[austonia]

I bought the new DMP-X20 mp3 player in late December, reviewed the unit, and found it unsatisfactory for my needs. I contacted Gateway within 15 days about the return. There was supposed to be a 15-day money back guarantee (as written in thier terms) - but this is deceptive, considering they said that they will charge me a 15% restocking fee. The player was returned in like-new condition and using the proper return procedure given by Gateway. They recieved the player on the morning of January 21 according to UPS tracking. I still have not recieved any refund, or even an acknowledgement of receipt from Gateway. My emails to customer service go unanswered. Now I will have to contact my credit card to have the charges reversed, which is easy enough, and I will not take a 15% hit on the charge. I will have to write an addendum to my DMP-X20 review and lower the score to a C-grade, which puts it in the do-not-buy catagory. This is not the kind of experience I will recommend to anyone, and I don't think my expectations were unreasonable.

 

[DragonFly]

Bad Gateway.

 

[GSTom1]

I'm going to buy a new PC in the next month or so and Gateway isn't even under consideration. Something about them and their products just turn me off. Maybe it's the cowprints they put all over their boxes.

 

[Stephonovich]

You dare insult the Hallowed Cow Spots?

Really, though, what's wrong with Gateway? We had three, from a 486 33 MHz, then a Celeron 333 MHz, and finally, a PIII 550 MHz. (yes, we've upgraded since then, current ones are homebuilt AMD XP 2000+) Never had a problem until this year, when the PIII started rebooting occasionally. We suspect either the power supply or the mother board. (RAM was deemed good) And that was 4 years old when it happened; pretty good for modern computers. As for the 486, if it had a hard drive, it'd work fine. I love those tanks. You can't break them.

(-:Stephonovich

 

[bangraman]

A friend put me on to Gateway. Had an all-round excellent level of service from them. Their products are workmanlike rather than inspirational, lose out on initial impressions to Dell but served me well until Gateway unfortunately shrank back to the US.


I suppose this boils down to how you feel about doing reviews using return policies. Just my opinion, but it seems faintly unethical to bitch about it. If you found no fundamental design defect, no durability issues, no particular functional problems and no definite sound problems then it's not technically speaking a return.

 

[austonia]

Quote:

Originally posted by bangraman I suppose this boils down to how you feel about doing reviews using return policies. Just my opinion, but it seems faintly unethical to bitch about it. If you found no fundamental design defect, no durability issues, no particular functional problems and no definite sound problems then it's not technically speaking a return.

Again, Bangraman.. here you go making incorrect assumptions, and in turn, bad judgements about me. I ordered the player with the intention of keeping it, as stated in my review. I did, in fact, find a software design flaw that made it unsatisfactory, as stated in my review. Maybe you should read it before you comment about my unethical behavior?

Regardless, I can return a product I purchase for any reason, even if I just don't like the color. That's how it works at most places in America, including Gateway.

Bangraman, comments like this show your poor character, and prove that you really do have a big head.

 

[Bionic Gecko]

Quote:

Originally posted by austonia Again, Bangraman.. here you go making incorrect assumptions, and in turn, bad judgements about me. I ordered the player with the intention of keeping it, as stated in my review. I did, in fact, find a software design flaw that made it unsatisfactory, as stated in my review. Maybe you should read it before you comment about my unethical behavior? Regardless, I can return a product I purchase for any reason, even if I just don't like the color. That's how it works at most places in America, including Gateway. Bangraman, comments like this show your poor character, and prove that you really do have a big head.

That isn't how it works in most places really, at least not if you expect full reimbursement. Restocking fees are not at all uncommon, and often you will only get store credit if there is not an actual defect, and often still you can only get a replacement, at least if you've opened it. That IS how MOST retailers work, not few, most.

 

[austonia]

Quote:

Originally posted by Bionic Gecko That isn't how it works in most places really, at least not if you expect full reimbursement. Restocking fees are not at all uncommon, and often you will only get store credit if there is not an actual defect, and often still you can only get a replacement, at least if you've opened it. That IS how MOST retailers work, not few, most.

i don't know where you live man since it's not in your profile, but in the U.S., that is how it works at major retailers. I can buy something at Best Buy, Circuit City, Wallmart, Target, etc.. take it home, try it out, and if I don't like it, I can return it for a full refund within a specified time period (usually 15 to 30 days). Assuming it is in like-new condition and all parts are included.

edit: I've returned products to these stores in the past, so I don't see the argument against it. They offer money-back policies on most items (excluding CD's, software, etc). I'm sure some mom-n-pop shops charge restocking fees, but, like most people here, I shop at the big stores because they offer better prices and better return policies. Some internet vendors charge restocking fees (like Newegg.com) but others do not (Amazon.com). Anyway, I was told at the Gateway store that they had a money-back policy so I expected it to be the same as all the others and that is not the case.

