Another Best Buy Experience

[Dave Lehnert]

Dave, I have zero issues with a company charging a restocking charge. I completely understand that. When it's my fault. However, if YOUR sales rep tells me this new nifty camera will shoot 5 frames per second and I get it home, open the box and the directions say "2 frames per second", then it's their fault.

If I ask for help in getting a cable for my printer, and you tell me which one I should buy, I get it home and it's the wrong one, then it's their fault.

If I open a box and the item doesn't work out of the box and I want to bring it back any get a different model, that's not my fault.

If they would modify their policy to have a tiny bit of flexibility in it for instances like I mentioned, then they would be in excellent shape. But they won't budge even when they are in the wrong.

I myself will not buy from a store with a restocking fee.
The only problem with making exceptions to the rule. If a person wants to return something EVERYONE will give the story of bad info by a sales staff. No way to check.
Work the service desk at a store and everyone who is trying a return without a receipt says "I got this as a gift" EVERYONE! And they will be trying to return a bag of grass seed.

[Pat Germain]

I can see both sides of the issue. Last year I was in the return line at Lowes. In front of me a guy holding a Freud dado set. I had just bought the dado set and it worked great. Sensing a fraud, I asked the guy, "Did that dado not work for you?".

"I just didn't like it," was his answer. Right. In words, he used it for one project, then returned it. I wondered if it was going to be put back on the shelf as new.

When people blatantly abuse flexible policies, the flexibility will go away. As I understand it, restocking fees don't apply at most stores if you're exchanging an item; only when seeking a refund. But even then, it sure stinks when your returning the item for a valid reason.

[Rich Konopka]

NEWEGG.COM

Absolutely the best to do business with.

[Butch Edwards]

I never understood this kind of a policy but it's more common than most folks realize.

Then one day as I was shopping at HD for a new carpet cleaner, another customer recommended that I buy it.....use it and return it and it would not cost me anything but the detergents and anti-sudsing agent.

Then I understood why stores do that!

that's a sad statement of the mentality of people in this country. that's not a rare incident, but more frequent than imagined. it's as tho the theme is " get what you can" from anyone, anywhere. I wouldn't be surprised to see ALL business like Lowes'/HD/BB,etc changing their return policies to say" if item is broken/malfunctioning, return to the manufacturer for settlement".

[Don Bullock]

A lot of places can now look stuff up if you paid by CC and get a duplicate reciept for you. Menards even has a kiosk so you can find your own. Its really nice at places like that where odds are something you buy in the course of a project (or at least in the course of my home projects) will need to be exchanged or returned. Though it does concern me what data from my card they are storing in their database. And its a pain remembering whether we used my card or my wife's card, credit or debit.
...

Matt, that's not the only thing stored in their computer. They also store a video image of the transaction at the cash register at stores that have cameras stationed at each register.

My wife bought two identical items at Lowe's one day. When she got home she discovered that the girl at the register charged her for three. When my wife went back to the store the manager typed in the receipt number and watched the whole transaction on a TV monitor. After viewing the tape he refunded her overpayment and apologized for the mistake.

[Ben Rafael]

I never understood this kind of a policy but it's more common than most folks realize.

Then one day as I was shopping at HD for a new carpet cleaner, another customer recommended that I buy it.....use it and return it and it would not cost me anything but the detergents and anti-sudsing agent.

Then I understood why stores do that!

That's exactly why best buy does it. A common one is people buying big screen TVs for a super bowl party and then returning it.
Best Buy should ask people to sign the back of the receipt to acknowledge their policy.
I dont blame best buy; I blame the thieves who buy and use products knowing they are going to return it.

[Scott Shepherd]

The problem that's constantly overlooked is that in any retail environment, people make mistakes. Sales people who aren't (and can't be expected to) trained on every single possible situation are out there trying to help. If they make a bad recommendation or just plan don't get the facts right, then there should be a mechanism to resolve that. It's not rocket science. It's easy to figure out who bought the tv the week before the superbowl. It's also easy to talk to someone and find out that they were misinformed by the sales staff.

A little bit of understanding and an attempt to resolve it would go a long way. Sure, they now have a product they have as a open box and they'll cut the price 10% and sell it. They are still selling it at a profit. Now, they'll help me find the right product so we can exchange or go up a model or two to get what I should have been sold in the first place. They'll make full price on that one.

In this case, it's their mistake, they resolved it, they sold a higher priced item, they took a 10% less profit on one item, but they retained a customer. What's the cost to get a new customer? $15? I'd bet it's a lot more than that. So everyone wins.

However, the current policy is that the customer loses. That's a stupid policy in my opinion.

If I treated my customers the way best buy treats theirs, I'd be out of business.

It's an easy problem to solve and it's nothing to do with people stealing, all retail has that. Lowes will take anything back at the drop of a hat. Are you telling me people don't take advantage of that? So how's Lowes manage to deal with it and BB can't?

[Ben Rafael]

Lowes records your name on returns. People who abuse returns will get turned down eventually. Many retailers do this.

[Scott Shepherd]

Lowes records your name on returns. People who abuse returns will get turned down eventually. Many retailers do this.

And so could BB.

[Matt Bickford]

You won't get the money back with the credit card. No way. You don't deserve it either. I like restocking fees. It keeps the cost down. I wish HD and Lowes did the same thing.

Word to the wise: ask what the return policy is. Don't be a victim like the person in the story.

[Greg Crawford]

Some time go into Best Buy and ask a sales clerk or cashier what their return policy is, or ask about the extended warranty. If you start asking specific questions, they usually don't know the answer, or they'll tell you something that's not true (I can't say their lying, since they probably don't know and just guess) . So, even if you did ask about the return policy, you may not be told the correct policy. I've been down that road on their extended warranty. I still can't figure out what it DOES cover! The literature in the store usually doesn't have the full "contract", either. Again, that's on the back of the reciept you get AFTER you pay.

[Mike Henderson]

The reason a store offers the customer the ability to return merchandise is to counter a buying objection. The sales person tells the buyer to "Take it home. If you don't like it, bring it back and I'll give you your money back (or a store credit)." This seller then makes more sales and only a small amount of those goods ever come back.

So there's an advantage to the seller to offer a return policy - they sell more goods. Of course, nowdays, every store offers returns so it's not much of a differentiation any more.

A store can refuse returns, or make returns onerous, of course, but it will affect their ability to sell their products, especially since buyers have other stores which will accept returns. If the buyers value the ability to return goods, they'll adjust their buying habits accordingly.

Mike