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Return Policy @ Apple Store or Best Buy

T

tuckerstevenson

macrumors member
Original poster
Apr 8, 2010
39
0
soooooo, absolutely enamored with the iPad from top to bottom. so much so I don't wanna wait til my 3G I have on order gets here. So, I'm thinking of being an impatient jerk and going to the apple store or best buy to purchase a wifi model to hold me over. Does anyone know the specifics of the return policies at Best Buy or the Apple store regarding the iPad? I mean if I bought one and returned it in a week due to the "poor wifi performance" will they just give me store credit, or can I fully return it. I know some folks have been weighing this option, but I haven't seen a specific thread on this. So yeah, please discuss. I'm dying over here (not really), and will painfully wait for the 3G, but I need to have my hands on one of these asap. Or I could just go be a creeper at the apple store and play around on one all day. lol.

p.s. yes I've already been to the apple store to mess with one, I almost asked if I could camp on the floor to be with the demo models.
 
Your life will be easier if you just wait for the one you want. It won't be long.

If you get out of paying a restocking fee by telling them it's defective, bear in mind that they will need to do various expensive things to check it, rebox it and resell it, or sell it at a loss as an open box item.
 
haha, very true, and Karmically I'll be in much better standing, so you're saying go be an apple store creeper. sounds like a plan!
 
Both Apple and BB have a 14 day return policy, where you can return the iPad for any reason and get a full reund, minus any restocking fee that may apply.
 
I was told that a return would be subject to a 15% restocking fee unless returned for an exchange. So, if you purchase a wifi model two weeks before the 3G model is released and do an exchange, you should be ok.
 
People seem to be making stuff up.

Apple return policy:

14 days to return for refund minus 10% restocking fee (not 15% or $60/70, it's 10%. Look online at Apple.com if you want to confirm it's 10%).

I can't speak to the poster who said the fee is waived if you exchange a wi-fi iPad for a 3G one. I find that hard to believe because on Saturday I asked to exchange a 16GB version for the 32 GB and the store worker scanned my box and said the system showed a 10% restock fee. It would be puzzling if Apple charged a fee to exchange wi-fi models but not wi-fi to 3G.

Best Buy return policy:

14 days to return for FULL refund - no restocking fee - on "computers, monitors, projectors, camcorders, digital cameras, and radar detectors." Best Buy classifies the iPad as a computer.

Unless you have loyalty to Apple Stores or can't find it in stock at Best Buy, there's no reason NOT to buy it at Best Buy. At worst, its return period is the same as Apple's but without a return penalty.
 
tuckerstevenson said:
soooooo, absolutely enamored with the iPad from top to bottom. so much so I don't wanna wait til my 3G I have on order gets here. So, I'm thinking of being an impatient jerk and going to the apple store or best buy to purchase a wifi model to hold me over. Does anyone know the specifics of the return policies at Best Buy or the Apple store regarding the iPad? I mean if I bought one and returned it in a week due to the "poor wifi performance" will they just give me store credit, or can I fully return it. I know some folks have been weighing this option, but I haven't seen a specific thread on this. So yeah, please discuss. I'm dying over here (not really), and will painfully wait for the 3G, but I need to have my hands on one of these asap. Or I could just go be a creeper at the apple store and play around on one all day. lol.

p.s. yes I've already been to the apple store to mess with one, I almost asked if I could camp on the floor to be with the demo models.
Click to expand...

I've been thinking the same thing! It's terrible! I'm so impatient! I think I'm going to do it and then sell it on eBay.
 
ddarko said:
Best Buy return policy:

14 days to return for FULL refund - no restocking fee - on "computers, monitors, projectors, camcorders, digital cameras, and radar detectors." Best Buy classifies the iPad as a computer.

Unless you have loyalty to Apple Stores or can't find it in stock at Best Buy, there's no reason NOT to buy it at Best Buy. At worst, its return period is the same as Apple's but without a return penalty.
Click to expand...

Wrong. Best Buy charges 15% on open boxes of computers.

http://www.bestbuy.com/olspage.jsp?type=page&contentId=1117177044087&id=cat12098
 
The 3G version of the iPad will not be a panacea. I have had many instances where my iPhone 3Gs had 4 bars but nothing was loading while in downtown Portland, OR. One theory posed is that AT&T's network is overloaded in the business district. If that is true, iPad 3G owners will make network bottlenecks worse and will be even more upset that they paid extra for the "blessing."

