Broken Safety Seal and Plastic Sleeve - out of the box - accept?

so, bought a brand new thinkpad R500 about 3 weeks a go, received it about a weeks ago (a friend received it for me while i was on holiday).

so upon receiving it, the box looks all fine, no scratch, no broken seal (plastic sticky tape).

i opened the box, everything seems to be in order.

then, upon lifting the notebook, i noticed that the plastic film sleeve around the notebook has been torn along with the safety seal which is partly torn. looks to me someone already opened the plastic sleeve and try to stick it together again.

is this normal? this is the first time i can remember having opened a brand new notebook with broken seal (from lenovo and other manufacturer).

should i accept or return it?

 

did you purchase the system from lenovo or a reseller?

if you purchased from lenovo:
- did it come from the retail site as a CTO system?
or
- did it come from the outlet as a refurbished/redistributed system?

if you purchased from a reseller:
- was it from an authorized lenovo dealer?
or
- did it come from ebay?

was the security tape on the bottom of the box in tact?   i've read about a number of ebay sellers opening the bottoms of boxes and taping them back shut thinking customers aren't going to notice.

 

i purchase them direct from lenovo (phone order).

yes, everything on the box seems in order. its just the plastic sleeve around the notebook and the safety seal that is broken.

 

unless something is damaged or missing, i wouldn't worry about it.   there are any number of valid reasons why the bag could have been re-opened before final shipment.   it's also possible that the seal broke on its own depending on how it was placed on the bag, packed, and handled by the carrier in transit.

 

Well maybe someone accidentally did a poor job taping the plastic around it and had to go for round 2 .

If everything looks okay I would just use it and see if anything is wrong.

 

yeah, i think this is the most plausible explanation.

as it is a tight fit.

and there are a number of safety tape shred that do not line up.

 

so anyone else ever had the safety seal broken? if so, what did you do? do you return it or keep it.

 

My laptop is shipping from overseas (Shanghai).
They might have lifted the seal @ customs (if yours did too)?

 

Check to make certain that everything in your R500 is as it should be. Make sure you have the exact hardware specs you ordered, and that there is no physical damage to the laptop.

 

Rather than ask if it's "normal" call the salesperson and ask them.
Renee

 

it happened to me too on a new R500 i had purchased for my friend...... apparently what happened was that the laptop had been shipped to Sydney depot with the wrong hdd and OS, so they had to change the hdd and reformat (my one still came with Vista Basic rather than Vista Business). Presumably you got the R500 through the fire sale two weeks ago.

It took me ages to find out these stuff. This is also why a DHL international tracking number was not issued (well i didn't get one).

 

From what I recall you should not turn on the laptop or anything if the seal is broken. It's the words from the manufacturer, should be written somewhere.

I would call them, and return the notebook for another one or RMA it, since you already opened the box.

 

Lenovo have run out of these special sale model of the R500, assuming OP got the one with the T9400 C2D, ATI 3470, 4 gig of ram, 9 cell battery and 3 years warranty for $899.

 

i did, but yesterday was sunday, i called them and they tell me to call today. i will do it now.

yes! i did get it at that pre-christmas sale two weeks ago!

yup, thats the one.

i recall that too, thats why i'm hesistant to turn it on.

i will call them and check now.

 

don't worry i called a couple of my friends too, all their machines had the seal broken too... so this is not a big deal. The customer service 1300 557 073 will probably tell you that you can return the machine, and they will refund you or something.

 

hmmm... i called lenovo and they told me to send a picture and they will investigate.

so did you or any of your friend return and replace the machine? any sign of damage with the notebook?

 

update! : i noticed there are a screw missing!

 

That doesn't happen to be the screw that's SUPPOSED to be missing, is it?

 

Better check who your real firends are. Most likely he she or it opened it. lol. But he she or it doesn't want to admit it. Have you grilled he she or it?

 

hmm? supposed to be missing?

why is it missing? (edit: google around and it seems that this is the ultrabay screw, correct?) anyone else got some picture?

i uploaded some picture in the the member gallery:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=600&ppuser=32238

containing...
=============================

Full Top View


Top View - Showing the ripped Safety Seal


Full Bottom View - Missing screw on the bottom right corner, top right of the battery compartment


Bottom View - Showing the missing screw
=============================

 

That's BS. If that is the case it should not be sold as new. If they want to sell it a a deep discount then should be through the outlet or disclosed. I would ask for a new one with the proper configuation. BTW you ordered a car new from the factory with a V8. They found one with a V6 so the dealer swapped the motor and didn't tell you but your mechanic neighbor who changes your oil for you noticed the engine had beed swapped. lol. A sucker is born everyday and don't let it be you. lol.

 

My thinkpad T61 has the exact screw there missing too. It seems to be bigger than other screw and I couldn't find anything to fit in that screw hole.

