Return Policy

I've heard some horror stories about returning to Alienware. I'm returning my M9750, for good reasons which I don't feel like going into, as that discussion is not what this thread is about. (Please refrain from "Why would you return that?!?? ZOMG" responses...) They have a 30-day return period that I am well within, having received the laptop about a week ago.

So, any tips on going through this return process from anyone who has gone through it before? Was it a hassle? Do they always charge the 15% restocking fee (the FAQ states there may be a 15% restock charge)? Anything I should know about before going through with this?

Thanks in advance to all.

 

They will charge you the 15% restocking fee. It should be a relatively smooth process as far as I'm aware; from past experiences with Alienware.

 

Well damn. Have there been any instances of their not being the restocking fee?

 

If your reasons are as good as you make them sound, tell Alienware to either stuff the 15% fee or you will be calling your CC company to get your money back.

 

Ok man I know you mentioned that you don't want responses asking why you are returning the Alienware but could you please share your personal experience with me because right now I'm considering getting an Alienware. I know you have good reasons for returning the laptop and I will never question why, I just want to hear some horror stories from unfortunate people like you. Please do pm me, if it isn't too much to ask.

Thank you, and sorry I can't help you out because I have absolutely no idea about AW's return policy.

 

I had an experience with Alienware returning policy before, which not long time ago back then. 3 factory visit in 9 months of ownership (and we are talking about m9700, not Clevo's version of Alienware or what not)? pfftt come on Alienware. But Alienware is the best, within couple of days we settled as smooth as a silk.

 

alienware is many times too slow...great laptops...but slow in the customer service area ...SOMETIMES....u may get lucky..it really is a roll of the dice with them...bark at them for the restocking fee and you could easily win

 

It's a pain in the butt to get repairs done, let alone a return. Your best bet is if you bought it with a debit card, your bank can dispute the charges or the restock fee after the unit is returned.

 

Bad news on this front. I called Alienware today about the return and restocking fee. They are extremely adament about this restock fee, although I suppose I should have seen that coming, after hearing stories about the fee being charged on defective products and canceled orders that haven't even been built. I talked to four different Alienware reps (every transfer ending with me asking to speak to the rep's superior), the second two reps actually in the US. All said that there were no exceptions to the restock fee. I kept pushing and pushing, finally accepting that there was no way in hell these guys would budge.

Now that the return is in progress, it is much easier than I'd expect. The computer is in the shop for repair, and I was expecting that they'd tell me that I'd have to wait for it to be sent back to my place so I could resend it with everything. I was told that all I'd have to do was send the remaining parts (power brick, mousepad, accessories) back to them and they'd wire the money.

As for the restock fee, I'm not to worried about it. The new Gateway P-171 + the restocking fee is still a hell of a deal compared to what I'm getting back for this M9750 purchase. I'll probably take the money and go with the P-6831FX from Gateway and add a new processor. The price of that + the restock + the new processor will still be less than the M9750, and perform a hell of a lot better.

 

Check this out... I called to return my m9750 (spent $4k) and they start giving me the runaround saying that the 30-day return policy occurs from the time it SHIPPED from Alienware and not from when I received it. Never mind that it took 8-days to deliver it. The 8-day difference puts me outside the 30-day window.

I go through all the reasons why I need to RMA this thing and the problems I have, and he gives me a hard time about not having called technical support. I then had to explain to him that I'm an expert user and that I own 8 laptops and I've done every possible troubleshooting from stock reinstall, open source drivers, etc.

He finally agrees to forward my request to the "cancellation department" which of course is closed at 3:50pm PST, not neccesarily guaranteeing that they will issue an RMA, but that they will call me "within 2 business days". They better call me tomorrow or I'll call back instead they are trying to do some delay tactics.

Oh, and I had to use the "don't make me go around posting on every Notebook Review forum out there about this... it's clearly within the 30-day window from when I received it and it's clearly an unsatisfactory purchase and just process the RMA and I'll pay the 15% fee and buy an Inspiron".

We'll see what happens next. There's always the dispute the credit card and refuse to pay the $2k they put on the Titantium account.

 

And I did check their 30-day guarantee online and didn't see any mention of when it shipped. I'm sure there's legal precedence if I were to go to small claims on this (assuming CC dispute didn't work) which shows that 30-day is from when the buy receives the product.

 

when i went through this it was "30 days from when it was recieved"

and i didn't get them to waive the restocking fee either, its currently in dispute with my cc company.

 

As expected, Alienware's "cancellation department" never called me back as promised. It sounds as if they are dragging their feet on purpose to push out the 30-day window.

I'm going to cause them so much hell if they play games with me.