 

[UberNewb]

I personally stay away from Dell and Gateway. Even the higher end machines have junk parts in them. That said, Dell LCDs are about the best out there. And they have an excellent return policy... one dead pixel... send it back, we will send you another one. Most require 5 or 7 dead pixels, which isn't acceptable in my opinion.

I would encourage ALMOST anyone to build their own PC. You can get exactly what you want and build it with quality components. If you can put Legos together, you can build a PC.

 

[austonia]

agreed. I've bought 2 Dell LCD's (17", 18") and been very happy with both. Building the PC is the way to go.. better components, cheaper price. The bad part about building PC's for others is that you become the tech support when screw up Windows with popups and viruses.

 

[utdeep]

austonia,
I don't know when you became such a jerk, but I've put you on my ban list as of this moment.
I'm from Texas and several stores have policies that involve 15% restocking fees if you return the product because you just don't like it. Electronics aren't clothes. Check the online outlets for the stores you've listed and see what their policy is. The fact that you didn't check Gateway's policy before purchasing is a testament to your own stupidity.
Go play with your mini-ipod and leave Bangraman to his opinions. As for him having a big head, take a look at your own pretentious comments over the past few months. Or your self absorbed avatar.

 

[gaijin]

chill out dudes...

Gateway's policies are a little 'deceptive'. They state they will reimburse the full purchase price, and ....

"you will be charged shipping and handling or restocking fees to return products"

I don't fine this statement very clear, and nowhere is it mentioned the figure of 15 percent.

Thanks Austonia for clearing this up for everyone's benefit.

 

[austonia]

Quote:

Originally posted by utdeep austonia, I don't know when you became such a jerk, but I've put you on my ban list as of this moment. I'm from Texas and several stores have policies that involve 15% restocking fees if you return the product because you just don't like it. Electronics aren't clothes. Check the online outlets for the stores you've listed and see what their policy is. The fact that you didn't check Gateway's policy before purchasing is a testament to your own stupidity. Go play with your mini-ipod and leave Bangraman to his opinions. As for him having a big head, take a look at your own pretentious comments over the past few months. Or your self absorbed avatar.

I made your ban list? awesome

By the way, I've lived in Texas, so I can say that most stores there do not charge restocking fees either. How about giving us some specifics instead of just a rant? I've taken products back to all the B&M stores I named, and others, with no penalty. It's perfectly reasonable to take something back if it doesn't meet your expections.

About Gateway, there is a Gateway B&M store here in town, and the sales persons there are the ones who told me there was a 15-day money back guarantee on Gateway products. I went to see the player before I ordered it, and would have bought it there but they only had a demo, no stock.

You are too quick to make judgements without knowing the facts of the matter.

 

[Dweebgal]

i think i'd be retty hacked off if i hadn;t had my money back yet either in austonias defence.

however, on that restocking fe thing, i've seen certain stores in the uk do it, often for electronics goods.

i have my own theory why they do it.

you have returned a perfect working unit to them (it does work, just not how *you* want it to

) so they cant just chuck it out, that would be a waste of money.

they can, (and a lot of places do) sell it on as a refurb, however, they are now losing money on an otherwise perfect product (seeing as refurbs are often sold heavily discounted) so, they charge you 15% in order to try and recoup thier money.

but i do agree, that's really sucky about them not refunding you yet.

 

[bangraman]

I did phrase it briefly. What we have here is a 'no quibble return' policy, if one is offered. So if you're unhappy with it for any reason, you can return it within a certain number of days. The thing is that such policies are not usually offered. If you didn't like the colour, etc then you're expected to return it unused. If you had a functional problem with it (my just-after-release 3G iPod's sound issues + multiple warranty returns on minor failures leaving me exasperated and unwilling to keep it, as well as the Beyer RSX600) then you can return things.


All that seems pretty fair on both sides to me. I think if you're returning something which you don't have any problems with simply because you can and you want to try something else, that's a bit of a case of having the cake and eating it. I can now understand why many US products have such short warranties.


I read your review, and it didn't draw attention to any major failings. Actually it was quite favourable. So that was my thinking at first.