Lenovo Outlet - can't cancel order?

Just wanted to let everyone know to be wary of the Lenovo outlet. They have a policy that is different for outlet users than users of regular full priced items. There is a no change, no refund without restocking fee, no cancellation, and no price matching for these outlet products. I would definitely wait to buy an item from the Lenovo outlet as its price magically seems to go down after it remains unsold for a certain amount of time. If anyone is considering purchasing from the Lenovo outlet, just be aware of what you are getting yourself into. Also their shipping times are literally 6-10 days after the order...

 

I can guarantee you that it is not magical. It is supply and demand.

 

I just meant that you best be sure that you can live with the price because once it is purchased then there is no cancellation or price matching of any kind. If someone is wanting to get the best price from the Lenovo outlet, then they may have to wait for awhile and take a risk on the items not selling and thus the prices will automatically lower. This was witnessed as I bought a laptop and 3 days later the price drops $126 as well as other laptops that were priced higher. I called 3 separate times and Lenovo would not do anything.
This is the exact opposite from my experience buying 3 items from the Dell outlet where the policy is the same for new items or outlet items.

 

I agree there should be a better policy. But they do state it pretty clearly on the outlet website, at least about the restocking fee and no cancellation policy. As for the price matching, shopping their outlet, or any other outlet is a matter of playing the waiting game. Wait for the price you like (because prices do drop if no one buys the system), knowing the risk that it might be bought buy someone else if you wait too long. My est shipping date for an outlet purchase is 6 days from the order placement. It hasn't been delayed... yet.

 

Good luck; I hope it ships on time for you.

 

I have in the past canceled orders from the outlet. There's no change or return without restocking fee buying elsewhere either. I don't see why that's a big deal. Sure, there's no price match, but essentially they'd me matching themselves as they're usually the cheapest for a new/like new machine. I'd also add that machines bought from the outlet come with a one year warranty, which cannot be upgraded via normal channels. You'd need to buy an out of warranty upgrade, which is more expensive.

I bought a scratch & dent battery for me R60 for $38 that if it wasn't new, I couldn't tell. Got my X200 for $600 when the cheapest I could get it elsewhere was $900 or $1,200 for the X201. I've bought AC adapters from the outlet. All were much less expensive that elsewhere. Personally, I think the outlet offers excellent value. If that works for you, buy there. If not, go somewhere else.

 

Actually it has. I'm pleasantly surprised that it's gone this smooth so far. Ordered the 22nd, and was told it would ship by the 28th. I got an email on the night of the 24th saying it had shipped and that tracking info would be available the next morning (today) and sure enough there's a UPS tracking number with an expected delivery date of the 28th. As far as delivery goes they didn't do to bad, will be here 6 days (including the weekend) after I ordered. Now lets just see if I got what I ordered or if I'm getting a ping pong table in the mail...

 

Hello, I just ordered a ThinkPad laptop through Lenovo Outlet today. They have not charged my card yet and have not sent me a confirmation #. I have an estimated shipping date of November 9, 2010 which is totally unacceptable for an in-stock laptop that does not have to be modified in any way before shipping. Any other website would ship by October 23 (24 to 48 hours).

I called to cancel the order, reasonable enough right? To accept Visa and MasterCard, they are required to have a cancellation policy that allows for this. However, when I called they said they do not have the ability to cancel Lenovo Outlet orders (i.e. only regular Lenovo non-Outlet orders can ever be cancelled) and that if I send back the product when it arrives in 30+ days that I will have to pay for shipping and will be charged a 15% restocking fee.

I told them that I'd simply make a chargeback to my Visa account when and if they ever get around to confirming and charging my order, since they seem unable to cancel it themselves... and it was like I was speaking a different language. They said something like they will retrieve the money from my account when they charge the card one day, and at that point it will be theirs and I can't have it back. But of course, that's not how credit cards work.

So... long story short, has anyone ever had success with canceling a Lenovo Outlet order the regular non-chargeback way? Any recommendations as to what I should do? I'm not willing to wait around for a week or three to see when they ship it... I need it like yesterday and was going to order from a site with fast shipping as soon as I was done canceling with them.

 

You got a laptop that was shown "in stock" right (I guess, since there is no other way with the Outlet)? Usually, regardless of what they "estimate", they will charge you in 1-2 days and ship in 2-3 days (free ground shipping takes 5 days), so you'll have the laptop in a week of so (at least that's my experience when I bought mine a month ago).

Now, if you want to cancel regardless, due to the "bad" experience with their customer service, I don't know. I have no idea how to cancel from the Outlet; I would guess calling them would suffice but apparently not.

I suggest you wait 1-2 bus. days and take it from there...

 

YOU HAVE? I don't believe you. How were you able to cancel? When you call them to cancel, even before they have charged your card, they claim that they don't have the ability to cancel orders from the outlet.

The big deal is, of course, that every other maker (Dell, HP, Toshiba, etc.) allows you to cancel orders before they ship. Lenovo does not, and stands alone with its unethical business practices and slowwww- shipping.

 

Other people have said they actually take until their estimated shipping date to ship. It's like they can't find the items in their own outlet warehouse for up to a month, and they don't let you cancel due to shipping delays.