But regarding your order, just return it and get another one.

 

It is a huge hassle to return it to get another unit. OP should just look at it since it is obviously open to his inspection. If the unit meets what he ordered why go through the trouble of trying to get another one? If there is an issue Lenovo will have to rectify it.

 

no, all my screws are in place, except it got the wrong OS. So did you have the 7200 rpm or the 5400 rpm hdd, because there was two different round of offer. The first one was the 7200 rpm HDD with Vista Basic, the second one was 5400 rpm HDD with Vista Business + Win 7 Prof upgrade free (you pay the shipping from USA, duh)............. i am still trying to get the OS thing sorted, they said they will have to trace the paper trail on the laptop, to see where it has gone wrong.

 

i think i has the second round offer... i had verified with the tele-sales person that the OS is indeed vista business before purchasing.

 

i saw the picture you posted, it looks exactly like how the laptop came to me, at first i thought this is strange, i presumed someone had tamper with it or something. So i took apart the laptop to make sure everything is there, which is the case everything is there. Also, did you get a tracking number from Lenovo to track the shipment on DHL express?

The screw hole that you said is missing a screw is meant to be like that, IT IS NOT MISSING A SCREW, this is a screw lock for the ultrabay to make sure other people can't eject the optical drive, but R series never had these screws.

Also, make sure you check your control panel of your Vista OS to make sure the OS is Vista Business and not Basic.

Finally, there is some disparity regarding CPU report, make sure you download CPU-Z to verify that the CPU is T9400 and not P8400

 

Mr.KL i don't know why the heck you ramble on so much about this sort of trivial event, especially given the fact you have no idea what you are on about.

For one thing, Australia don't have Lenovo Outlet like that of the USA, Canada and their various administrative regions. You either buy the laptop from Lenovo.com.au or from computer resellers.

Second thing, regarding swapping out an V8 engine for a V6 engines, there is the legal framework to deal with that (in Australia there is the Trade Practice Act 1974, i am sure that USA got the same thing)....

The safety seals of the laptop, is mostly for the border control to ensure that no one have added anything illegal into the packaging. Lenovo can still give you the wrong parts if it wishes to without breaking the seal.

Suckers are indeed born everyday, because they are miss informed or uninformed...... since the OP is not alone in this matter, i don't think he is in trouble of been sold a lemon.

$899 for a R500 with C2D T9400, 4 gig ram, ati gpu, fingerprint reader, bluetooth, intel wireless n module, 3 years warranty and 9 cells battery, this is cheaper than a second hand machine and priced at a globally competitive rate.

 

not that i can remember... i was away on holiday after ordering. just came back few days ago. so i did not check lenovo order status during that time. i received no tracking number on my emails.

thanks for that detailed info

will do, i will call them again tomorrow to verify this, and check how long for replacement if it indeed possible, and weigh my option.

i really want to give you some rep to show for your tremendous help lead_org. but the website told me to give more rep around first. will give it to you tomorrow or the day after you more than deserve it.

 

yes it is indeed a very good deal. btw, does the unit came with camera or not?

 

no the laptop doesn't come with camera, but it has three antenna wire if you wish to upgrade to Intel 5300 3x3 wireless card.

If you don't have the tracking number, then this is a domestic shipment. I didn't get one either. The Lenovo sale rep told me the machine was already in Australia before the sale event occurred.

My friend have informed me that he also got the Vista Basic installed, so you should check whether the right OS was installed in your machine too, if it isn't you have 2 weeks window to claim the free Vista Business Recovery media, which contains every language released for the Lenovo Thinkpad R500

 

So what did Lenovo tell you?

 

We are discussing major markets not tiny AUS, NZ or Micronesia.

 

......

We are discussing whatever we discuss here. You don't dictate what region we specifically talk about pertaining to this thread. I could say HI is not a major US market.

It is good to know how Lenovo operations differ in different regions.

 

What you're talking about is irrelevant to the current topic.

 

For what it's worth, I recently took delivery of a pre-configured T400s from Lenovo here in Australia. As the unit is shipped from the warehouse, there is no direct tracking number. The unit arrived in a box which had been resealed, the security tape looked exactly like in the pictures here, i.e. torn and damaged. The laptop was in mint condition, but I decided to return the unit for a full refund as it was just dodgy practice by Lenovo to ship out a unit which may have been returned by a previous customer (as the shipping labels were plastered over an older label). Clearly, this is an unethical business practice.

 

Good for you. Like I said a sucker is born everyday, mostly in AUS, but you are the exception here.

I give the others the Hawaiian "stink eye" for their inappropriate comments! lol

 

So basically you are talking to yourself, since the OP is from Australia and you provided a self serving comment without due consideration of what the OP needed? And please leave your self appeasing smart comments to yourself, you got banned once already.

i guess Ponzi Scheme victims were all Australians... ever heard of the term fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me? Have a read about Charles Ponzi and Bernard Madoff amazing personal life history.... and how they became the greatest swindlers in the recent world history.....

