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Bought from Amazon.com, Can I exchange in store?

V

vultureparade

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 11, 2007
68
0
So, I'm noticing more and more problems with my macbook pro the more I use it.

I just unboxed it today and already I've discovered -- the bottom of the screen is faintly yellow, the lid doesn't close flush, and the keyboard seems to only type letters when it wants to. I can push down the "a" key, for example, but the "a" only types out half the time unless I firmly push it all the way down. The "L" is the same way. It could be the keyboard in general.

I need this thing for work and school. I already waited for amazon.com because it was backordered and no one told me (long story) Can I walk into my local apple store and get this one exchanged for a new one even though I bought it from amazon.com?

Any help will be much appreciated.

Edit: I forgot to mention the dark blotch from uneven back lighting in the middle of the screen above the dock
 
Just a little update. I've talked to apple on the phone and people from the closest apple store and they say there is nothing that can be done unless I want to wait five to seven days for the thing to get repaired. They won't let me swap it out with one in store because I didn't buy direct from Apple.

I'm pretty frustrated by this whole situation. After waiting for the computer to come now I have to wait for amazon.com to either swap it out or give me a refund.

Or I can send it in to Apple and wait for it to get repaired, but who knows if they'll fix the multiple problems this thing has.

Any thoughts?
 
Get an RMA from Amazon. Send it back, wait for the credit, then buy from the store.

Best way to protect yourself. May not be the fastest, but fast is not always best.
 
That is one of the only downsides from buying from Amazon.

I buy all the time and have not had any bad systems from them. Or if I did it was months and months down the road and just called apple.

So far I see apple and amazon acting reasonably.
 
vultureparade said:
Or I can send it in to Apple and wait for it to get repaired, but who knows if they'll fix the multiple problems this thing has.

Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

If the problems are genuine, then the Apple Store will take it in for repairs. However, be aware that this could take time depending on your problem.

Since you didn't say how yellow the screen is, and since it's impossible for us to see without a photo, I can't say whether Apple will take care of this.

The lid will never sit fully flush against the casing of the mbp. Heat and aluminum ensure this. As long as it isn't very uneven, you'll be ok. Everyone learns to live with this.
 
thanks for the replies.

While I can see where amazon and apple are coming from, it just seems rather ridiculous considering that apple will take the computer in and repair it, but they won't exchange me. It's brand new.

I'm not very picky when it comes to the lid closing, but the left side of the lid is obviously uneven. I can press down on it when the laptop is closed and move it up and down.

The yellow screen I could probably live with, but now that I know it's there I can't unsee it.

And the dark blotch, while annoying, could be ignored.

The keyboard, however, is horrible. Is it just me? Do all macbook pro keyboards require very firm contact to produce letters? I can press the "a" key down and half the time I get nothing unless I push it down as far as it will go.

I'm thinking I'll have to return it to Amazon, wait however long it takes for a refund, and then eat the $120 something sales tax at my apple store.
 
vultureparade said:
While I can see where amazon and apple are coming from, it just seems rather ridiculous considering that apple will take the computer in and repair it, but they won't exchange me. It's brand new.
Click to expand...

They won't exchange your mbp; it would be rather hard for anyone to exchange you;)

The reason Apple won't exchange your mbp is because Apple was not the merchant who sold it to you. This works the same for almost any product. Most manufacturers will repair your product, but returns and exchanges are handled by the retailer who sold it to you.
 
You got it...

grafikat said:
Get an RMA from Amazon. Send it back, wait for the credit, then buy from the store.

Best way to protect yourself. May not be the fastest, but fast is not always best.
Click to expand...

There is a reason "to buy locally".... sometimes it's the Service Aspect that is worth the extra $$.. If you have a Good Local store for ANY type of Consumable, and you may want SERVICE later, why not support them?? :confused: If it's because they "have No tech ability" then I see why you don't... ;)

I have a Small Business as well as Farm and if I need a Part for a Farm Implement I can thankfully go 15 miles, or I can Drive 80+ miles to near City... or I can "Buy Online"... the 15 mile drive is appreciated if TIME is of the Essence!!

