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How Can Apple Possibly Justify The 10% Restock Fee?

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shambo

shambo

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Apr 4, 2009
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I recently bought a buy to order 15" 2.8Gz Macbook Pro from the online Apple Store however after receiving the goods I discovered that one of the fans was faulty and making excessive noise. So sending this back for a refund how can Apple justify fleecing me 10% of my original $2,299 outlay? :rolleyes: Any other company you return faulty goods to are more than happy just to refund you at no expense to yourself. How is Apples action/policy even legal when they supplied the faulty goods in the first place? :rolleyes: Are Apple guilty of treating their customers as the Quality Assurance department? :eek:
 
well, it's possible they didn't believe the noise was excessive and they treated it as a simple return outside of the return period. Virtually every other electronics will do the same if they feel it's not defective. Why didn't you ask them to fix/replace it instead? they would do that at no cost.
 
If they didn't qualify it as defective, then they are going to now sell that computer as a refurb. If you asked them to fix/replace it they won't charge you anything.
 
Apple will "at their option" replace or refund a DOA machine.

The 10% restocking fee for returned merchandise is justified simply by looking at the Special Deals section.

The cost of refurbishing/repairing the machines and then simply selling them at a discount is likely a good chunk of 10% or more.

---

Heck, get the machine declared DOA and swap it for another one, or pay for an upgrade.
 
Did you actually ask for a repair or exchange, or just demand the refund?

It matters, because if you demanded the refund, you'll get what you asked for - minus the 10%.
 
I think the OP's point is that most other places don't charge any type of 'restocking fee'.

At least they don't in the UK, I don't know what it's like in the US.
 
RetepNamenots said:
I think the OP's point is that most other places don't charge any type of 'restocking fee'.

At least they don't in the UK, I don't know what it's like in the US.
Click to expand...

Actually in my experience most electronics companies in the US do charge a restocking fee...and I've seen them as high as 15-20% so in general 10% doesn't seem unreasonable. That doesn't mean we have to like it, but still.
 
Snowbound said:
Actually in my experience most electronics companies in the US do charge a restocking fee...and I've seen them as high as 15-20% so in general 10% doesn't seem unreasonable. That doesn't mean we have to like it, but still.
Click to expand...

I agree. A restocking fee these days is the norm in my experience as well. Apple's not doing anything unusual.
 
Most companies charge restocking fees. This is for 2 reasons:

1. It helps cover the costs of restocking the item and selling it again.

2. They want to keep people from buying something for say a family vacation and then returning it when they get back such as a camera, GPS, cam corder, tv for superbowl sunday, etc.
 
It is so funny how the fan boys here are quick to judge the guy and take Apple's side. I am an Apple user and I do like their computers and software but I've had my fair share of nightmares with Apple and their "Geniuses".

Bottom line is, when a company like Apple starts getting bigger with a higher demand, it will become another Microsoft who can careless about their customers.
I've owned Apple products since 2004 and I have noticed a huge decline in customer service.

The computer was defective, therefore a restocking fee should not have been charged period. If Apple has to refurbish the computer and resell it, that's their problem not the customer.
If the customer was just returning it because he saw a faster computer for the same price, then a restocking fee could be applied.
 
thiagos said:
It is so funny how the fan boys here are quick to judge the guy and take Apple's side. I am an Apple user and I do like their computers and software but I've had my fair share of nightmares with Apple and their "Geniuses".

Bottom line is, when a company like Apple starts getting bigger with a higher demand, it will become another Microsoft who can careless about their customers.
I've owned Apple products since 2004 and I have noticed a huge decline in customer service.

The computer was defective, therefore a restocking fee should not have been charged period. If Apple has to refurbish the computer and resell it, that's their problem not the customer.
If the customer was just returning it because he saw a faster computer for the same price, then a restocking fee could be applied.
Click to expand...

Maybe OP didn't tell Apple that the fan was too loud and just returned it? OP hasn't exactly given a lot of details. Just whined a bit..
 
dr. shdw said:
Within 14 days? Maybe 30? But after that it's either fix it or return with restocking fee.

http://store.apple.com/Catalog/US/Images/salespolicies.html#topic-20
Click to expand...

I was under the impression that the OP had at some point tried to get a refurb. There still is no time clarification; but, most companies would not just allow a return.

thiagos said:
It is so funny how the fan boys here are quick to judge the guy and take Apple's side. I am an Apple user and I do like their computers and software but I've had my fair share of nightmares with Apple and their "Geniuses".

Bottom line is, when a company like Apple starts getting bigger with a higher demand, it will become another Microsoft who can careless about their customers.
I've owned Apple products since 2004 and I have noticed a huge decline in customer service.

