Shopping Discussion

Once you return a defective item, where does it go?

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  • May 30th, 2008 4:02 pm
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Deal Fanatic
Jul 4, 2004
9473 posts
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ruthless29 wrote: When you go and return a defective product to BestBuy or Futureshop, do they send it back to the manufacturer? Who takes the hit?
Sadly sometimes back on the shelf.
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Deal Addict
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May 7, 2006
2771 posts
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Vancouver
Un4GivN wrote: I've seen repackaged goods being sold as new before and it disgusts me. It's obviously been torn open yet it's on the shelf beside other, brand new, items for the same price. At least offer 10% or 15% off as 'open box' even if it does work fine.
Agreed, I baught a B&D toaster oven from CT and you couldn't tell it was a return item. UNtil I took it home opened it up and noticed it has slight scratches along the top. I then noticed where someone tried wiping it clean and of course their fingerprints on the glass door. TO say the least I was not happy at all. Buying something knew only to find out it has been returned disgusts me as well. It was a big waste of time to go back to CT, wait in the returns line to ask for a new one.
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Aug 11, 2004
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... ends up on the shelf at Factory Direct or XSCargo ;)
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Jul 24, 2006
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Hunter316 wrote: Yes Future Shop employees get commission on most electronics they sell but Future Shop would not be in buisness if they did not sell their PSP. Their buisness model loses money without PSP.
Why did you find this fact? That's pretty interesting if it is true, I would not think they sell enough PSP's to make them profitable...
Newbie
May 24, 2008
44 posts
1 upvote
HughG wrote: well one time at canadian tire dumpster i saw a guy dumping a whole bunch of goods in a bin.

went after he left and there was a stereo player, dvd player, a drill set.

All of them were in torn packaging and stuff but they all worked perfect.
Dumpster diving is the reason why it's policy at the retail store I work at to destroy returned merchandise before tossing it. People can retrieve items and then try to return them to the store without a receipt. Many stores won't refund without a receipt, but they will issue store credit at the lowest sale price in the last four months. This would be the reason I am unable to donate items returned but still useable to needy people...the possibility of scamming returns...what a crying shame.
Deal Fanatic
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Apr 19, 2005
7527 posts
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Pickering
Having worked at Best Buy and Future Shop, it all depends.

1. It goes back to the vendor.
2. A company called GenCo buys them, fixes them and sells them as refurbished to places like Tiger Direct and Canada Computers, sometimes Best Buy and Future Shop.
3. They go back on the shelf. This rarely happens though.
Deal Expert
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Dec 11, 2005
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Un4GivN wrote: I've seen repackaged goods being sold as new before and it disgusts me. It's obviously been torn open yet it's on the shelf beside other, brand new, items for the same price. At least offer 10% or 15% off as 'open box' even if it does work fine.
I don't get why some people care about this. As long as it has same return policy and warranty, and is pretty much untouched, who gives a crap?

Probably about 50% of returns are from people who open the thing and either not even use it before returning it, or are too dumb to figure out how to work it, so take it back.

Sure, if you open something and it has obvious "used defaults", like scuffs or scratches, I would be pissed off and be demanding a discount when I went back to the store, because of my wasted time. But that doesn't mean all returned products should have a discount.
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Deal Addict
Mar 11, 2008
1281 posts
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Langley
brunes wrote: I don't get why some people care about this. As long as it has same return policy and warranty, and is pretty much untouched, who gives a crap?
Its wrong for a company not to inform a customer that they are buying an item that has been previously purchased. If they inform the customer that it is an Open Box item then it is up to the customer if they want to purchase the item or not.
Deal Addict
Oct 25, 2004
1671 posts
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Montreal
I used to work in the receiving dpt of a distributor for various type of electronics. The items would come to us with a problem report, we would fill out the paper work and put the items on various pallets which would be wrapped and sent back to the manufacturer. A lot of the items had nothing wrong with them.
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Sep 24, 2007
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HughG wrote: well one time at canadian tire dumpster i saw a guy dumping a whole bunch of goods in a bin.

went after he left and there was a stereo player, dvd player, a drill set.

All of them were in torn packaging and stuff but they all worked perfect.
We used to be a supplier for Canadian Tire and the way they worked (with us, anyways) is they got a discount on the merchandise they bought to offset any returns. In other words, if they calculated an x% return rate, we would give them a y% discount (based on volume) on their cost of the products, so all returns are taken care of before they even place the product on their shelves. This is why many products returned to them get tossed in the trash (or given to employees) as they've already been compensated for returns/replacements.

Overall, it's a good system for the supplier and the retailer, as nobody has to deal with returns. However, it can be quite wasteful.
Jr. Member
Jun 30, 2007
189 posts
3 upvotes
Hamilton
Most retailers such as Staples, Best Buy, FS have an area in the back (Receiving) where they keep RTV (return to vendor) items. Essentially, all defective items are returned back to the vendor.
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Mar 29, 2006
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Markham
The issue at hand is "defective items", not including "opened and returned" items. These just sit somewhere on premises until they are sent back to the vendor. If the item is brought back under a replacement plan claim (i.e. ESP) then the item is destroyed.

Opened and returned items are formatted/recovered if necessary, repacked and placed back for sale. Sometimes a discount applies, but it shouldn't be expected by anyone.
Newbie
Aug 17, 2005
4 posts
I bought a $200 laser printer at Staples a couple of months ago. When I opened it, I found some parts where missing, and the toner cartridge/drum was already installed.

I returned it, no apologies from Staples, but I did get another one. The guy I dealt with didn't bother verifying that it was used, he said he could tell it was used because there was two layers of packing tape on the box. So now I try and remember to check for this when I buy something expensive.

Also, I bought a bathroom cabinet/vanity a few months ago. It had a very minor nick in it, I didn't notice it but the guy in the warehouse where I picked it up pointed it out to me. It was a fancy vanity, almost $400 - I just expected them to replace the glass door. Instead the manufacturer shipped them a whole new unit. All the store wanted back was the glass door. I assume they trashed the door (and took pictures?) to prove that the item was returned. What a waste, I ended up throwing the original cabinet out.
Deal Expert
Mar 23, 2004
35606 posts
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I'm surprised that no one mentioned the liquidators. :confused:
People mentioned RTV, refurbished goods, back on shelf, etc., but no one mentioned the liquidators? Perhaps it's the vendors that resell this stuff to the liquidators? But that wouldn't make sense considering the variety of goods they get and the nature they get it in.


There's tons of these sellers on eBay selling back stuff that was returned from major electronics retailers like Best Lie, FS, etc...

A lot of them are located in Toronto, in the Concord area. A buddy of mine once looked into opening one of these businesses and he found out these returns are sold by the pallet, often in truckloads, to the liquidators that test and resell them, mainly on eBay.

Many of the items they sell even have store tape/stickers on them from Best Lie, etc. This stuff certainly isn't stolen (there are a lot of businesses selling this stuff back both in Canada and the US) and a lot of it works perfectly (I've bought several items from various sellers), so it has to be the returns that they are getting sold.

You can snag all kinds of "accessories" from liquidators for real cheap too. Speaker stands for like $10, centre channel shelfs (bought two of these and netiher cost over $8 even with the pickup fee, which is usually $5-$6), video game controllers, etc... These things retail for $50-$100 in FS but you get them as the returns/damaged packaging items from places like this, and it's dirt cheap. Most things I've bought are either brand new or darn close to it. They also sell all kinds of other stuff but how cheap you get them depends on how many people bid on it. Since most of it is sold as-is though, it's best to stick to the "accessory" type products.

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