 

Oh my gawd, so I call in and start to raise holy hell in the nicest, most polite & professional way possible... and when I ask to talk to someone in the "cancellation department" the customer rep guy says "i have to go look for them, do you mind if I put you on hold?". After about 4-minutes on hold, he comes back "I'm still looking for the person in charge of your account, please stay on hold."

8-minutes later...

"The person in charge of your account is on the phone".

Can I have his name & direct line?

"No, sir, he is scheduled to call you today, I can't tell you if it will be in 2-hours or 3-hours, but you will get a call today."

Okay, if I don't hear from you in 3-hours I'll call back?

"I can't guarantee you will hear from him in 3-hours."

But you just said 2-3 hours?

"I don't know when he will call you, but you will get a call today."

Okay, I'll wait for the call, but I'm calling you back in 3-hours if I don't hear from you.

"Have a nice day, sir."​

Nothing but delays and obfuscation.

Funny thing is the guy I'm talking to has the exact same accent as the guy I talked to last week, but is using a completely different name. Maybe it's coincidence, but boy, for a company that sells "high-end" rigs you would think they'd have at least as good support as your local grocery store. [I know I'm preaching to the choir here.]

 

The RMA was finally issued. I had to talk to a Customer Advocacy Rep and they did the right thing. They did try to talk me into all various offers of repairs and other technical support but I told them I was an expert user and gave them a brief overview of the # of laptops I go through per month at work, plus what I own on a personal level as an uber-gamer user.

I do give Alienware props for doing the right thing, but it took some escalation and consternation to get there. It's not like returning something at Target where they agree that if you're not happy, you don't have to keep it. No questions asked.

 

ur getting the 15% fee. unless perhaps u literly cry over the phone.

 

If you don't have to pay the 15% restocking fee, let us know!

 

I am too returning my m9750. My dad is trying to get the restocking fee taken away,,, maybe if we buy the m15x they will take it back with no restocking

 

You mean re-buy, correct?

 

no we never bought the m15x
if we can get the restocking on the m9750 waived we might buy the m15x

 

I have a feeling you wont get a free restocking fee because you plan on buying another alienware. Travis are u returning for legit problems or because the m15x has droped in price and you want lights now. (not trying to be mean just a fair honest question). i know the bottom of your laptop isnt flush or something like that.

 

hes returning the m9750 to get a lenovo t61p

 

the m9750 was too heavy to be used away from a desk and since I have never used a 9+ pound laptop I had no idea what it would be like. Also, the bottom of the case is loose, and some minor physical imperfections.

If I do get the m15x which wouldn't be that much more than the t61p, how much worse will the t7100 be than the t7200?

 

A thinkpad... i dont do thinkpads. i had a bad experiance with two of them. not a fan but hey i guess the beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Anyways AW will read this thread im guessing so that wont work out lol

 

"alienware is the worst company ever"

 

aw doesn't know who "sir travis d" is or who my dad is


so how much worse is the t7100 than the t7200
also alienware-steve can i talk to u

alienware user

Before getting the m9750, I was thinking of the m15x/m9750
got the m9750
going to return the m9750
thinking about t61p/m15x
getting m15x if I can

I never said the m15x was a bad computer

 

the 7200 has 200 mhz more speed and 2x the cache so you should be able to notice a difference in processing speed due to the cache.

 

pfffff...... alienware raised the price of the 2.4ghz from a $75 upgrade to a $150 upgrade.. Could it last without it for a while?

 

What do u use your laptop for. Word and internet surfing doesn't take much and if u are gaming then i personally wouldn't expect to get much performance from either. I would tell u not to get a thinkbad cause the one i had constantly overheated and after about a yr and a half it was time to lay to bed. Also i had problems connecting to wireless all the time with their ibm thinkvantage. Then again ibm was bought and the Leveno i have now is pretty good but im still bitter about the ibm programs it comes with.

 

I'm thinking of the
m15x 1.8/2.4 processor
1gb ram 4gb upgraded
vista premium
maybe 8700 graphics
keyboard lights
I want to wait for the black though..

 

The black should be out soon. Don't know how soon though. But it's pretty close.

 

The m9750 is a desktop replacement and it weighs 8.5 pounds, that's nothing comparing to Dell's XPS m1730 which is 12 pounds. BTW the m15x is 7.8 pounds (0.7 pounds less than the m9750), I don't know how much difference it will make for you.

 

@Mag - Technically the lightest notebook is actually the 17" Macbook Pro.

 

yea mag stop those little comments I know how much pounds it is I just never used one so heavy on my lap. That + the physical imperfections + outdated things was the dealbreaker.

