well, we'll maybe consider giving you
some customer service" and then getting that practice discussed on forums
like this one, is clearly much more damaging to them than simply doing the right
thing in the first place.

But it sounds as though you may not consider that "the right thing".

Ya sell something, ya stand behind it.
Ya don't, ya lose.


Craig 'Lumpy' Lemke
www.n0eq.com

[n6hcm]

Sure they can sell it new. Happens all the time with all kinds of products.

they sell it as "open box" most of the time ... at a discount. the only merchant i know that actively does this (takes customer returns, rewraps them in shrinkwrap and sells them as new) is fry's, and that's why a lot of people won't buy anything other than low-value goods there. gigaparts' returns policy is pretty clear here and i don't see that you had a valid point

Are you of the opinion that once a retailer sells something, if the buyer doesn't like it, that buyer is SOL?

i'm of the opinion that the buyer should rtfm and understand the merchant's return policy before you putting money on the table. credit card firms are not so quick to charge back to the seller anymore (they're sure to grant a temporary credit while they "investigate") ... but those refunds are hardly automatic unless it is the card's policy to do that (amex has some cards like this--if the merchant won't accept the return of the goods through a certain period they'll take it back and grant the credit).

and, honestly, i think you're nuts to expect anything that resembles customer service from an internet vendor. for the most part, these are sellers we use because there's some advantage to buying this way (often sales tax avoidance, sometimes pricing, occasionally customer service) ...

[n0eq]

they sell it as "open box" most of the time ... at a discount. the only merchant i know that actively does this (takes customer returns, rewraps them in shrinkwrap and sells them as new) is fry's...

Oh nonsense. Sears, JC Penny, Albertson's/Ralph's/Kroger's Grocery store, Autozone, Rat Shack, Discount Tire, Harbor Freight, every store I have ever shopped at, physical or internet/mail-order, takes unused items back and resells them as new.

If YOU have some kind of failure expectation from retailers that's your problem. I don't. I don't believe, and the law and manufacturer/vendor/bank policies agree, that the consumer isn't the one that bears the burdon of the transaction.

Not sure why you're so hell bent on being the victim here.


Craig 'Lumpy' Lemke
www.n0eq.com

[W3MIV]

Hardly seems worth an argument. Every retailer I have ever dealt with sells returns as "open-box" merchandise; if there was something wrong with the item and it has been repaired, it must be sold as "reconditioned" or "refurbished." Once a customer has opened the box -- even because he or she did not like the color -- it may no longer be sold as "new." Many states have laws governing this.

[KJ3N]

Speaking of poorly managed and designed websites, HRO is supreme suckage.

Have you checked recently?

[KG4CGC]

Have you checked recently?

Hey! How 'bout that! And I can see what $1800 will buy.

[n6hcm]

Hardly seems worth an argument. Every retailer I have ever dealt with sells returns as "open-box" merchandise; if there was something wrong with the item and it has been repaired, it must be sold as "reconditioned" or "refurbished." Once a customer has opened the box -- even because he or she did not like the color -- it may no longer be sold as "new." Many states have laws governing this.

exactly. it is exactly these sorts of policies that have gotten me great deals on stuff. if i'm buying for my own use, the item has all the right parts that i care about and the full factory warranty applies then i'm in.