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iPod touch Can I Return my iPod touch to Best Buy if the back is cratched just a bit?

M

matias1021

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 16, 2007
32
0
I wanna return it because of the screen issue but im worried they wont accept it because of the minor scratches in the back...the Screen is perfect, its just the back.

What do you think? I already put my order on Target for $50 cheaper.
 
matias1021 said:
I wanna return it because of the screen issue but im worried they wont accept it because of the minor scratches in the back...the Screen is perfect, its just the back.

What do you think? I already put my order on Target for $50 cheaper.
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Depends how minor they are, there argument might be that even though it had the screen issue you have still been using it, but more then likely they will just exchange it anyway, it makes little/no difference to them because it will just be returned to apple and a replacement sent to the store
 
thanks for the responses..

I've returned plenty stuff at Target and they never even open the box to check, they take my word for it...i was hoping Best Buy was like that too.
 
My 16g had a chip on the front bottom left corner. I dropped it on the driveway and it literally chipped the metal. They took it back.

You are returning it because of the screen, not the scratches. The screen is BAD so the scratches should not make a difference. Just emphasize this to them.

I don't think you will have any problems at all.
 
If you have a receipt, and you have the original package, and you're within their return period, they cannot refuse you a refund unless they have a posted policy about not returning open electronics. But I don't think that's the case--they may want a restocking fee, but again that would have had to be posted, and it couldn't be more than $50.. but if it's 10% and you have a 16g, that's a whole lot of fuss for just a $10 savings...
 
wongulous said:
If you have a receipt, and you have the original package, and you're within their return period, they cannot refuse you a refund unless they have a posted policy about not returning open electronics. But I don't think that's the case--they may want a restocking fee, but again that would have had to be posted, and it couldn't be more than $50.. but if it's 10% and you have a 16g, that's a whole lot of fuss for just a $10 savings...
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i work for bby-
there is no restocking fee on any ipod product, also there is a sign posted at all locations that says best buy can deny a return for any reason. most people don't read the signs. =P (it's the big 9 3x3ft panels that are posted up near customer service and the registers)...

but i don't think the OP would have a problem returning it with just a few scratches
if it was SERIOUSLY damaged, like a cracked screen, that would be denied
 
Well, I was unaware that they could refuse a return in original condition with a receipt "for any reason," and that seems really questionable/potentially unethical. Still, your credit card company or bank (debit card) likely has a policy that would force them to accept a return (well, they refund it and take the item and arbitrate themselves with the company). Visa and AmEx are great with this, and my personal bank has gone to bat for me a couple of times.
 
wongulous said:
Well, I was unaware that they could refuse a return in original condition with a receipt "for any reason," and that seems really questionable/potentially unethical.
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Kinda ironic, since that policy is about their only way to stop someone from trying to make a questionable/potentially unethical return. :D
 
wongulous said:
Well, I was unaware that they could refuse a return in original condition with a receipt "for any reason," and that seems really questionable/potentially unethical. Still, your credit card company or bank (debit card) likely has a policy that would force them to accept a return (well, they refund it and take the item and arbitrate themselves with the company). Visa and AmEx are great with this, and my personal bank has gone to bat for me a couple of times.
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While it is vague enough to be abused, I don't consider it unethical in that they have clearly posted their policy, and it is up to you to decide whether to buy from them or not.

In general, most BB employees operate on good faith (and apparently better than most Apple stores.) Some faint scratches on the chrome back of an iPod is almost unavoidable, so I don't think they'd have a problem with that. But if you dented or gouged it somehow, then you obviously dropped it or somehow mistreated the unit.

Most retailers have tightened up their return policies, due to customer abuse. Big retailers like BB operate on small margins as is, and customer returns eat into that. I'm not defending or justifying their actions, but I'm not surprised at their rules. When I got my Touch, I covered the back with the sticky cover that it came with that covers the screen, because I knew there was a decent chance I would have to return it (due to all the reports of bad screens.)
 
mad max is right, best buy HAS to post that to protect themselves from returns that will lose them money. most people don't realize that businesses are here to make MONEY, not to lose it. yes, best buy is also there to make their customers happy...but if you make the customers happy TOO much by giving them free things or doing things that lose the company money, eventually there won't be a business to make the customers happy anymore.

when you make a return on a product that is defective best buy gets credit for it from the manufacturer. when the product is considered abused or if there is no thing wrong with it, we don't get credit and have to eat the cost. there are so many possibilities, that clause (denial of returns) is needed to protect the business. this happens more often than you think. best buy is a business. if you ran your own business, would you want to lose money?

most of the time, stupid people try to return things 6 months later and expect us to exchange it. there are a million other things stupid people try to do (that us SMART people who use and love Apple products do not) that best buy has to protect themselves against that too. it's really crazy what some people try to do and expect us to do it (or claim that they didn't do, when it was obvious they did)

we try to help out people as best as we can within the policy and rules that are set for us to follow. (at least at my store)

in any case, if you are within the exchange/return policy you can return any item for any reason (any item without a restocking fee (if you opened it), or else you pay that) as long as it's not damaged or abused in ways that are not covered by the warranty of the manufacturer (ie: cracked LCD, broken pieces, missing pieces).
 
wongulous said:
If you have a receipt, and you have the original package, and you're within their return period, they cannot refuse you a refund unless they have a posted policy about not returning open electronics. But I don't think that's the case--they may want a restocking fee, but again that would have had to be posted, and it couldn't be more than $50.. but if it's 10% and you have a 16g, that's a whole lot of fuss for just a $10 savings...
Click to expand...

best buy doesnt have a restocking fee
 
after the update my ipod touch really looks good now...i dont know what excuse to use to return it.

