Best Buy

[cardboard60]

A couple days ago, I was complaining about going to Verizon Corporate store and they wanted 50.00 return fee to try out a Pixel 2 XL phone. Plus a 30.00 upgrade fee.
And If I got a case, it was 50.00 more.
So I went to Verizon store whee I live. They waned a 50.00 return fee. 46.00 setup fee.

Well today I took my car to get the oil changed.
Stopped by Best Buy and asked what they would charge me to try out a Pixel 2 XL phone.
They said 30.00.
I got a case, Just in case I dropped the phone. Otterbox was all they had.
And the dude said if I return it within 13 days they would take the case back.

So I got a Pixel 2 XL to try out for 13 days.

Keep my fever down till the new Pixel 3 comes out.

 

[Kalvin Kerns]

A couple days ago, I was complaining about going to Verizon Corporate store and they wanted 50.00 return fee to try out a Pixel 2 XL phone. Plus a 30.00 upgrade fee.
And If I got a case, it was 50.00 more.
So I went to Verizon store whee I live. They waned a 50.00 return fee. 46.00 setup fee.

Well today I took my car to get the oil changed.
Stopped by Best Buy and asked what they would charge me to try out a Pixel 2 XL phone.
They said 30.00.
I got a case, Just in case I dropped the phone. Otterbox was all they had.
And the dude said if I return it within 13 days they would take the case back.

So I got a Pixel 2 XL to try out for 13 days.

Keep my fever down till the new Pixel 3 comes out.

Neat idea. I never thought about "trying" a phone out like that.

 

[cardboard60]

You need to get out more.

 

[cardboard60]

I wanted to learn Pixel phone.
PTry to learn how to transfer files

 

[Kalvin Kerns]

You need to get out more.

Yes, yes I do.

 

[Mike Dee]

A couple days ago, I was complaining about going to Verizon Corporate store and they wanted 50.00 return fee to try out a Pixel 2 XL phone. Plus a 30.00 upgrade fee.
And If I got a case, it was 50.00 more.
So I went to Verizon store whee I live. They waned a 50.00 return fee. 46.00 setup fee.

Well today I took my car to get the oil changed.
Stopped by Best Buy and asked what they would charge me to try out a Pixel 2 XL phone.
They said 30.00.
I got a case, Just in case I dropped the phone. Otterbox was all they had.
And the dude said if I return it within 13 days they would take the case back.

So I got a Pixel 2 XL to try out for 13 days.

Keep my fever down till the new Pixel 3 comes out.

As much as some of those prices were high, it's because someone has to eat the cost of consumers trying out phones with little to no intention of buying. Maybe they should raise the prices so that less consumers do that. If they don't, eventually everyone will have to pay more money for their devices because there's no such thing as a free lunch.

 

[cardboard60]

30.00 to try out a phone ain't a free lunch.

Where did customer service go.

 

[Mike Dee]

30.00 to try out a phone ain't a free lunch.

Where did customer service go.

Thirty dollars is peanuts. That device will get sold as open box or refurbished

 

[cardboard60]

Thirty dollars is peanuts. That device will get sold as open box or refurbished

It may very be to you.

I'm a Cancer patient.
Spent 7 months in and out of MD Anderson hospital.
Had chemo February threw June.
Went in hospital for 22 days in July to have industrial grade chemo for 6 days and have my stem cells put back in.
It's a lot of money to me.

I had my own Locksmith Co. and safe business for 19 yrs.
Was in the trade 42 yrs.

I know what customer service is

And it definitely ain't running over customers to make a buck.
It's offering customer service to them.

To me if you need to abuse a customer.
You don't deserve that customer.

I was privileged to have the customers I had.

My customers are what kept me alive.

But that is my view.

 

[vzwuser76]

It may very be to you.

I'm a Cancer patient.
Spent 7 months in and out of MD Anderson hospital.
Had chemo February threw June.
Went in hospital for 22 days in July to have industrial grade chemo for 6 days and have my stem cells put back in.
It's a lot of money to me.

I had my own Locksmith Co. and safe business for 19 yrs.
Was in the trade 42 yrs.

I know what customer service is

And it definitely ain't running over customers to make a buck.
It's offering customer service to them.

To me if you need to abuse a customer.
You don't deserve that customer.

I was privileged to have the customers I had.

My customers are what kept me alive.

But that is my view.

You guys are arguing 2 different things. What he's saying is that it may only cost you $30 to try it out, but the company will take a loss reselling it as an open box or refurb.

The reason being if they only dropped the price $30 and tried to resell it, no one would buy it. Reason being no one's going to buy a phone like that when they can spend $30 more and get a brand new device. So they'll more than likely end up selling it for at least $100 off. So every time a customer tries out a phone, especially if they have no intention of keeping it, they take a $70+ loss.

Now while I think there's nothing wrong trying a device out and making sure it's something you want, that's not what's happening here. You could've easily waited for the Pixel 3 to drop and then do the same thing, but in that case, there was a chance you'd actually keep it.

