Best Buy's return policy

Comet

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I know this isnt motorcycle related but we all shop for stuff so, I got this in an E-Mail from a friend. I thought it may help someone here.



BEST BUY, MY FOOT




Best Buy has some bad policies....

Normally, I would not share this with others, however, since this could happen to you or your friends , I decided to share it. If you purchase something from, Wal-Mart, Sam's Club, JC Penny, Sears etc. and you return the item with the receipt they will give you your money back if you paid cash, or credit your account if paid by plastic.

Well, I purchased a GPS for my car, a Tom Tom XL.S from "Best Buy". They have a policy that it must be returned within 14 days for a refund!

So after 4 days I returned it in the original box with all the items in the box, with paper work and cords all wrapped in the plastic. Just as I received it, including the receipt.

I explained to the lady at the return desk I did not like the way it could not find store names. The lady at the refund desk said, there is a 15% restock fee, for items returned. I said no one told me that. I said how much would that be. She said it goes by the price of the item. It will be $45.00 Dollars for you. I said, all your going to do is walk over and place it back on the shelf then charge me $45.00 of my money for restocking? She said that's the store policy. I said if more people were aware of it they would not buy anything here! If I bought a $2000.00 computer or TV and returned it I would be charged $300.00 dollars restock fee? She said yes, 15%.

I said OK, just give me my money minus the restock fee.

She said, since the item is over $200.00 dollars, she can't give me my money back!!!

Corporate has to and they will mail you a check in 7 to ten days.!! I said "WHAT?!"

It's my money!! I paid in cash! I want to buy a different brand..Now I have to wait 7 to 10 days. She said well, our policy is on the back of your receipt.

I said, do you read the front or back of your receipt? She said well, the front! I said so do I, I want to talk to the Manager!.

So the manager comes over, I explained everything to him, and he said, well, sir they should of told you about the policy when you got the item. I said, No one, has ever told me about the check refund or restock fee, whenever I bought items from computers to TVs from Best Buy. The only thing they ever discussed was the worthless extended warranty program. He said Well, I can give you corporate phone number.

I called corporate. The guy said, well, I'm not supposed to do this but I can give you a 45.00 dollar gift card and you can use it at Best Buy. I told him if I bought something and returned it, you would charge me a restock fee on the item and then send me a check for the remaining 3 dollars. You can keep your gift card, I'm never shopping in Best Buy ever again, and if I would of been smart, I would of charged the whole thing on my credit card! Then I would of canceled the transaction.

I would of gotten all my money back including your stupid fees! He didn't say a word!

I informed him that I was going to e-mail my friends and give them a heads up on this stores policy, as they don't tell you about all the little caveats.

So please pass this on. It may save your friends from having a bad experience of shopping at Best Buy

It's true! read it for yourself!!

Best Buys return policy

snopes.com: Best Buy Restock Fee
 

Hellgate

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Ahh...Worst Buy. I hope no one here works there but I gave up shopping there several years ago after a similar experiance. Too many loop holes for me. Ever wonder why the receipts are so long??? They print out their return/refund policy, it's a mile long.
 

Avalon786

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I use to work there and i quit! They dont give the employees proper training. They push for us to sell the PSP's (product service plan) and dont really care about much else. Stores are constantly understaffed and filled with people who dont know $hit about $hit...But it is still better than Circuit City which they are down the crapper...but looks like BestBuy is heading that way as well...
 

stevesnj

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I bought a cordless phone charged it and it just didn't work after the 6 hour charge, so the same day I tried to return it and i got the same re-stock fee crap, and I said i just want to exchange it. She said no we have to send out the phone for service and then repair it if need be. I asked how long will that take? she said 10-14 days...so i would be without a phone for that time. She said that wasn't her problem. And I could buy another phone and return it. I then asked if the re-stock fee would apply again...she said oh yes we don't waive that re-stock fee for any reason. Then I said I want to just exchange it and buy the next model up. She said thats possible but I need to pay the restock fee then the balance would bee applied to the new purchase. I never came so close to strangling a person as I did that day. that was 4 years ago and have not stepped into a BestBuy since, I am a happy Circuit City customer now. With a no questions asked return policy :)
 
H

HavBlue

In regards to sending something out to fix or repair it, bull. They, the vendor, will send in back to the manufacturer in the form of a charge back and receive credit. This is quite common when you buy thousands of the same items at a time.

