Projector Buying Store Stupidity (1 Viewer)

[Dick J]

Has anyone else run into the restocking fees that some stores (like Best Buy) charge when you have the audacity to actually want to SEE the picture that their projectors provide? Since none of these large chains have any projectors set up to see & compare, I guess the customer is supposed to just trust the salesman & fork over a few thousand dollars ........sight unseen!!
Based largely on this forum, I bought an Infocus 4805 from Circuit City only after they agreed to let me try it out for a week & return it with no fee. (Best Buy wouldn't even agree to this!)
Anyway....I loved the picture & ended up keeping the 4805 but the ludicracy of a store charging a restocking fee (which could be hundreds of $$$$$'s in the case of a projector) on a unit that you have no way to try out without buying it & trying it at home is just plain stupid!
Any thoughts or does anyone want to defend these stores?

 

[John S]

No defense here... I demand a 30 day trial with no restocking fees on every purchase. Internet purchases as well as brick and mortor store purchases.


Many things in HT are just to room and equipment combo specific on this one.

 

[Joe Szott]

You would think that any serious A/V retailer (even BB or CC) would have one 'demo' unit of each product they sell to either let the customer play with it in the store, or at home for a couple of days (obviously some sort of deposit is required.)

This is why I endeavor to buy my A/V goodies from Costco whenever possible, they have that nice "return it for any reason forever" policy that is kind of nice . I don't abuse it, but they get my sale since I know that if the product is ever unsatisfactory or defective I'm covered.

 

[John S]

Well, the best part is that there are retailers out there, both internet and brick and mortor stores that offer this. We don't have to buy it at Best Buy.


I have not bought anything there in a while. This may be the reason, I don't really remember. CC always honors such a return policy in my experiences with them.

 

[markMGB]

Just out of curisoty, how is the picture sharpness on the 4805? I was looking into buying the same exact one, but I got kinda scared because of the low lumen output and the low resolution. I live in Montreal, Canada, and have no choice BUT to order online, and its hard to find a place that will let me exchange the projectors if I don't like it! All the stores here are trying to sell insaley overpriced projectors with 1/4 of the performance of the ones from the internet!

 

[Carl Johnson]

I can't say that I blame a store for taking steps to discourage customers from using the 30 day return policy as an opportunity to use the projector for 29 days just to bring it back without having to pay. Based on the number of returns that I had to process back when I was selling home theater gear at Circuit City I'd be willing to bet that without the restocking fee a third of the projectors sold as new would have to be put back on the shelves with open box discounts because they were bought by customers who's plan was to buy it for just long enough to watch the game.

 

[Dick J]

The picture quality & sharpness is great on the 4805!
Carl......would you buy a car if the deal was you couldn't drive it, sit in it or even see it unless you agreed to buy it first?? ( & of course pay the dealer a 15% restocking fee if you didn't like it)
How about a house, a boat or anything that cost over $1,000.00 for that matter??

 

[Dick J]

John, I don't buy anything from Best Buy anymore either. Buying from Best Buy is like buying from a sleazy, high-pressure used car dealership! (I've had department managers try to "work me over" when I refused to buy an extended warranty) Circuit City seems much more honest.

 

[Carl Johnson]

No I would not buy that car. But if I was selling a product that could only be sold as new once and was notorious for attracting customers looking to buy it, use it for a few days and return it I would seriously consider charging a restocking fee. Without it stores would have to raise the price on every unit that they sell to cover the losses brought on by customers who make a habit of 'renting' merchandise.

 

[Dick J]

ok Carl.....Then how about setting them up to be viewed in the store? (if this is not possible then perhaps the store has no business even carrying such products!)I can't imagine ANY circumstances that would justify selling an item...sight unseen......& then offering no way for an interested customer to demo it.

 

[Jimi C]

None of the projectors Best Buy sells are worth looking at anyway. I should know, mine is from there. They are all business projectors. I got a great price on my Toshiba, so Im moderatly happy. But, at full price, dont waste your time. The 4805 is the clear king of the budget projectors.

Jim

 

[John S]

Best Buy sells the 4805, pretty sure.. Which is what prompted the poster to start this thread. No way to try it out, without a hefty re-stocking fee.

 

[Jimi C]

"Best Buy sells the 4805, pretty sure.. Which is what prompted the poster to start this thread. No way to try it out, without a hefty re-stocking fee."

They dont have it in the store near me or on the web site.

 

[Carl Johnson]

Considering that for the most part big box retailers don't take take the time to properly set up and calibrate the multi thousand dollar television sets that they are trying to sell the odds that they would even attempt to set up a screening area to compare video projectors is somewhere between slim and none.
A program where customers could do in home demos for projectors would take so much effort that it just might turn off more customers than the fear of having to pay a restocking fee. At a minimum the store would have to put a hold on the customer's credit card for the full purchase price of the projector, and if the customer changes their mind what then? This process was brought about by a backlash against paying a restocking fee so that option is dead. The next best option that I can come up with is to give the customer a refund in the form of an in store credit, and that would most certainly draw more complaints than the restocking fee that we're trying to get rid of.

 

[Allan Jayne]

Ask the salesman to demonstrate it for you and then wait for him to respond.

Let him suggest you take one home to try out and then you suggest a free trial with no restocking fee.

Even with a car you can do a test drive -- demo it in the dealership and environs.

Video hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/video.htm

 

[Mike Boniferro]

Check out best buy canada's website

http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/subcla...EN&catid=23252

Definately some decent projectors there... and no restocking fees. It's amazing how different the US seems to be!!

I can see the point in having a policy on things like DVD recorders and projectors that there is a restocking fee since so many customers do 'rent' these units with no intention of every keeping them... but the stores really have to be willing to waive the restocking fee for customers who make that deal beforehand who are obviously not trying to take advantage.

The businessman from out of town who comes in to purchase a projector on thursday and returns it on friday with 3 or 4 hours on the lamp once the presentation is over is a different story!

 

[joseph westcott]

I am more offended by BB when they want to check my bags when I leave.

I do not appreciate being treated like a thief!!!

Fry's does not get my business either, because of this.

 

[Mike Boniferro]

or Costco or Sams, or grocery stores that want to see the little sticker they put on large items that don't fit in bags....