Also, the fact that the 4.0 OS update coming in the fall adds the ability to limit what apps use GPS implies Apple is concerned that the 3G iPad running ver 3 OS may have more than the estimated 10% hit in battery life in the real world.

As for my iPad WiFi, I have had no issues where there is a hotspot unless the password is not available. In that case I just whip out the Sprint Overdrive and rock'n'roll.
 
Sorry, I was too harsh, I shouldn't have questioned people's motives or good intentions which I did by saying they were "making" it up. I should have said people posted what they believed was accurate, even if it wasn't.

Also, my answer about the restocking fee at Apple for exchanging models may be correct depending on the store and manager. Apparently, lots of Apple Store managers will waive the 10% restocking fee if you're exchanging models, it depends on who you ask and it should be a manager, not a regular store clerk. I think I spoke to a clerk. Now to decide if I should try again to exchange for a higher capacity...
 
docprego said:
"15% for opened notebook computers"

Is exactly what that page you linked says. So are they considering the iPad a notebook computer?
Click to expand...

Considering I bought one at Best Buy, and it had a giant yellow and white sticker saying "This item has a 14 day Return Policy" AND "This item requires a "15% Restocking Fee if opened".....yes.
 
hard-case said:
Considering I bought one at Best Buy, and it had a giant yellow and white sticker saying "This item has a 14 day Return Policy" AND "This item requires a "15% Restocking Fee if opened".....yes.
Click to expand...

The cashier at Best Buy told me its 14 days with a 15% restock fee. Maybe its something special for this device. I would think it falls under their computer policy, but they seemed to have made up their own.
 
hard-case said:
Considering I bought one at Best Buy, and it had a giant yellow and white sticker saying "This item has a 14 day Return Policy" AND "This item requires a "15% Restocking Fee if opened".....yes.
Click to expand...

Well, I stand corrected - hoisted on my own petard! -and reverses what I said before, now the Apple Store is preferred. One twist is that both Apple and Best Buy waive the restock fee for defective items. The original poster asked about returning an iPad because of the wi-fi connection problem. Would that qualify as a defect under the return policies? No way to know for sure - and it may depend on the store and manager - but I bet there's a pretty good chance the restocking fee would be waived for that issue, especially given how essential wi-fi is to the current model.
 
I've never been charged a restocking fee at Best Buy because I always spoke to a manager and pleaded my case and it always works for me.
 
to the guy saying that the 3G won't be a panacea. I live in Portland as well and occasionally experience minor 3G interruption in the Pearl district but for the most part the device works wonderfully. Although this is contrary to my original post, I try not to be an idealist, a dropped call here and there or some faulty internet connection is not generally a buzz kill for me. I for one am not willing to pay a combined $90 a month just for mobile internet access though. I already pay for 3G on my iPhone, and will pay $30 to have it on my iPad, but the Sprint Overdrive seems like a lot of hassle, as well as being $60 a month for over-hyped 4G performance that is only available in very select areas, leaving me with a whopping (sarcasm) 5 gigs of 3G to browse. The iPad will burn through that in no time. the main purpose for getting it would be so that you could run your macbook, ipad, iphone, and ipod touch all the same time. I can't really see myself ever needing to use all of these things at one time. Also I believe to get the cheap price on the actual Overdrive unit, don't you have to sign up for a two year contract through Sprint? And finally, I would imagine that the development of the iPad was somewhat known about by AT&T, with the launch of the 3G iPad and with their rising popularity I can imagine AT&T making some sort of effort to make device specific networks, but maybe that's just wishful thinking on my part. It's not like AT&T doesn't have the money to try and address this, and having the iPad work as well as possible on their 3G can only be of benefit to them, and I imagine AT&T has this mind and is working towards optimum efficiency.

so aside from that, what folks are telling me is that I can rent an iPad from the apple store for two weeks for $50, or should I just buy it and try and sell on eBay. I doubt those eBay prices are gonna hold up for long, but overseas interest might change that. I'd kind of feel bad selling someone a used one. but maybe that's just 'cause I love tearing off packing plastic.
 
a) everyone US citizen must comply with the US export laws, especially in regards to electronic equipment.

b) There is a high incidence of charge backs and theft in regards to overseas transactions and little protection for the seller.

c) Sales tax in most states will eat the $50 profit quickly.

illutionz said:
Here's a tip: eBay and you can fetch $500 or more at the moment from overseas buyer ;) Sold my opened iPad 16GB for 550+shipping
Click to expand...
 
I had a manager clear the restock fee at apple to upgrade to a 3G, but still had to return the wifi within 14 days. They can waive it.
 
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