That's the difference. If people just kept doing that to mess around with devices with no intention of keeping it, that would end up costing these companies a lot of money, and eventually those costs will end up raising prices, because companies have made it clear they're not going to eat losses. Hell, they won't do that when they screw up.

 

[cardboard60]

It is Best buy's Policy.

Not mine.

I asked before I bought it.



50.00 restocking fee.
And a 30.00 upgrade fee is a lot of money to try out a phone for 13 days .

The phone is in a OtterBox case.
It will not have a scratch on it.
Not will it be dirty.
You won't be able to tell it was ever used.

 

[vzwuser76]

It is Best buy's Policy.

Not mine.

I asked before I bought it.



50.00 restocking fee.
And a 30.00 upgrade fee is a lot of money to try out a phone for 13 days .

The phone is in a OtterBox case.
It will not have a scratch on it.
Not will it be dirty.
You won't be able to tell it was ever used.

The policy is there for people who want to keep the device, but want to make sure that they don't end up with something that doesn't fulfill their needs. It's not meant to keep someone occupied while they wait for what they actually want.

It doesn't matter if it doesn't have a scratch on it when you're done with it. It's illegal to sell something used as new, that's fraud. And since they can't sell it for the same price as a new device, they take a loss. They could try to sell it for the same price, but if a customer sees a used device and a new device for the same price, they'll choose the new one every day of the week and twice on Sunday. So if they want to actually sell the device, they'll have to put enough of a discount on it to make people consider it over a new device. Generally that means a pretty steep discount.

This loss on used products isn't isolated to mobile electronics. Drive a car off the lot, and you instantly lose anywhere from 10-15% right there.

Once it's out of the company's hands, they can't attest to what's been done to it, and even with a full inspection, they still can't call it new, that's just how it is. The problem is if too many people abuse this, companies have to do one of two things to mitigate their losses. Either they discontinue the program, or they raise prices to cover their losses. They can try to write them off, but at some point it doesn't fully cover their losses.

You mentioned companies abusing their customers. Well customers can abuse the companies as well. If you had spent a great deal of time bidding a job for a customer, and they took that bid to a competitor so they could match or undercut your price, you wouldn't consider them a great customer would you? The time you spent on bidding that job is lost revenue, same as the money they lose when they go to resell a used device.

The way Verizon does their discounts now (bill credits instead of a one time discount) was due in part to people abusing the system. I remember regularly reading people who would get the discount (which required them to sign a 2 year contract) and then cancel their account, pay the ETF, and keep the phone, which resulted in a loss for Verizon. So to mitigate their losses, Verizon decided to split the discount over a 24 month period, ensuring that if the customer tried something like that Verizon wouldn't take the financial hit. In your case, they let you off because you planned to upgrade and stay with them. Had you tried to get your full discount with the intention of leaving afterwards, they wouldn't have granted it to you because you would've essentially broken the contract and they would've lost any further revenue from you.

In closing, it may be their policy, but you're not using it as intended. And if enough people abuse it, it will either go away or their prices will rise. They're offering it as a service to their customers, but if said customers abuse it, the bean counters will step in and make changes. But in the end it's all about intentions. They're offering the tryout period to ensure that you're going to be happy with your product, not to keep you from being bored or to help you learn how the OS works.

PS. You said you asked them about their policy, did you say you had no intention of keeping it? Guaranteed if they still let you take it, and their manager found out, they wouldn't be employed their anymore.

 

[Mike Dee]

The policy is there for people who want to keep the device, but want to make sure that they don't end up with something that doesn't fulfill their needs. It's not meant to keep someone occupied while they wait for what they actually want.

It doesn't matter if it doesn't have a scratch on it when you're done with it. It's illegal to sell something used as new, that's fraud. And since they can't sell it for the same price as a new device, they take a loss. They could try to sell it for the same price, but if a customer sees a used device and a new device for the same price, they'll choose the new one every day of the week and twice on Sunday. So if they want to actually sell the device, they'll have to put enough of a discount on it to make people consider it over a new device. Generally that means a pretty steep discount.

This loss on used products isn't isolated to mobile electronics. Drive a car off the lot, and you instantly lose anywhere from 10-15% right there.

Once it's out of the company's hands, they can't attest to what's been done to it, and even with a full inspection, they still can't call it new, that's just how it is. The problem is if too many people abuse this, companies have to do one of two things to mitigate their losses. Either they discontinue the program, or they raise prices to cover their losses. They can try to write them off, but at some point it doesn't fully cover their losses.

You mentioned companies abusing their customers. Well customers can abuse the companies as well. If you had spent a great deal of time bidding a job for a customer, and they took that bid to a competitor so they could match or undercut your price, you wouldn't consider them a great customer would you? The time you spent on bidding that job is lost revenue, same as the money they lose when they go to resell a used device.

