[rbf1138]

This week I ordered four pairs of IEMs to test out from Amazon. Now, I have no intention on keeping all four sets but I'm also starting to wonder what the limit is on returns before an account gets banned. There are lots of anecdotal stories from people online about their returns and subsequent bans but there's no real way of knowing what amount of money, items, etc. is required to get in trouble.

Has anyone here had any issues with this? Has anyone here or anyone you know been banned without first getting a warning about your return activity? I spend tens of thousands of dollars a year at Amazon, so I have to imagine my returns would have to cost enough that it'd be worthwhile to them to close my account. I also wonder if paying for the return shipping helps mitigate a "return penalty" score somewhere but who knows.

Anyway, thought this might be a good discussion.

 

[Amberlamps]

IEM's to "Test Out"

You do realise folk put iem's in their ears, why would anyone want to buy a set that you just tested and returned ?

Sorry, but I do not agree with your iem testing stance, as you have ordered 4 pairs of iem's and I will take a guess and say that you will probably return atleast 3 sets after "testing" them, thus making them unsaleable at the full rrp. Somebody will lose money because of your dodgy shopping technique.

No wonder companies put their prices up if schiit like that is happening on a huge scale.

 

[Spareribs]

 

[rbf1138]

IEM's to "Test Out"

You do realise folk put iem's in their ears, why would anyone want to buy a set that you just tested and returned ?

Sorry, but I do not agree with your iem testing stance, as you have ordered 4 pairs of iem's and I will take a guess and say that you will probably return atleast 3 sets after "testing" them, thus making them unsaleable at the full rrp. Somebody will lose money because of your dodgy shopping technique.

No wonder companies put their prices up if schiit like that is happening on a huge scale.

So basically people should just buy headphones that cost several hundred dollars, with no way to know how they’ll sound or how they’ll fit, and keep them even if they don’t sound good or fit well? If I had any place to go and demo them I absolutely would, and I’d buy from a local shop. However, that’s not the case in the vast majority of the US. Additionally, I hardly feel bad for a company like Amazon who is an absolutely massive corporation who no one should have any sympathy for, imo. If I were buying these from a local shop a. they’d have a very different return policy and b. they’d truly be in danger of going out of business if they had super lax return policies.

This is not why companies like Amazon raise prices. If they had an issue with it they’d change their return policy for items like this.

 

[crazychile]

So basically people should just buy headphones that cost several hundred dollars, with no way to know how they’ll sound or how they’ll fit, and keep them even if they don’t sound good or fit well? If I had any place to go and demo them I absolutely would, and I’d buy from a local shop. However, that’s not the case in the vast majority of the US. Additionally, I hardly feel bad for a company like Amazon who is an absolutely massive corporation who no one should have any sympathy for, imo. If I were buying these from a local shop a. they’d have a very different return policy and b. they’d truly be in danger of going out of business if they had super lax return policies.

This is not why companies like Amazon raise prices. If they had an issue with it they’d change their return policy for items like this.

Amazon is rarely the one that takes the hit. It's the manufacturer/vendor/distributor that supplies to Amazon that suffers. Usually it's just Amazon that brokers the deal for a fee. They don't care if you send IEMs back with a load of ear cheese on them.

When you return them do you mark the item as defective so you get all the $$ back or honest and admit that you just didn't want them?

 

[rbf1138]

Amazon is rarely the one that takes the hit. It's the manufacturer/vendor/distributor that supplies to Amazon that suffers. Usually it's just Amazon that brokers the deal for a fee. They don't care if you send IEMs back with a load of ear cheese on them.

When you return them do you mark the item as defective so you get all the $$ back or honest and admit that you just didn't want them?

Recently if the fit of a headphone is not good, I just say it didn't fit and I opt to pay for return shipping.

 

[CANiSLAYu]

Agree with everyone else what you’re doing is wrong if it’s intentional. Buy secondhand on the forum and resell if you don’t like it so the financial impact is minimal. Reach out to dealers and ask if they have loaner programs. The Cable Company has a lending library where you rent for a fee and when you buy something the rental fees are applied to your purchase. Make your way to a CanJam or local meet. There are other ways to “try before you buy” other than abusing return policies.

Like others have said, it’s not Amazon left holding the bag; it’s usually the manufacturer or distributor that gets saddled with the return. This is why Schiit charges higher prices on Amazon versus direct through their website because people pull this kind of stuff...

Do you engage in this behavior with other commodities? Perhaps buy 5 different brands of toilet paper to see which you like best and return the rest? I’d certainly hope not, so why should headphones be different?

 

[ryanlowry]

I buy some source components from amazon to see if I like them and then sell if I like to buy used