Apple Store Restocking Fee

[509eagle]

I am still kinda POed, even thou I didn't pay the restocking fee. I bought a 32 WiFi model 12 days ago, turned out to have a dead pixel. I called on the phone, they said no problem, just bring it in.

I had been thinking, kinda wish I had got the 64gb G model, but oh well. So off to the Apple store to exchange my Wifi, got talking to the sales person, they said, I could just get on the waiting for the 64gbG model, and they would be glad to exchange it out and I pay the difference. I even asked what if its outside the 14 days return policy , no problem I was told (no mention of restocking fee).

So today I get the email, quickly drive home to get my 32g Wifi, restore it, and off to the Apple Store, I explain that I wish to return this one and that it has a dead pixel and that I have a 64gb G model on hold for me. The guy being more than helpful, then states there will be a restocking fee, I'm like, no one told me that, and I had asked, it was always "no problem". (guess sales people say anything) Then he states "its on the receipt", I repeat that I was told that there would not be an issue. Specially since it had a dead pixel.

By now I am thinking, do I need the manager, or am i going to just exchanged my 32 WIfi straight up. There is no way I will agree to a restocking fee. If i just exchange, they still get an open box return anyways. If they were not willing to the dead pixel exchange, I would done a return and walked out with nothing, sure would have missed it thou........

The guy got smart before things had to escalated and waved the fee.

So all is well. I haven't turned the new one on yet, I had to go back to work, hope its issue free, orthey will be seeing more of me.

This was not a case of buyers remorse, I was happy with what I had, but long as it was going back, thought I would take the opportunity for an upgrade. If there had not been a dead pixel, I never would have even thought about it.

 

[Aduntu]

It's all about who you talk to and the time of day. There are guidelines they should all follow, but many factors can determine whether they do or not.

If I've learned anything, it's that you cannot expect consistency from anyone at a retail store.

 

[barkomatic]

You should always be prepared to turn in your defective product on your first trip. Your initial agreement with the store could be the most favorable and returning at a later time expecting the same deal is risky. Different time of day, different manager, different mood. I realize you were waiting for the 64gb but you should have turned in your old iPad and gotten a receipt or store credit.

They actually made a huge exception for you. Apple generally only will swap out a defective product with the exact same one so you shouldn't be pissed that some Apple employees were confused by this special arrangement. If they let anyone return an computer equipment without a restocking fee, then they'd get tons of returns from people who changed their minds or wanted an upgrade.

Again, you've got no right to be pissed if they are making an exception. I guarantee you, the more of an a** you are the less likely you'll get what you want.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

Unfortunately, 1 dead pixel is considered to be "within spec," and not defective. That is why they wanted to charge you the restock fee.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Frankly, I think their default policy should be "no restocking fee" if someone is going to upgrade and give them more money.

Then they just take the old device, do a quick spit shine and it's back on the Refurb store.

Voila! Even more money yet and even happier customers. A true win win.

 

[DougFNJ]

It's all about who you talk to and the time of day. There are guidelines they should all follow, but many factors can determine whether they do or not.

If I've learned anything, it's that you cannot expect consistency from anyone at a retail store.

This is 100% accurate. It's the manager, the mood, the location....I wonder if star alignment has anything to do with it

Anyway, glad it worked out for you....enjoy your new 3G

 

[Chupa Chupa]

Frankly, I think their default policy should be "no restocking fee" if someone is going to upgrade and give them more money.

Then they just take the old device, do a quick spit shine and it's back on the Refurb store.

Voila! Even more money yet and even happier customers. A true win win.

Getting a unit to the refurb store costs money, not including the discount they have to give. If they did what you propose Apple products would have to be even more expensive than they already are to absorb those costs. As-is now, everyone pays for their own mistake, which is how it should be.

 

[ZBoater]

I just dont understand how anyone can expect an electronics manufacturer to sell stuff and expect to take it back or exchange it for no good reason and take the hit associated with that transaction.

Sure, there is customer service, but come on, let's be realistic.

If the iPad is defective, that is one thing. But if I want to exchange it for another model because I don't like mine, you should pay. We can argue whether ONE dead pixel warrants a fee-free return or not, but if they have EXPLICIT policies stating how many dead pixels warrant a return, and on the receipt they tell you EXPLICITLY a restocking fee is applicable, then it would be MY responsibility to either buy the thing or not buy it.

I think overall Apple has gone above and beyond in the customer service area and they don't get enough recognition for it. I still think iTunes is evil and their Appstore policies are retarded, but credit is due where credit is due - their customer service is better than most.

My very humble opinion, of course.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Getting a unit to the refurb store costs money, not including the discount they have to give. If they did what you propose Apple products would have to be even more expensive than they already are to absorb those costs. As-is now, everyone pays for their own mistake, which is how it should be.

You're assuming a lot of information there.

How "it is now" is actually those of us who are persistent always get the fee waived anyways. It's just annoying to have to jump through hoops or talk to a manager about.

You're forgetting about a huge intangible called goodwill in the PR department.

If someone is willing to SPEND 10% (or more) than they originally spent on an upgrade, Apple would be well served to encourage them to do so.

That way more than covers costs and keeps people upgrading and happy about it.

 

[skubish]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_1_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7E18 Safari/528.16)

It's funny how people want to be able to exchange electronics for free but you can't exchange the car you just bought. Or the house. Or the video game you just played and beat.

 

[poloponies]

You're assuming a lot of information there.

How "it is now" is actually those of us who are persistent always get the fee waived anyways. It's just annoying to have to jump through hoops or talk to a manager about.

You're forgetting about a huge intangible called goodwill in the PR department.

