I'm sort of glad that I read this thread, although I suspect that it's time is
about up.
This story is not about ham gear, but about a consumer-electronics item, so
feel free to delete now if not interested.
I bought my wife a Philips DVD burner for Christmas, after the price finally
dropped below $800. When I opened the box to set it up,
there was a sheet of paper that said "Do not attempt to return this item to the
place of purchase if defective. Instead, call
1-800-etc."
This impressed me as the height of manufacturer arrogance when I read it. If
this unit is DOA or otherwise defective out of the box,
you're darned right the dealer is going to get it back and give me a
replacement unit in the same type of unopened box, or is going
to reverse the charge on my credit card.
Fortunately, California has some consumer-protection laws that supersede in
some cases.
If this is indeed a legitimate business practice, it is deceptive to say the
least. The buyer doesn't see that statement until he
has returned home and opened the box.
As far as I'm concerned, I buy an item in good faith, expecting it to be in
perfect operational and cosmetic condition. If such is
not the case, I expect the dealer to replace it with an identical item that is.
And, the dealer is in a better position to return
items to the manufacturer. Why should I have to go to the trouble and expense
of returning the item to the manufacturer, as well as
forfeiting the use of it in the interim?
Isn't the simple answer to the dilemma in this thread to:
1) always use a credit card, preferably one that has consumer remedies built
in, and:
2) dispute the charge with the issuer of the credit card, if not satisfied
with the dealer's resolution of the problem?
Any attorneys out there?
73 de Jim - AD6CW
AC5E@aol.com wrote:
>
> If you look carefully at "bargain ads" you will see terms such as
> "refurbished," "factory serviced," "demonstrator," "as new," etc., etc..
> There's nothing wrong with that, they give the buyer a forewarning that
> someone else has touched the product in question. And as long as the
> dealer/manufacturer is willing to stand behind the product I had just as soon
> have a "demo unit" as one NIB.
>
> But these terms all mean the same thing. Once the box is open the product is
> "used" under Federal law and must be sold as such. State law is another
> morass entirely.
>
> According to my book on marketing several states will not allow a dealer in
> their state to resell a refurbished unit at all. Be that unit a car, a
> camera, an electronic device, or whatever. Hence, we have outfits like Tiger
> Direct who buy quantities of "refurbs" and legally sell them to buyers in
> states that outlaw that practice to their local dealers.
>
> Bottom line, the guy who made the product has an obligation to protect the
> buyer, the dealer, and the importer. He made it, it's his baby to rock.
>
> 73 Pete Allen AC5E
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