What happens with Returned Merchandise???

Hi Folks,

I went to my local Sony Style store here in Canada and asked the Manager what the return policy was for notebooks. He said it was 14 days. I asked him if this was still the case if I took my notebook home and it had 1 dead pixel. He said not an issue.

My question is this. When a person returns a notebook to the store because they don't like it or it's not what they expected, does the store just sell the same notebook to the next customer? Or does the store have to sell the product as an open-box item.

The reason I'm asking is this. I went to a big-box store and bought a laptop which I thought was new. Upon taking it home and booting it up for the first time I realized that it was a returned product.

I went back to the store and asked for an exchange. They gave me a hard time and wanted to charge me a restocking fee but eventually I got them to give me a full refund.

So I don't want to go through that experience again. How can I be sure that I'm getting a new computer that hasn't been returned.

Thanks for the help.

 

Depends on the store. Here in the US, it's illegal to sell something as new that was previously used and returned. It needs to be clearly marked as something other than new. So the item is then sold as "open box" or "clearance", return to the manufacturer, sold to a liquidator or other similar things. Best Buy and Buy.com run their own liquidation firms. Many of the demo or customer returns are sent there and then sold on ebay. Companies like Lenovo, Sony and Apple will also "refurbish" items and sell them as "refurbs". Many times though, they haven't even been used and thus no refurbishing has happened. Lenovo does this a lot. If they ship out a laptop and delivery is refused, they will sell it as an "outlet" item even though it's never been open let alone used. I pick up cheap batteries this way. Generally a third of full price. I have yet to get one that wasn't brand new. The shipping boxes are clearly relabeled but the seal on the inner boxes are intact.

 

What happened to you isn't normal.

When buying a new product from a respectable store, it should be absolutely new.

Returned items usually get sold as "open box" or returned to manufacturer, repaired (if needed) and sold again as "refurbished."

 

I'm presuming that law only applies to electronics? Or is it specific to computers?

 

Nope. Should apply to everything. Here's the law from NY.

http://www.nyc.gov/html/dca/downloads/pdf/consumer_protection_law.pdf

 

I wish that link defined the term 'used'. In 5.36 it refers to disclosing if an item is used at time of sale, and then in 5.37 it indicates that cash refunds could be given for non-defective, unused merchandise by discussing the reverse situation (suggesting that returned merchandise is not always considered 'unused").

 

Thanks to everyone for the help. I guess it also comes down to how ethical these Managers are.

 

Sorry mate, got off topic. Good luck, if I were you I'd email the manager pointing out the factors that indicated to you that your first lappie was used (scratches, or whatever it was) an that you understand how these things happen occassionally by accident. Ask him directly whether they sell used/returned laptops as new items. If he is forced to put it in writing that this does not occur, he might be motivated to make sure you get a truely new one.

 

Thanks Mate!

 

i thought sonystyle canada (and store) charges a 25% restocking fee for returned items?

 

The manager didn't mention that to me. He just said that if I wasn't happy with the machine, I could return it within 14 days. I'll make sure to confirm this when I get the machine.