If someone is willing to SPEND 10% (or more) than they originally spent on an upgrade, Apple would be well served to encourage them to do so.

That way more than covers costs and keeps people upgrading and happy about it.

Good will does not mean doing whatever a customer wants. And you spent more because you received more. That still doesn't address their costs relating to the refurb. Bottom line, you weren't doing them a favor*, it was the other way around.

*It's not like that 64GB iPad was going to gather dust on the shelf.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_1_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7E18 Safari/528.16)

It's funny how people want to be able to exchange electronics for free but you can't exchange the car you just bought. Or the house. Or the video game you just played and beat.

House & Car? Umm. Slightly different scale and situation don't you think?

I'm only advocating a policy of permitting those who would like to upgrade to something costing at least 10% more than what they've already paid to have the restocking fee waived.

If you can break even, or even make some money at it, and get huge goodwill points for it at the same time, it's a very smart business decision.

I agree though. A straight refund with no restocking fee = no go.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Bottom line, you weren't doing them a favor, it was the other way around.

That last part I simply respectfully disagree on.

A business must always keep in mind that the customer is important.

As I said in my last post, if there's a way to offer an upgrade path that breaks even or makes a little bit of extra coin for a company, it's smart.

It leaves a great take away message with a consumer guys.

They don't have to do it, obviously. But it's ok to have a different opinion. I work in a business where repeat clientele and making them happier and happier keeps paying off and paying off, that's all.

 

[poloponies]

I had a very similar situation where I pre-ordered 2-32GB iPads.

Part 1: I opened mine (the 2nd was a gift for the wife and I wanted to surprise her) and took it on a business trip a couple of days later. I had a hell of a time with the WiFi on the trip and returned to the Apple store to order 2-3Gs instead. They inspected the opened one, and were processing the return when I was informed of the 10% restock. I spoke with the manager and explained that it was not performing to my satisfaction and I would likely be happier with the 3G and he waived the charge.
Part 2: To speed up the transaction I told him to just throw it on a gift card. I then walked to an iMac, logged into Apple.com and pre-ordered 2-32GB 3Gs with the gift card and a credit card. Within a couple of days the transaction was kicked from the system because I was over my purchase limit (apparently there's no way to deduct the 2 I returned from my lifetime limit).
Part 3: I waited in line when the 3G was released and I was mid-way through processing when I handed over the gift card. The salesperson said I couldn't use the gift card. When I explained my situation he went to the manager and got approval in about 10 seconds.

So Apple went above and beyond in every instance (except for the automated part) AND in Part 1 I appreciated their courtesy. I didn't go on a forum and post how I had to ask for them to be courteous, I appreciated that they considered my request and acted accordingly. THEY DID ME A FAVOR.

 

[turbineseaplane]

THEY DID ME A FAVOR.

That's good to know.

They've done many favors for me in the past and I've done them many favors by continuing to purchase lots of their software and hardware.

That's why we're all here expressing our opinions. We love Apple!

That still doesn't preclude them from offering an upgrade path of some sort for folks to take advantage of if they'd like. Just an opinion. It's all good if we disagree. That's the fun part here!

 

[zeferjen]

I thought restocking fee was only for opened boxes? If this is the case, then he could have done a straight up exchange for an unopened box, then return it, use the money to buy the bigger one. OR the salesperson could have thought two steps ahead and just give him the bigger item.

 

[Aduntu]

I thought restocking fee was only for opened boxes? If this is the case, then he could have done a straight up exchange for an unopened box, then return it, use the money to buy the bigger one. OR the salesperson could have thought two steps ahead and just give him the bigger item.

Some stores have service parts already. They use these for exchanges and do not come in full retail packaging.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

You're assuming a lot of information there.

How "it is now" is actually those of us who are persistent always get the fee waived anyways. It's just annoying to have to jump through hoops or talk to a manager about.

You're forgetting about a huge intangible called goodwill in the PR department.

If someone is willing to SPEND 10% (or more) than they originally spent on an upgrade, Apple would be well served to encourage them to do so.

That way more than covers costs and keeps people upgrading and happy about it.

Ha. ha. Who's assuming a lot of information Mr. "That way more than covers costs and keeps people upgrading and happy about it." How to you know what Apple's costs are in processing a return and preparing a unit to be a refrub? Aren't you just assuming low costs are in your head, and to make your argument seem more palatable? I think so. If it costs Apple 10% to take an item back (it costs at least that given the discount they must give when the item reaches the refurb store) then the 10% they make on the higher priced item is for all intents and purposes negated.

Look, getting a fee waived is not the same as having a blanket policy. A one-off here and there is not going to affect Apple's bottom line and maintains, as you say, good will. But if this was a stated policy then that does cost Apple something and reduces its expected profit margin.

 

[Battlestar]

When ever you do something like this you will get different responses from different people. That is why you should always have a note wriiten and signed by whoever areeded to you terms.

 

[Stealthipad]

The guy got smart before things had to escalated and waved the fee.

LOL! You loosing your temper would have got you nothing. They did not HAVE to do what they did. You should have returned your defective device with in the 14 days or expect to pay restocking like it says on the receipt!

The reason Apple has the restocking fee is for picky people who freak out over a single dead pixel or just want to trade up!

 

[509eagle]

LOL! You loosing your temper would have got you nothing. They did not HAVE to do what they did. You should have returned your defective device with in the 14 days or expect to pay restocking like it says on the receipt!

I was within the 14 day period.

I sure don't remember saying anything about losing my temper. Maybe you need to look up what the word "escalate" means.

My next step would have to been to "escalate" the issue to the manager for their decision.