The way Verizon does their discounts now (bill credits instead of a one time discount) was due in part to people abusing the system. I remember regularly reading people who would get the discount (which required them to sign a 2 year contract) and then cancel their account, pay the ETF, and keep the phone, which resulted in a loss for Verizon. So to mitigate their losses, Verizon decided to split the discount over a 24 month period, ensuring that if the customer tried something like that Verizon wouldn't take the financial hit. In your case, they let you off because you planned to upgrade and stay with them. Had you tried to get your full discount with the intention of leaving afterwards, they wouldn't have granted it to you because you would've essentially broken the contract and they would've lost any further revenue from you.

In closing, it may be their policy, but you're not using it as intended. And if enough people abuse it, it will either go away or their prices will rise. They're offering it as a service to their customers, but if said customers abuse it, the bean counters will step in and make changes. But in the end it's all about intentions. They're offering the tryout period to ensure that you're going to be happy with your product, not to keep you from being bored or to help you learn how the OS works.

PS. You said you asked them about their policy, did you say you had no intention of keeping it? Guaranteed if they still let you take it, and their manager found out, they wouldn't be employed their anymore.

In addition Best Buy only charges the restocking fee. The upgrade fee goes to Verizon.

 

[cardboard60]

Best buy never charged a upgrade fee.

Told the dude up front.
I wanted to try it and bring it back.

He said no problem.
I could even return the case.

I spend a lot of money at Best buy .

Got a 70" TV sitting on the wall.
2 computers I bought.
A Dyson vacuum cleaner.
And a set of wireless ear buds the wife has.

 

[vzwuser76]

Best buy never charged a upgrade fee.

Told the dude up front.
I wanted to try it and bring it back.

He said no problem.
I could even return the case.

I spend a lot of money at Best buy .

Got a 70" TV sitting on the wall.
2 computers I bought.
A Dyson vacuum cleaner.
And a set of wireless ear buds the wife has.

The $30 was the upgrade fee, same as Verizon charges, and since they're selling it for Verizon, that's where the fee comes from.

That kind of thing may work for some mom and pop stores, but most big box stores don't care how much you spend there. They have a corporate policy to follow.

 

[cardboard60]

The $30 was the upgrade fee, same as Verizon charges, and since they're selling it for Verizon, that's where the fee comes from.

That kind of thing may work for some mom and pop stores, but most big box stores don't care how much you spend there. They have a corporate policy to follow.

Glad you don't run their stores.
Cause you would make me wait spending money there.

Never had anybody to complain about me returning stuff.

Wait till Christmas. Everybody will be returning stuff.

Corporate policies can also put companies out of business.

 

[vzwuser76]

Glad you don't run their stores.
Cause you would make me wait spending money there.

Never had anybody to complain about me returning stuff.

Wait till Christmas. Everybody will be returning stuff.

Corporate policies can also put companies out of business.

Returning gifts isn't the same thing, they were bought by someone for someone else, hoping it's what they wanted. They aren't buying it knowing they're going to return it. The reason nobody complained about returning stuff is they probably assumed that you actually wanted to keep it, but found it didn't fit your needs. Buying it to use short term isn't the same thing.

Yes they can, but they can also protect a company. You're arguing that these companies should respect their customers and go the extra mile. Yet most companies would call what you're doing gaming the system, talking advantage of them. I don't do that. If I'm not figuring on buying it in the first place, I wouldn't pick it up just to play with it. And like I said, you could've done the exact same thing with a device you actually intend to buy, the Pixel 3. And if $30 is so much money, then why waste it to play with a device for a couple weeks? You can do the exact same trial with the Pixel 3 which you actually plan to keep.

 

[cardboard60]

Returning gifts isn't the same thing, they were bought by someone for someone else, hoping it's what they wanted. They aren't buying it knowing they're going to return it. The reason nobody complained about returning stuff is they probably assumed that you actually wanted to keep it, but found it didn't fit your needs. Buying it to use short term isn't the same thing.

Yes they can, but they can also protect a company. You're arguing that these companies should respect their customers and go the extra mile. Yet most companies would call what you're doing gaming the system, talking advantage of them. I don't do that. If I'm not figuring on buying it in the first place, I wouldn't pick it up just to play with it. And like I said, you could've done the exact same thing with a device you actually intend to buy, the Pixel 3. And if $30 is so much money, then why waste it to play with a device for a couple weeks? You can do the exact same trial with the Pixel 3 which you actually plan to keep.

Most people on top, only look at 100% profit.
They loose track of the customers.

Customers make a business, or break it.

Everything is not 100% profit .

I've seen corporate greed.

I'm trying a phone out.
Don't need your approval.

You don't own Best Buy or Verizon.

 

[vzwuser76]

Most people on top, only look at 100% profit.
They loose track of the customers.

Customers make a business, or break it.

Everything is not 100% profit .

I've seen corporate greed.

I'm trying a phone out.
Don't need your approval.

You don't own Best Buy or Verizon.

No I don't, but when people take advantage and it causes the company to end programs that benefit customers or raise prices, then it affects me, you, and any other customers. That's another way customers can break a company.

 

[cardboard60]

Don't think me trying out a cell phone will break Best Buy.