The computer was defective, therefore a restocking fee should not have been charged period. If Apple has to refurbish the computer and resell it, that's their problem not the customer.
If the customer was just returning it because he saw a faster computer for the same price, then a restocking fee could be applied.
Click to expand...

What is with the green font? The OP never stated how he explained to Apple that the fan was faulty. I cannot imagine that if he/she actually had a faulty fan, Apple would have not replaced it at the Genius Bar. The fanboys (and girls) aren't really out on this thread, nice try though...
 
That is such BS! Circuit City tried to pull that **** on me, I would not expect to get it from Apple. Bottom line is it's illegal to deny someone a FULL refund on a defective product. I forget where I read it, but something like the "consumer protection act" states this. Do some research.
 
thegoldenmackid said:
I was under the impression that the OP had at some point tried to get a refurb. There still is no time clarification; but, most companies would not just allow a return.



The fanboys (and girls) aren't really out on this thread, nice try though...
Click to expand...

You obviously are, aren't you? What does the green font have to do with anything?
I've had problems returning defective items to Apple as well. Before you return an item, they ask you the reason why you are returning, therefore they should have known.
What if he didn't want to have it replaced or exchanged?
 
jamesr242 said:
That is such BS! Circuit City tried to pull that **** on me, I would not expect to get it from Apple. Bottom line is it's illegal to deny someone a FULL refund on a defective product. I forget where I read it, but something like the "consumer protection act" states this. Do some research.
Click to expand...

Guess you're lucky you live in such a wonderful socialist country. Here in capitalist Canada, all sales are final.
 
thiagos said:
It is so funny how the fan boys here are quick to judge the guy and take Apple's side. I am an Apple user and I do like their computers and software but I've had my fair share of nightmares with Apple and their "Geniuses".

Bottom line is, when a company like Apple starts getting bigger with a higher demand, it will become another Microsoft who can careless about their customers.
I've owned Apple products since 2004 and I have noticed a huge decline in customer service.

The computer was defective, therefore a restocking fee should not have been charged period. If Apple has to refurbish the computer and resell it, that's their problem not the customer.
If the customer was just returning it because he saw a faster computer for the same price, then a restocking fee could be applied.
Click to expand...


This is precisly my point. It is not my fault they sold me defective goods so why am I having to pay for it? I forked up a large sum in good faith that I would be getting a suitably working piece of electronics yet I am the one who has been left doing the quality assurance AND getting charged 10% of my initial outlay AND my time for it. :mad:
 
Sun Baked said:
The 10% restocking fee for returned merchandise is justified simply by looking at the Special Deals section.
Click to expand...

It's explained by looking at that section. I wouldn't personally agree that it's thereby justified. Unfortunately, submitting an online order with Apple (and just about anyone else) constitutes agreement with any such policies that the consumer was given an opportunity to review beforehand. The problem with Apple is the term "DOA", which is interpreted differently by different people, even though it sounds straightforward enough at first glance. Unfortunately, a customer could receive an Apple notebook with long, deep scratches all over the case, noisy fans, crooked keys and any other number of "cosmetic" defects, and Apple could claim the machine is not "DOA" because it functions properly. I've seen stuff like this happen to a few friends who ordered online.

It can go the other way too, though. I've had machines replaced for no more than a noisy fan. It depends on who you talk to at Apple. Their quality of customer service is absolutely inconsistent from one individual to another. Several friends of mine who work in retail have also told me that Apple is really bad with the retailers about accepting returned items. I think that's probably true, given that some online sites that sell Apple gear state up front that there are absolutely no returns of Apple computers under any circumstances---even if the same reseller allows returns/exchanges on other brands. (I'm thinking MacMall and maybe NewEgg, but I would have to go back and look to be sure.)
 
They're no different then a multitude of other companys/retailers that charge such a fee. Is that good, probably not, at least for the consumer but retailers have been making it more and more difficult/expensive to return products, especially those that have been opened.

Putting on my fanboy hat, you also have to consider the fact that if you return a computer that's not been identified as defective, apple cannot just seal up the box and resell it, so they've just lost money on the deal. A restocking fee is meant to make sure the customer is truly unhappy with the product and offset the loss a bit.
 
shambo said:
This is precisly my point. It is not my fault they sold me defective goods so why am I having to pay for it? I forked up a large sum in good faith that I would be getting a suitably working piece of electronics yet I am the one who has been left doing the quality assurance AND getting charged 10% of my initial outlay AND my time for it. :mad:
Click to expand...
You still haven't stated whether you gave Apple the opportunity to repair or replace your MBP.
 
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