As to the restocking fee, Best buy makes it painfully available to the purchaser and it is written as follows:

Restocking Fee
A 15% restocking fee will be charged on opened notebook computers, projectors, camcorders, digital cameras, radar detectors, GPS/navigation and in-car video systems. A 25% restocking fee will be charged on special order products, including appliances. These fees apply unless the item is defective or damaged, you received the wrong item, or the fee is prohibited by law.

If you had told the return desk person it didn't work the fee would have been waved.... Personally, I purchased one item from best Buy and that will be my last.....
 

Tailgate

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I'll be sure and not to purchase a Yamaha there. Seriously, this return policy doesn't sound right. Are you saying that if you purchase a gift (GPS, digital camera, or other item on the list) there and person tries to return it unopened, etc, there's a 15% restock fee? Geesh. I sent the link to Best Buy customer service (probably immediately sent to trash?).
 

jamesfz6

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The only thing i buy from best buy are CDs and DVDs. They have the best selection and prices, but after reading this i think i will not be going back.
 
J

jsteinb95

The only thing i buy from best buy are CDs and DVDs. They have the best selection and prices, but after reading this i think i will not be going back.

Why would you buy when you can download for free?
 

driver145

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Until very recently I worked at Best Buy as a college student. I did Loss Prevention, so I did not have to try and sell people stuff they did not need like most of the employees. I was either really nice or really mean to people in the store, mostly really nice though.

Before working there I would go to look at stuff and mostly shopped online. Now, until my discount expires, I shop there for everything. The employee discounts are insane on some items.

About the 15% restocking fee. That policy has been in effect since at least 2003. I bought a Radar Detector for a long drive and i figured the 15% was basically the cost of renting the $350 dollar radar detector for 2 weeks. This is why they charge the fee. As a lucrative business trying to grow the company in the interest of their stakeholders, it is their duty not to waste perfectly good products. If the had a return policy like walmart (but with all high dollar electronics) then they would lose tens of thousands of dollars a day on returned products (nationwide) that would be harder to resell. Also, those items of which you speak (with the 15% fee) are resold as "open items" at a reduced price to the next customer. Best Buy employees could careless why you are returning it. So you can use an awesome camera for your vacation that you will never need again and just pay the 15% fee. Then the company sells it at a 10% discount. So you pay 75 bucks for using the camera, but then the company only keeps 25 because the next customer is saving 50 bucks thanks to you. It is not like Best Buy is out to screw people over, but they are a business and always have to keep the bottom line in mind.

Also, there is a sticker saying there is a fee on every box to which this fee applies and it also says on the bottom of the reciept. Lastly, this is a corporate, nationwide policy, but it can be waived at the discretion of store management. So if you are a "special customer" or have a fair case to plead then speak with a manager and if you are not rude about it and have a fair reason you will probably not have to pay it.


P.S. Sorry for any spelling errors, I am at work and there is not spell check.... and I cannot spell well.
 

Avalon786

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Why would you buy when you can download for free?

To have an actual item for the money spent :p To get the insert, sometimes it has lyrics, photos...i like to collect them. Also sometimes downloads you are limited to how many computers you can have them on or how many times you can burn them onto a cd...With the main cd you are free to do what you want with it ;)
 
J

jsteinb95

To have an actual item for the money spent :p To get the insert, sometimes it has lyrics, photos...i like to collect them. Also sometimes downloads you are limited to how many computers you can have them on or how many times you can burn them onto a cd...With the main cd you are free to do what you want with it ;)

IMO it's a waste of money. You can find lyrics on the internet and you can burn your own CD with the same amount of songs as a store bought CD. Usually when you buy a CD, there are only a few good songs on it anyways. I prefer to make my own CD's with all of my favorite songs. I have downloaded over 1,000 songs and still downloading. :thumbup:
 

ENSU3

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my isp threatened to cut off my internet because i exceeded the bandwidth.... i was downloading so much per day, i would slow down my neighbors speeds and they would complain lol woops :innocent:
 

teeter

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In my experience the restocking fee applies only to "opened" items. As a consumer I really don't care what Best Buy's reasons are for having the worst return policies around (from the customer's point of view.)