I can't afford to wait around and see if they happen to ship it earlier than they estimate... I live in the real world where more certainty needs to exist to make business decisions.

:GEEK:

 

I understand. I am not trying to convince you to change your mind or anything. The truth is that the Outlet made huge improvements recently (read my 2-week old experience here http://forum.notebookreview.com/len...ght-manufacturer-refurbished.html#post6775848). I am just saying that older user opinions may not be so valid today.

 

I had the exact same experience with MAA83 approximately 2 weeks ago.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/len...ght-manufacturer-refurbished.html#post6775848

Overall I'm very happy with the Outlet. The point is: read the policy before you buy, as always. And do some comparative shopping. If you don't like it, simply don't buy!

 

I don't think anyone expects Lenovo to be so unethical as to disallow all cancellations regardless of any shipping delays. They don't make the policy very obvious when you're ordering at all.... it's one thing to say "read the fine print before you buy anything" but it's not very realistic to expect that anyone would think they would need to look for unethical business practices before purchasing from a company as large as this one.

 

Hmm, lucky you. Ordered the 21st, told it will ship on November 9th.

Pretty much a crapshoot as to how long it will take them to ship in-stock items. They don't tell you before you order, and they don't let you cancel after they tell you.

Buyer beware, indeed. No other outlet behaves in this unethical manner.

 

If this is an improvement, I'd hate to see what they were like before. By far the worst place to order a computer, and the only major company that will not let you cancel an order even if they delay shipping a month. Basically they probably don't even have it in-stock even though they said it was.

 

that would be an assumption on your part. care to tell us what you have to support that?

just as an aside: i ordered a battery from the outlet and got it in several days.

 

What I have is all they will give: a claim that the item was in-stock but that they won't be able to find it until November 9. Unless there are delays...

 

all that indicates to me is that their part-inventory management system is not very good (and that is hardly unusual in this industry).

not that i'm not sympathetic to your problem but it is rather unproductive to refer to an assumption as a fact if you're looking to suggestions to help w/your problem.

i would look into what their policy or procedures on outlet orders to find out what you'll need to do to get the return processed, assuming that you are going thru with ordering the laptop from a different source.

do let your credit card company know about your intentions and they''ll exclude that amount from your next payment until the matter is fully resolved.

good luck.

 

I didn't state it as a fact, of course. I said "probably", and I think it's a reasonable conjecture if they can't find the part for 20 days. You say it's hardly unusual in this industry, but that couldn't be further from the truth. Everywhere else I've ever ordered from guarantees shipment of in stock items within 1-3 days.

Lenovo Outlet can't guarantee shipment of in-stock items within 20 days, and that is highly unusual!

 

outlet terms can be found here: Lenovo Outlet - Customer Service

if you go through the chargeback process, Visa will visit the outlet website and inspect the terms and conditions to which you agreed.   as long as Lenovo are within these terms then Visa won't refund you.

as it stands, you'll have to return the system once it arrives if you no longer want it.

estimated shipping dates are exactly that; estimates.   given the order histories of what other forum members have reported here, there's a better chance than not that what you ordered will arrive before the 9th.

 

You look so angry because of this.
Thanks God I can't do shopping with Lenovo outlet in Canada.

 

The reason why Lenovo Outlet does not allow cancellations is pretty simple, I think: they do not have unlimited stock of the laptops they offer, and in fact usually they only have one of each. So, if you order it and take it out of the system, and then cancel your order, that particular system will not be available for reselling until they put it back in the online inventory. And from my experience, the Outlet puts up laptops in batches, not individually, once every 2 months of so. I am not saying that this is the best practice; however, I most certainly understand the rationale behind their business policy.

As to whether or not you should read fine prints and look for unethical business practices, etc., I am sorry but I cannot agree with you. They state it pretty clearly in their customer service link, along with other stuff a buyer is bound to look for before purchasing (i.e. warranty, shipping, returns, etc.) – so, it’s pretty hard to miss unless you do not check anything and buy blindly, which then means that you are not really concerned about warranty, shipping, returns, etc. You know what I mean? No offense-

 

You should make the selection carefully when buying from outlet. As the machines were returned from normal sales channel, they usually are hesitant to take back these returned laptop the second time.

 

Here is my experience with outlet...

I had 5 orders. 2 are in process, and 3 were canceled by Lenovo because of pricing issue according to them. So naturally I wasn't too happy as I thought the orders can not be cancelled per Lenovo's term.

I asked to cancel the 2 that are in process as well and was told I had to go through return process and pay 15% restocking fee.

I was laughing as the lady on the phone explain to me that the terms and conditions are my terms and conditions not Lenovo's. So in a nutshell, they can cancel you at will for whatever reason but they stick you with fees when you return/cancel. I call that unfair. I'd be fine if Lenovo also offered a 15% inconvenience fee paid to me when they cancel.

 

I think lenovo stipulates that they can cancel at any time or any reason during the order, by pressing the purchase button you are basically agreeing to their t&c. My order got cancelled several time when they had a few pricing mistakes.