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Apple Eliminating Restocking Fees at Apple Stores, Adding Personal Setup for Macs
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Actually, by offering to set up the Mac, Apple will be eliminating most of the reason for returning a computer. If everything works when you get it home, why take it back?
You mean when you return your computer to Best Buy,then they reformat the computer put it back in the same box and sell it back to the customers as brand new and not as refurbished...
Yah Best Buy been doing that for years....
I'd say they are taking notes from Lands End whose guarantee was so good that the German courts couldn't believe it was real and forced Lands End to not advertise it in Germany. So they changed their advertising to read, "A guarantee so good it's been banned in Germany."
By raising the bar at unexpected times and throughout their marketing/product infrastructure, Apple is making it harder and harder for aspiring competitors to put together as strong a marketing plan as they could otherwise. It is essential for a market leader to have a plan to keep control of the market they are driving.
The "catchup competitors" then have a much harder job of ranging their artillery in on where they need to be in the future in order to score a "hit."
The MS7 phone comes to mind. It was designed to grab the personal phone market where Apple was in 2006. Apple has since nudged their market to focus on the iPhone for people who need it in business as well as their personal phone, leaving MS7 largely still trying to appeal to the users that shunned the MS Kin phones. At the end of 2010 MS released a phone that would have been a strong competitor to the iPhone circa June 2006.
While to some extent this has also affected the success of the Android-based phones, the various manufacturers of Android phones have proven to be more agile than MS, and may be able to scramble after Apple with more success.
That is awesome i never had to return anything apple but sill a great policy non the less. And as for setting up your mac that is great for many people, you could be surprised how many people are truly clueless.
For the record, I believe Apple already has the best Customer Service of any business I've dealt with! At least for me they have been great!
For the record, major surveys agree with your assessment 100%.
Soap is your friend, use it regularly. Surprisingly, the Apple store will smell better.
Yes. But more importantly: Here's to Quality Control that'll ensure products that are so good they won't need a two year warranty!
This will will help me convince my Uncle to take the leap. Not the norm, but he is the type to say "Why should I buy a $2000 laptop from a company that is scared I will return it?"
If i can get all my relatives on macs my remote tech support will become so much easier.
If i can get all my relatives on macs my remote tech support will become so much easier.
excellent news!
While I hope I never repeat 2010 as far as Mac purchases and returns, this is wonderful news.
I suppose this might be slight compensation for all the returns due to damaged or kaput product?
Regardless, this is a smart and great move by Apple.
Yeah!
While I hope I never repeat 2010 as far as Mac purchases and returns, this is wonderful news.
I suppose this might be slight compensation for all the returns due to damaged or kaput product?
Regardless, this is a smart and great move by Apple.
Yeah!
Might be the kick in the ass I need to finally try an Apple display. I'm a bit concerned about potential glare, and it would be nice to be able to use my student discount.
i'm glad to see both. with no restocking fees, people feel better about buying it if they aren't quite sure. and the personal setup is great
Having said that, the Applecare is worth buying if you are a professional user. When a 30" monitor failed at my studio Apple shipped me one while I was on the call and said to place mine in the same packaging to return it for repair or replacement. I had called in the evening EST and it arrive 9 a.m. the next morning. I had virtually no down time. I doubt threatening Apple with a law suit would achieve quite the same result
Good point there I guess! I will hand it to Apple though they do have an excellent track record with Applecare so maybe it was a little unfair of me to totally out their protection plan. Just remembered my dad got an MBP and when he received it had the issue of the lid not totally folding flat. Rang Apple straight away and next day voila new MBP. Maybe I jumped the gun a bit there!
Since Apple has eliminated their restocking fees at their retail stores, does this apply to their online orders as well? I went to Apple's site today, and they still have the usual 10% restocking fee as part of their returns policy.
I do hope this applies to their website since it will let me purchase any Mac without reservation if I want to exchange it for any reason.
David Raymore
I do hope this applies to their website since it will let me purchase any Mac without reservation if I want to exchange it for any reason.
David Raymore
I am from the UK and if you purchase a faulty Apple product and wish to return then obviously you cannot be charged a "re-stocking fee". The position is different if you simply change your mind - the retailer is under no legal obligation to refund you (this is a common misconception because most retailers do so as a gesture of goodwill). If Apple wishes to charge a fee in these circumstances it is perfectly entitled to do so.
Somebody mentioned the European directive relating to faulty goods earlier in the thread (this is based on the concept that if you are buying something like a laptop/TV it is reasonable to expect it to last more than one year) - if only more people were aware of this then retailers shafting customers with overpriced extended warranties would be a thing of the past. I purchased an Acer laptop a few years ago - 13 months later the motherboard expired and Acer refused to repair it as it was outwith their 1 year guarantee. I sent a letter outlining their obligations under the directive which they ignored. I followed it up with an action under the small claims procedure and two weeks before the case was called I received a full refund.
I then bought a MB/iphone and have found Apple service to be first class in every respect. After about 6 months a crack appeared in the MB case where your palms rest - took into a genuis bar and was told it was a known fault and 15 mins later it was replaced!
Somebody mentioned the European directive relating to faulty goods earlier in the thread (this is based on the concept that if you are buying something like a laptop/TV it is reasonable to expect it to last more than one year) - if only more people were aware of this then retailers shafting customers with overpriced extended warranties would be a thing of the past. I purchased an Acer laptop a few years ago - 13 months later the motherboard expired and Acer refused to repair it as it was outwith their 1 year guarantee. I sent a letter outlining their obligations under the directive which they ignored. I followed it up with an action under the small claims procedure and two weeks before the case was called I received a full refund.
I then bought a MB/iphone and have found Apple service to be first class in every respect. After about 6 months a crack appeared in the MB case where your palms rest - took into a genuis bar and was told it was a known fault and 15 mins later it was replaced!