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Know The Rules: Holiday Return Policies

Know The Rules: Holiday Return Policies
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The Rules of the Game

Occasionally, there’s a silver lining in the black cloud of a poor economy and one of those silver linings is holiday return policies, which can give you additional time to return less-than-perfect holiday gifts. With any return policy, tech gear often faces stricter rules than other products do, so be aware—many technology items can only be returned before a certain number of days (such as 15 days), instead of within the store’s regular return period (such as 30 to 90 days). Items such as digital cameras and laptops, which can be "wardrobed" (used for a special occasion and then returned), usually have a restocking fee, which is sometimes as high as 25%. To avoid piracy, some opened items (such as software, DVDs, CDs, and video games) can only be returned if defective, and even then, only for a replacement copy.  

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Other Comments
  • 0
    rrrobert , January 10, 2009 12:05 PM
    Regarding Newegg's return policies: I just recently found out about them the hard way. I bought a DVDR just days ago. Got a very good price for it. When I connected it to my television I quickly found there was a fatal compatability problem among other problems with the DVDR so I went about getting my RMA for the device. To my horror
    I found out that the product I bought was non-refundable. I went back to the product page and put another of the same DVDR in my shopping cart. Sure enough just below the product number in the cart was the following statement: "Return Policy: Limited Non-Refundable
    30-Day Return Policy". The problem is when I originally ordered the DVDR I just never saw the statement.....it just did not register.
    Maybe I just saw the "30-Day Return Policy" and not the "Non-Refundable", who knows. But I can't argue that Newegg did not cover themselves: it's there in black and white. In my own defense I will say this: I have bought plenty of electronic products over the years esp. digital camera equipment from many sources (Best Buy, Amazon, B&H, etc.) and I had never before delt with this customer unfriendly a policy. It is an atypical return policy and it just took me by surprize. Buyer beware of Newegg!
  • 0
    Tomsguiderachel , December 20, 2008 12:33 AM
    TCelesteSo they just let everybody in with no proof of where they purchased the items, used items are not a problem, and they give you back cash. You wouldn't happen to have some support for this (like a URL to the policy, or a press report, or ... anything)?

    Well, I suppose without documentation, all we can do is try it, and offer up the old adage for deal hunters: Your Mileage May Vary.
  • 0
    TCeleste , December 18, 2008 5:52 AM
    So they just let everybody in with no proof of where they purchased the items, used items are not a problem, and they give you back cash. You wouldn't happen to have some support for this (like a URL to the policy, or a press report, or ... anything)?
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