 

? i'm in australia

generally in the USA (America), stuff is (MUCH!) cheaper, PLUS you get better support.

 

called lenovo again today, the lenovo's level 1 support told me that she "...is pretty sure that the seal is torn because we need to do some maintenance" when i ask her what the maintenance is about she said she did not know, and offer to pass me to tech support.

so now i'm at the IBM tech support which i need to explain the situation again, in which he ask me to sent the email that i sent to the previous tech support... offer to call me within 15 minutes of receiving the email. so 3 hours later the tech support is close, no calling, and no email reply.

i'm gonna try to call them again tomorrow and see whats what.

btw, just for the record; this notebook is for my sister, she says she don't need it right now.. so while the computer is unused and unopened, my curiosity (saying this should not happens, and what are they going to do about it) is getting the best of me.

 

which is my worries, and god knows how the "maintenance" schedule is carried out. and why exactly do they need it. and what caused these maintenance to occur.

as the system now has a full accidental coverage warranty registered under its serial number, i'm worried about how to go about transferring it.

 

I don't think there would be that many of a particular R500 model number (2733) been returned from customers.... If they did any major maintenances to the laptop (i.e. CPU change), there would be tool marks on the laptop, i have taken apart the laptop and there is no tool marks available.

I have been told that if you return the machine, there wouldn't a new machine available, all the boxes have been opened.

This is the original spec of the 2733-A25 (our machine has been CTOed, check your packing list):

Original description: Based on 2733-CTO: T9400(2.53GHz), 2GB RAM, 160GB 7200rpm HD, 15.4in 1280x800 LCD, 128MB ATI Radeon HD3470, CDRW/DVDRW, Intel 802.11agn wireless, Bluetooth, Modem, 1Gb Ethernet, UltraNav, Secure chip, Fingerprint reader, 9c Li-Ion, WinVista Home Basic 32

The hdd was replaced with the 5400 rpm in the second round offer, ram was upgraded to 2 x 2 gig ram modules and OS is upgraded to Vista Business edition. This is what has been done to the machine.

IBM doesn't keep a record of what is done the laptop by the Lenovo themselves, they only keep a record once the laptop has been passed to the customers

Your option is either return it for refund or use it as it is.

 

ah i see.. based on that note, i think i won't bother returning it then.

its a hassle anyway.

thank you very much lead_org! you have been very helpful time and time again.

 

no problem.

 

hmmm.... i also got windows vista basic pre-installed too . and yet in the bottom i got vista business license. what a BS.

i got T9400 with 4gb of RAM.

update: well... called lenovo, they pass me on to tech support, tech support says they can't do anything and says i should speak to sales, and sales says tech support, yeah you know how it goes...

update: ah finally! the post sales team acknowledge the problem with the wrong OS install. offered to ship Vista Business recovery media, i ask about the opened seal, she says something about she speaks to the warehouse, and said warehouse said its for "Quality Control".

also i ask about getting replacement machine, she said the R500 is no more; no stock, right now i'm waiting on call from sales manager.

ah boot up the R500, its a nice machine. certainly a bargain for the price

UPDATE!: so the sales manager rang me, and apparently he told me that the reason that the seal is broken and the reason for the price being so low (for australia) is that the; machine is originally ordered for enterprise, however they ordered too much and now need to get rid of overstock, so the enterprise unit is shipped with blank HDD, so they need to load a vista OS image, hence; they need to open the box to do it.

well, they gonna send me a product recovery disc. should arrive within like 5 working days.

bummer, need to reformat, and can't do anything much with the computer for the time being...

 

Oh well, In that case, seems like it was Lenovo that opened the laptop.
So, if no cosmetic issue, the specs are exactly the as you config it to be, no documents missing and if you don't want a full refund, keep the laptop.

Maybe you can try to complain and see what they will compensate you for the broken seal

 

I believe this as it happens all the time in the distribution channel. However, Lenovo should disclose the condition of the laptop, i.e. resealed, rather than selling it as a brand new sealed item. They should either disclose this or have it resealed to its original factory state, which they can perform at the warehouse if they want to.

 

Ya, how hard is it to rewrap it in a plastic bag to seal it...
I mean it is a waste sure but all under the guise of it being "new" .

 

appears to be a regional issue. maybe the lappys were ordered originally by AIG or Lehman and then shipped to AUS to clear inventory.

 

unlikely, they would have been shipped for Australian corporate customers....

 

Other than some natural resource companies, there aren't really too many global AUS companies so I'm thinking they were originally designated for elsewhere and offloaded in a semi-emerging market. They could have been just as well shipped to Nigeria or Micronesia.