Anybody bought computer equipment from Costco?

[hajime]

Hello, I ordered a brand new HP laser printer from Costco since it is less expensive buying there than from HP. People in local Costco store told me that this business class laser printer is not available in any of their local stores but is available through their online store. She said that it will be sent from the vendor (I guess in this case HP). The delivery was delayed partly because of Costco did not write down the apartment number and partly because of the irresponsibility of the driver (long story). Anyway, after lots of complaints to the ups manager about the delivery guy, the package finally arrived. From the look of the box, looks like the printer has been sitting in the warehouse for a long time or was not handled nicely. It seems that it was subjected to some abuse. I also found a big hole in the box. Should I open it and try out the printer or just return to Costco?

 

[lostom]

Open it and see if it's OK, If not return to Costco

 

[hajime]

From the look of the box (all sides damaged and in a very bad condition), it is like it came from a garbage collection center or used as an object for kick boxers to practice! The seal was also broken. Could be a returned product sold as new. I would not even consider this product if I saw it in the store selling at $1.

The selling cost in Costco is about $35 less than that in HP. In general, is this the price to pay for buying from stores like Costco?

 

[merkinmuffley]

Clearly you're not happy with the box. Return it, Costco is very easy with returns and move on. Order another one, maybe you can find the box you want if you keep this process up long enough.

 

[hajime]

A poor box condition is an indication that the product had been thrown around. Thus, the chance of the printer having issues could be higher.
[doublepost=1470408466][/doublepost]In general, is it better to order direct from the manufacturers because they might have the latest version update? Those in the warehouse might have been sitting there for months.

 

[chscag]

I've ordered HP equipment direct from Costco before without any problems whatsoever. You were just unlucky and received a damaged package. As others have said, return it to Costco and they will refund your money plus any shipping charges you paid. Ordering direct from HP is no guarantee that the box will be handled with care; that depends entirely on the carrier used.

 

[kingtj]

I'd have to say I agree.
I recently bought a Dell XPS13 from Costco online, and it arrived in great condition. In the past, I did computer service work for a guy with a small business who bought all his hardware from Costco (probably more of it in the local store than mail order direct, but still....). He had no complaints and insisted on Costco because of their generous extension of manufacturer warranties on most of the systems.

I think there's a certain amount of risk involved any time you get a big, heavy product shipped to you though. I once ordered an HP color laser printer that was "business class" and fairly large, and it was absolutely destroyed by UPS. The box had a big hole in the side where it had been kicked, and one whole plastic side panel of the printer was completely broken off the frame. And just recently, I tried to ship a heavy/bulky piece of Cisco firewall gear to someone, only to find UPS had damaged it too. (One side of the box was all beat up and the firewall unit was smashed in, in one corner.)

Sometimes it's worth paying a little more to buy these types of things locally, because basically, you're paying a bit more for the convenience of letting them sort out the problem deliveries and only selling you the undamaged ones in inventory.

I've ordered HP equipment direct from Costco before without any problems whatsoever. You were just unlucky and received a damaged package. As others have said, return it to Costco and they will refund your money plus any shipping charges you paid. Ordering direct from HP is no guarantee that the box will be handled with care; that depends entirely on the carrier used.

 

[hajime]

I'd have to say I agree.
I recently bought a Dell XPS13 from Costco online, and it arrived in great condition. In the past, I did computer service work for a guy with a small business who bought all his hardware from Costco (probably more of it in the local store than mail order direct, but still....). He had no complaints and insisted on Costco because of their generous extension of manufacturer warranties on most of the systems.

I think there's a certain amount of risk involved any time you get a big, heavy product shipped to you though. I once ordered an HP color laser printer that was "business class" and fairly large, and it was absolutely destroyed by UPS. The box had a big hole in the side where it had been kicked, and one whole plastic side panel of the printer was completely broken off the frame. And just recently, I tried to ship a heavy/bulky piece of Cisco firewall gear to someone, only to find UPS had damaged it too. (One side of the box was all beat up and the firewall unit was smashed in, in one corner.)

Sometimes it's worth paying a little more to buy these types of things locally, because basically, you're paying a bit more for the convenience of letting them sort out the problem deliveries and only selling you the undamaged ones in inventory.

Thanks for the advice. Unfortunately, I cannot find the HP M477fdw in any local store. As it is on sale, the price is similar to that of the M277DW which is available in local store.

 

[hajime]

I took the printer to Costco for a refund. The agent agreed that the condition was horrible. I asked her how could Costco sent me something like that. She just said that it could be the delivery person...

How is Purolator compared with UPS in terms of care in handling heavy large items? Given a choice, which courier company would you choose?

 

[dacreativeguy]

I'm sure Costco isn't the problem.

 

[maflynn]

Costco has great customer service, this isn't on them. Clearly its on the carrier, and if I had to sign for a product that was as damaged as that, I'd not. I would refused delivery.

How is Purolator compared with UPS in terms of care in handling heavy large items? Given a choice, which courier company would you choose?

If I had a choice, I'd go with UPS, but that's because I have a good track record with them. I don't recall seeing Purolator in my area for many years

 

[chscag]

If you have to choose another carrier, go with FedEx. Perhaps a bit more expensive than UPS but they generally do a better job of handling large packages. At least that has been my experience.