Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Forgot to pack my power cord! :(
- Thread starter Pngwyn
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Yeah you do. You intended to buy the power adaptor with the intent of using it so they can't sell it again (or at least have to take a hit in reducing price of it). You basically did steal from them ... you stole the value of that power adaptor by using it with all intents to just return it.
It's called if you can't afford another 90 dollar power adaptor, then you learn to be without your computer til you get yours back. No one said you had to use your computer. And if you really had a *need* for your computer, well then you should have eaten the cost cause it was obviously worth it.
That being said, I hate Best Buy so at least you chose a store that's just as unscrupulous to its customers. But I still don't think it's right and I don't care how poor you are. I don't make much money either and I would not have thought of pulling off such a shady stunt, even to a store that I literally won't spend a penny at I hate them that much.
It's rumored that 'the blair witch project' was filmed using a 'loaned' video camera.
'he who is without sin, cast the first stone'
'he who is without sin, cast the first stone'
My personal opinion (for the OP): do the "Best Buy Maneuver". Some people talk about ethics - realize, folks, that Best Buy turns around and resells this as Open Box - resulting in sometimes a significant savings for another buyer who actually DOES need a power supply because theirs failed. The store isn't losing anything. They know people do this. They just don't really care, otherwise they'd stop returns altogether and lose business.
The used power adapter WILL sell though. I've bought plenty of open box items at crazy good prices and I imagine there are consumers who appreciate these deals for people who have done things like this. I know for sure I hated paying $80+ for my spare.
Yeah, it will sell, for less price than they would have gotten if they had sold it new. But they still paid the same price for it either way. As I said, the guy stole the value of it from them as they could not sell it for as much anymore.
Anyways, I still consider it unethical (and it is a reason a lot more stores that used to have good return policies are clamping down. So when that store that you used to enjoy an easy return policy starts being stricter, it is people like OP you can blame for that. Like Target and Walmart. No, they don't like it when customers abuse return policies like that. And when it happens too much and they're losing too much money from it, they'll decide having a good return policy that attracts more customers isn't worth the money they lose from people abusing the return policy).
Tigress666 (interesting name), I sell professional video cameras. AT our company if you buy a camera and want to return it we charge a restocking fee. On the other hand, we rent power supplies for professional cameras. I wonder if there is local companies that rent PS's for MBP's?
I was on a business trip Thursday and Friday and one of the men traveling with us said he needed to go to a store and buy a PS for his MBP (he forgot his PS). I said you can borrow mine to charge your computer. It seems to me the kid could have borrowed one or had his shipped overnight to him instead of taking advantage of Best Buys return practice. In truth people do this all the time.
I understand that the OP doesn't want to drop $90 on a new power supply. I too have been annoyed that I keep leaving my power brick at work.
I also balked at the £50 it is here in the uk for a new supply, but a quick look at ebay, and you can get 'generic' bricks which cost me £22, which is much more palatable and at $40 for you guys, it's a no brainer really!
I also balked at the £50 it is here in the uk for a new supply, but a quick look at ebay, and you can get 'generic' bricks which cost me £22, which is much more palatable and at $40 for you guys, it's a no brainer really!
Do you honestly think Best Buy paid the same $80-$90 for that power adapter? No. You need to understand what wholesale means. They paid likely about $60 for it - Open Box it will sell for about $75. They STILL make a profit.
You don't understand the arguement at all. Of course I realize they didn't pay that much for it. They wouldn't be able to stay in business if they didn't sell it for more than they paid for it.
The point is they lost 15 dollars or whatever amount they had to discount it that they could have sold it if some one hadn't bought it with plans of returning it. If he had not bought it they could have sold it to some one who had full intentions of keeping it and would have been able to get the full amount for it. By returning the power cord, he cost them extra value of that cord they could have sold it for. They price those things accordingly to what will sell it the most while still getting enough profit to pay everyone who works for them. So now he's forcing them to sell it at less of that price and even though they are charging more than they pay they still have overhead like the cost of the building rental and operation costs to pay that eats into the "profit" from each sell.
Would you be happy if you sold something, person returned it, and then you had to sell it for less because now it lost value since the person used it? That is 15 dollars you lost because they bought and returned it (with intentions of doing so) when you could have sold it to some one else who had full intentions of buying it and made that extra 15 dollars.
As I said, he stole value from them by using it with no intentions of actually keeping it.
Ah, I see. So, some people abuse return polices not because they lack ethics, but because they lack intelligence.
PEOPLE--There is nothing that you can say or do that will change the OP's mind about returning the power adapter. He is going to do what he wants, and will obviously not listen to our logic. OP--Do whatever you think is right, there is nothing that I can do to change your mind.
I have 1. One for my desk which I also use when I move to the living room and I take with me in my bag too.
You can always have one as long as you are careful enough not to forget it, which I think it's difficult to do since all electronic equipment requires juice sooner or later...
Yes... I was being ironic... but I don't see the point of spare ones because it's a waste of money and it's not environmentally friendly (manufacturing and later recycling). One is enough, a little bit of discipline when moving the equipment around will make sure the power cord is never forgotten
Actually, they are synonymous. You made Best Buy take the loss for your mistake. No different than stealing merchandise from Best Buy.
The honest thing to do would be to sell the power supply on EBay or Craigslist and take the loss yourself.
Here's what I gleaned from what you wrote.
"You should feel bad!! You're cheating Best Buy out of that extra $15 profit!!"
Guess what, I don't.
- Best Buy charges MORE in tax than they legally have to. That extra is going straight into their pockets. Don't believe me, do the math.
- Best Buy prices their items directly at the highest they can get away with being often the only local option. Yes, I know it's their right. Doesn't force me to like it.
- Best Buy charges a hefty restock fee on some electronics items. On a $1,000 laptop they'll charge you $100 and open box it for $950. Know what that is? PROFIT.
- Geek Squad is a ripoff, designed to take advantage of consumers who don't know any better. In most companies your IT department will be more than willing to look at your computer for free. Geek Squad has got to be the single biggest profit generator for Best Buy.
So, you'll forgive me if I don't shed a tear for a company that more than makes up for any potential losses by reaming customers otherwise.