Is saying "Target has it for $50 cheaper" a good enough excuse:confused:
 
matias1021 said:
after the update my ipod touch really looks good now...i dont know what excuse to use to return it.

Is saying "Target has it for $50 cheaper" a good enough excuse:confused:
Click to expand...

say it has the negative effect and you want to exchange it with a week 38....dont tell them you did the update...dont tell them that it looks better....dont try to show them the problem...just say it has a screen problem and you want to exchange....plus on the reciet it says to delete all personal stuff....so im going to do a full restore when i return mine(delete everything) so even if they do ask i wont have a video to show them....but i posted a thread awhile back...most people said that they did NOT ask to see the problem.

i hope this works for me.
 
hatcher146 said:
say it has the negative effect and you want to exchange it with a week 38....dont tell them you did the update...dont tell them that it looks better....dont try to show them the problem...just say it has a screen problem and you want to exchange....plus on the reciet it says to delete all personal stuff....so im going to do a full restore when i return mine(delete everything) so even if they do ask i wont have a video to show them....but i posted a thread awhile back...most people said that they did NOT ask to see the problem.

i hope this works for me.
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ok ill do that..thanks hatcher.
 
I bought my ipod touch about 2 weeks ago, and it was one of the defective screen ones, so I decided to try and take it back. I went to the Apple Store and asked if they knew about the issue and what they would do; they were willing to take it back and replace it with a new one; however, they were out of stock at the time. So I called the store everyday until they had some in-stock, finally they did 4 days later.

Heres this **** of the story. I head up to the store and... I drop my touch getting out of my car (about 1'6" ft off the ground), and it landed on the corner making a small dent in the cheap ass plastic part. I walked into the store and they told me they couldn't take it anymore because I voided the warranty 30 sec before I walked in the store by accidentally dropping it like every other human being on this earth has accidents. It's ******** because they have this plastic around the outside that is prone to damage of the lightest drop. If it were a normal iPod, nothing would have happened because it's metal. If you looked at my old ipod nano, you wouldn't be able to tell that i dropped it off my staircase at 10 ft last year. I tried taking it back to 3 different Best Buys but I got the same answer. I even bought the extended warranty at Best Buy but that doesn't make a **** difference. What's worse is Apple doesn't even provide its consumers with a case for their product to help prevent damage and situations like this. buuuuuuuuuullllllshiiiiiitttt

Anyone have any suggestions? Am I being irrational? Does anyone know if the plastic under the gray paint is a different color, would it hurt to sand it and try to smooth it out to make it unnoticeable?

Thanks,
Ryan
 
mackry said:
Anyone have any suggestions? Am I being irrational? Does anyone know if the plastic under the gray paint is a different color, would it hurt to sand it and try to smooth it out to make it unnoticeable?

Thanks,
Ryan
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You are being unreasonable. You should have put the iPod back in it's box (if you still have it, which you should) when you are bringing it back so things like this don't happen. Also a person should take more care when returning things like this because they should know the outcome of further damage.

As the old addage says: you broke it, you bought it! You had an iPod with a screen defect, but otherwise good, and you damaged it.
 
TBi said:
You are being unreasonable. You should have put the iPod back in it's box (if you still have it, which you should) when you are bringing it back so things like this don't happen. Also a person should take more care when returning things like this because they should know the outcome of further damage.

As the old addage says: you broke it, you bought it! You had an iPod with a screen defect, but otherwise good, and you damaged it.
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The funny thing is, I didn't break it at all. It works perfectly fine except for a tiny little dent in the corner.
 
mackry said:
The funny thing is, I didn't break it at all. It works perfectly fine except for a tiny little dent in the corner.
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Thinking about it though. They did agree to replace it because it was faulty. You could argue that line that they had agreed to replace it. Although they could argue that you should have handed it in and waited for the new version.
 
I just returned my Week 37 today and when asked I told them the screen colors were a bit off. She promptly gave me refund and the printed a ticket which said "return to sales floor and apply proper discount"
 
TBi said:
Thinking about it though. They did agree to replace it because it was faulty. You could argue that line that they had agreed to replace it. Although they could argue that you should have handed it in and waited for the new version.
Click to expand...
Yea I could try that, but I'm not a great glib talker heh. I might try though if all else fails. Thanks


richardhunt said:
I just returned my Week 37 today and when asked I told them the screen colors were a bit off. She promptly gave me refund and the printed a ticket which said "return to sales floor and apply proper discount"
Click to expand...
She didn't even look at it? Wow, nice employee :)

Does anyone know where I can shrink wrap the ipod touch box as if it has never been opened? ^_^ Or would that be wrong? :p
 
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