 

Thanks for the info Stone825

Again I tell you, It is a desktop replacement. Why would you use a 17 inch notebook on your lap if it is made to be on your desk? If you want something to use on your lap with a good build quality from now I tell you the m15x is not for you my friend.

 

Yea np. However, if I wanted to run Vista I would just go with a PC rather than a mac just to ensure full compatibility and my wallet jk.

 

Travis u could get a mac book. Those are light, small and the price isnt too bad. talking to people in person is much nicer than dealing with people on the phone.

 

Dont Even Get Me Started On A Mac Unless You Want 4000 Words

Here's the new mac commercial they should make

The new macbook air
so thin, it can fit into a manila envelope
It doesn't come with a dvd or cd drive, but it can fit into a manila envelope
starting at $1799 - why the hell not
here's a new party game
ask your friends to bring their decked out pc's and ask them to put them into a manila envelope
when they can't, put yours in and laugh hysterically at them
the new macbook air - why the hell not

 

Macs arnt bad computers and u can run windows legit now so i dont see the problem.

 

You're right, Mac OS X can't support your Bonzi Buddy that's why it's bad.

And hey, did you even try the Macbook Air?

 

Yea personally I think Macs are fine now, but they are a little overpriced. The macbook is so / so for its price, I would rather get that 14" HP instead because it is faster and less expensive. The macbook pro is probably the best laptop the have currently. The macbook air was a bad idea from the get go (and yes I have tried it).

Back on topic: You will not be able to waive the 15% restocking fee unless you have something really wrong with it.

 

Im not talking about the macbook air thats one of many they offer. Im talking about the white mac book.

 

I've never used a Mac before. So if I would want to run Windows Vista then all I have to do is install it normally on a Mac like a PC?

 

I'm sorry, I'm not arguing with people like you. I'm not waisting my time.

 

@Dhoang417 - That is correct, you can install Windows Vista on a Mac just like you would on a PC. Personally, Apple should start offering their systems with just windows instead of leopard and shaving $100 - 150 off of them and that will become the new notebook of the year.

 

@Stone825

It is basically depends on what you need. For me, believe it or not I don't even use an optical drive. I only need the optical drive in my m15x to play Guitar Hero 3 and used it once to flash the BIOS. I can live with the "limitation's" of the Macbook Air because the work I do on it doesn't need an optical drive. That's why I don't even feel anything is missing in it. In the end it depends on your needs. It's your opinion Stone and I respect it

 

thanks for the new tip Stone. +rep!

I've always wanted a Mac, but I wanted to game so I thought that I would need a PC with Windows installed to able to game. Boy was I wrong.

 

@Mag - You do have a point there. I am just saying that for a lot of business users it would become a hindrance because of its shortcomings. For example, not all hotels have wireless, some still use ethernet. And if you are on a airplane a lot it is useful to have extra batteries.

Personally I would go for the Toshiba X300 or X500 because they are only 0.01" thicker than the MBA with a optical drive

Edit: Yea no problem man. Sometimes I swing by the mac forums every now and then to help people out so I know a few things here and there. Actually my friend is running XP on his Imac and doing all sorts of 3d modeling work on it perfectly.

 

+1 epic win

Yeah the macbook air makes a great computer for someone who is image concious. Like very very image concious. For power users like travis D and me, it's a joke of a computer totally incapable of performing but the simplest tasks at a cost that would let us buy computers that could perform some quite complicated tasks. Don't try to sell the most portable of portable notebooks to gamers. You WILL get laughed at.

Now for serious business - Returning any major product is always a gigantic bummer and it sucks even more when the company makes it a real headache. But congrats on going for the gateway, it's one fast computer for the price and it's relatively unheard of so you have an element of surprise at lans. It's one of those computers where people don't recognize it the first time they see it but from then on out they will know it and fear it (if you are any good at gaming). I remember bringing my C90 to a lan before I got my crazy sticker/skin put on so it looked like a plain black notebook...with a gigantic bank of fans in the back. Ever since then people have learned to ph34r t3h C90!...or actually just fear me and my mad skills at tribes 2 and battlefield 2142 and laugh at my attempts to play counterstrike.

 

Does considering a t61 constitute one as a power user?

jokes jokes

But man why do people keep bashing the MBA or any other ultra portables? They are meant for that purpose of portability. Portability, believe it or not is worth quite a bit.

As for Apple as a whole, you are definitely paying more for their style and OS

@ Travis: I'm not sure if you're angry at Apple for its marketing campaign or the company or do you really just hate the MBA JUST because it has no optical drive?. MBA and other ultra thins suit different people's need. It's like shopping for a mildly heavy 5 lbs 15inch or a 12 lb 17inch desktop replacement. To each his own.