Do online stores have reasonable return programs in your opinion?

yoda313 · Moderator Joined: 15 Jun 2004 Location: sector 001

So with the holiday season upon us and the inevitable gift returns almost here, do online stores have a good return policy?

Or do you buy from online stores that have a phyical store also for easier returns?

I think I have only done one online return. It was a few years ago when I ordered a video card and got a agp card when I only had a pci motherboard. The return wasn't too painful.

What about now? Any complaints?
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MOVIEGEEK · Member Joined: 08 Mar 2002 Location: CA,USA

I try to buy from websites that have a 30 day return policy but most still have a restocking fee and they don't reimburse shipping.
One thing I will never order again online is a TV,it arrived damaged but the B&M store wouldn't take it back because they said it was an "online special".

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MJA · Member Joined: 05 Jan 2005 Location: IL

i made a return once with newegg.com .no hassle or fees

budz · Posted: Dec 23, 2007 12:11

NEWEGG rocks when it comes to returning items. Last month I rma'd a dvd burner and didn't have to pay for the shipping back to them nor for new replacement drive. But because of a shipping error with the replacement drive they gave me a full $34.99 refund this month. I contacted NEWEGG last week since I got a email indicating a refund and I didn't want to cheat them in anyway. They told me because of the initial error when they first sent out my replacement drive they were giving me a refund for the drive. The customer service girl said it was a gift from them for customer satisfaction. I told them it wasn't necessary but I did appreciate it. Now that's what I call customer satisfaction!

gadgetguy · Contestant Joined: 14 Feb 2002 Location: Michigan, USA

Some are good, some are bad, some are non-existent and require you to contact the manufacturer. I can't say I've personally had a problem as I can't remember ever returning anything I bought on-line.
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MOVIEGEEK · Member Joined: 08 Mar 2002 Location: CA,USA

I guess Newegg doesn't like me because I recently sent a videocard back and they didn't reimburse shipping and they charged me a restocking fee.
The videocard sent to me was not the same one advertised on their website.Another thing about Newegg:make sure the product says "standard return policy" or "30 day return policy" otherwise you are stuck with it.
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DereX888 · Member Joined: 24 Aug 2002 Location: beautiful

This one is a difficult poll IMO.
If my answer is based on the few stores I buy from (online) I would have to choose the first answer.
If we are talking about all of the web stores, I'd have to select second answer... or perhaps the third one, because most of the stores I've check or was interested in but haven't decide to buy from them *did* have really bad return policies (among other reasons I didn't buy from them).
And then yoda added auction sites to the bag, which IMHO are not stores and have nothing to do with stores except for the fact that the money are being exchanged for some goods.
So I guess I should select "Other" answer?

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redwudz · Mod Neophyte Joined: 07 Sep 2002 Location: AZ, USA

Mostly good experiences when I have had to return items for one reason or the other that I've ordered online. I try to buy bulky items locally as much as possible because of the shipping costs, along with the difficulty of repacking the item and taking it to a shipping point when it needs to be returned.

Standard procedures otherwise. Keep all packing and paper work, receipts, etc., for as long as you can or till the warranty runs out.

AlecWest · Posted: Dec 25, 2007 08:54

I must lead a charmed life (knock on wood). Since I've ordered stuff online, I've never had to return anything I've ever bought ... ever. One note on that, though. I once ordered 2 MP3-CD players made by Coby ... one for me, and one for a blind friend. Mine worked. My friend's didn't ... but the Coby distributor told him to keep it and that he'd send him a new one anyway. And the new one, when it arrived, worked fine. Now THAT'S what I call real customer service (grin).

There's only two times I ever had to use a warranty on an electronics purchase. Back in the days when a 40 meg hard drive was considered "big," a Maxtor drive I bought at a local retail store ended up being DOA. Rather than return it to the store, I called Maxtor first to make sure I hadn't done anything wrong in the installation. Maxtor said I didn't ... but told me not to return it to the store. They told me to ship it to them at their expense (they gave me some kind of UPS code so I didn't have to pay shipping) and that they'd send me a new one. As it happened, between the time I sent it to them and the time they shipped, Maxtor decided to discontinue the 40 MB drive and sent me a brand new 60 MB drive in its place - no extra charge. And, it worked.

Later, I had another issue with a 400MB Maxtor drive. This time, they said to hold on to it ... that they'd ship me a new one and that I should ship the old one back in the same box. They gave me an RMA number ... but also took my credit card info. When I asked them why they needed the CC info, they told me that if the old drive wasn't returned within 30 days, they'd charge my card for the new drive (grin). But, I sent the old drive back to them on the same day I successfully installed the new one ... and never got charged. Again, great customer service.

Am I an exception to the rule or do others experience great customer service, too???

Regards,
J. Alec West
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fritzi93 · Member Joined: 01 Nov 2003 Location: U.S.