Above all else, APPLE is a good company and they will take care of you as able to... The Purchase Method dictates the Ability to do it "easily"... and Timely!! :rolleyes:
 
They won't exchange your mbp; it would be rather hard for anyone to exchange you
Click to expand...

Thanks for correcting that, but I doubt anyone was confused ;)


Like I said before, i understand where Apple is coming from, but if you think about it, it realy doesn't make much sense why they won't exchange it for me. The thing has so many problems that Amazon is going to have to send it back to Apple anyway. If companies were able to think outside the box a bit more and communicate better, both Amazon and Apple could save some time in this situation.

But I'll send it back to Amazon, wait up to four weeks for my refund, and then go buy another one at my local Apple store, instead of walking in there tomorrow and swapping this one out for a new one.

I should have thought about this before I ordered from Amazon. I guess I didn't figure that Apple's QC had gotten this bad. Of course it looks bad when you read post after post on the Internet, but in this case I think things might actually be as bad as it looks.

Thanks again for the replies. It really helps to have somewhere to talk about this stuff when it happens.
 
vultureparade said:
Thanks for correcting that, but I doubt anyone was confused ;)
Click to expand...
I know, I was just being picky:p

vultureparade said:
Like I said before, i understand where Apple is coming from, but if you think about it, it realy doesn't make much sense why they won't exchange it for me. The thing has so many problems that Amazon is going to have to send it back to Apple anyway. If companies were able to think outside the box a bit more and communicate better, both Amazon and Apple could save some time in this situation.
Click to expand...

Well, an exchange is different from a repair. An exchange is also different from a replacement. Apple will first try to repair your product, and if that fails, then you'll get a replacement. An exchange doesn't always imply the same product. For example, if you went and bought yourself a new iMac, and then decided that you'd be much happier with a Mac Pro, this would technically be an exchange. However, if that iMac started to act up, then you would need repairs or a replacement; they are different. I believe you said that you don't have the time to wait for a week for repairs right? That really is too bad, because that's the only route other than returning it to Amazon.
 
I believe you said that you don't have the time to wait for a week for repairs right? That really is too bad, because that's the only route other than returning it to Amazon.
Click to expand...

Well, I figure I have at least a week wait ahead of me regardless of which route I take. I'm leaning toward returning the mbp to Amazon for a couple reasons. 1). I'm worried that without me talking to a genius first (the earliest I could go is Friday) Apple won't fix all the problems 2). I'm amazed that this computer got through QC in the first place, so at this point I'd like a brand new one from the Apple store that I can exchange, get replaced, swap out, juggle, if there's anything wrong. I wouldn't be surprised if the new one I open from the Apple store has just as many problems.

I don't relish the idea of sending this broken one in only to have to send it in another time because something was missed.

The keyboard really is baffling me more than the other problems. Some of the keys are very responsive and others require maximum pressure for a response. It isn't localized to one side of the keyboard either. The a, l, w, o, p, and g all do the same thing while the other keys seem to work fine.

I appreciate you offering your opinion in this thread, CalBoy. It's great to get another perspective on the issue.

I'll update later when I decide what to do.
 
I wanted to get a custom MBP but with the yellow issue I went to the Applestore to buy one and i did get a yellow screen the next week returned it and have a pure white LG :)
 
I shipped the badboy back to Amazon early this morning. I'm hoping they can at least notice a couple of the problems and agree that the machine is defective.

I've never returned anything to Amazon before, so I'm not familiar with the process. I'm hoping my refund comes a lot sooner than the estimated four weeks stated on their website.

I guess all this will just make it that much sweeter when I get a perfect mbp.

I'll update the thread later when I get my refund.
 
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