In the spirit of "screw best buy" I am always conscious of this policy and open all electronics carefully, from the bottom.. NEVER THE TOP. Granted, not all items can be opened in a way that will be undetected in the event you need to return it, but many can.

This practice saved me $50 in restocking fees on a camera that I wasn't pleased with recently.

If you work in Loss Prevention you would probably call that Stealing. If you're an occasional Best Buy customer you can call it...well... loss prevention.
:rockon:
 

Avalon786

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IMO it's a waste of money. You can find lyrics on the internet and you can burn your own CD with the same amount of songs as a store bought CD. Usually when you buy a CD, there are only a few good songs on it anyways. I prefer to make my own CD's with all of my favorite songs. I have downloaded over 1,000 songs and still downloading. :thumbup:
lol Well yeah but then it depends if you're talking about "illegal" downloads vs iTunes or something similar. Of course you can download for free and save money, i was talking about buying a cd vs buying mp3's online ;)
As for bestbuy the restocking fee only applies on certain products. Most of them at the store i worked at had the sticked on them "14 DAY RETURN POLICY / 15% RESTOCK FEE" to seal the items. If you ask them they will tell you, they're not trying to hide it, but i wouldnt put it in a sales pitch either, so its up to the consumer to ask about those things ;) Also i've done that as well to just open items carefully to be able to reseal them...:D
 

driver145

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I use the same practice all the time. Even though most of the time I return stuff it is to walmart and they do not care. I just try to open the bottom and return it with as little damage done as possible, with no questions asked. I wouldn't call it stealing, fraud maybe, but not in the sense that it reaches the criminal definition. However, if you take items out or swap them for an inferior product that is punishable by law. One time I needed black shoes for a presentation, I wore them to school all day and then returned them to walmart at the end of the day. They asked no questions. I would have just bought a pair except I realized I needed them at about 4am and needed them on my feet in class by 9am. I did not keep them because the shoe soles were plastic instead of rubber, plus they were from walmart (no offense to anyone, just not my style). I guess I am just saying it depends on your point of view. But I worked for Best Buy and think their policies are fair, and one must realize that all individual stores of any company are subject to poor management.
 

Tailgate

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Alright, I emailed BB with a link to this forum. Surprisingly, a CSR (based in India?) got back at me within 24 hrs. BTW, when purchasing "new" electronics, etc., I will try to find unopened units. Stuff that has been opened I steer away from unless, maybe, there's a substantial discount. I know Costco recently revised its return policy; it was losing big money over people abusing it (i.e., using TV for months and then returning it for full refund) Below is the Best Buy response I received:

My name is Yanina, I'm with Bestbuy Customer Care

Thank you for letting us know about this.
We already received a lot of complains about this, but let me just explain how our return policy is.

There will be a restocking fee of 15% charged on opened notebook computers, projectors, camcorders, digital cameras, radar detectors, GPS/navigation and in-car video systems unless defective or prohibited by law.
And then a restocking fee of 25% will be charged on Special Order Products, including appliances unless defective or prohibited by law.

That means that if you purchase something and it is defective, you can just return it and get a full refund for it. You will only be charged a restocking fee if you return it opened, because if we have to put an opened package back in our inventory, we cannot sell it at the same price.
And this does not apply to all of our products, just those few exceptions.

I hope this helps understand better our return policies.
 

ltdan

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I don't see anything unfair about the policy.
I work in construction and when we return materials to a wholesaler, there is always a 15-25% restocking fee.
Plus it's not a bad price to pay to rent you stuff for a weekend or whatever.
 
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