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Is there a way to avoid the 10% restocking fee?

S

scottintosh

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 15, 2008
74
0
Hello, I recently bought the new 2.4ghz aluminum macbook and at first was very impressed with it.

However, after using it more and trying to watch a movie at any sort of angle, I have come to believe that this computer is not worth $1600. I feel that for such a high price I should be nothing short of impressed. This is my first apple notebook, so i don't have an older one to compare it to, but im sad that it doesn't meet my expectation.

The apple refurb store has a refurb MB pro 2.4 (previous gen) for like $1300, I feel that that notebook is of far greater value. I have heard that the screens are of better quality on the old MB Pro than the new MB.

People say that the new MBs are of much higher quality, but what about the new MBs compared to the previous gen MB pros?

I would like to return this one ( i purchased from an apple store in washington.) and then go online and purchase the previous gen MBP of less money.

Is there a way to get by with not having to pay the 10% restocking fee?
Thank you.
 
No, not really. There's no way to properly deal with buyer's remorse. haha :p
 
Call Apple sales, ask them if they will waive the restocking fee if you place another order on the phone with them. This has worked for me before, also have been successful with this with HP & Lenovo. Bottom line is they want to make, or at least not loose a sale
 
Jpoon said:
No, not really. There's no way to properly deal with buyer's remorse. haha :p
Click to expand...

Not necessarily.. There was no buyer remorse on my part. I returned a computer that obviously had an inadequate display. In proving that, I took my Air into the store and set it right next to the MB. I proceeded to demo how poor the display viewing angle, lack of dark hue differentiation and distorted black levels from bottom to top of display. Then I....

I think they wanted me the f.... outta' there and said they'd waive my restocking fee if I'd take my dog and pony show and git. I had some legitimate issues and they didn't want me to fubar up the potential switcher sales they were wooing. I also said I'd give them another $200 to put an Air display on the MB.;)
 
Go to Hawaii and return it. lol its illegal for retailer to charge a restocking fee here in Hawaii.
 
pw1388 said:
Go to Hawaii and return it. lol its illegal for retailer to charge a restocking fee here in Hawaii.
Click to expand...

thats really cool. That should be a law everywhere. If the computer is in PERFECT condition, there should be no restocking fee.
 
CalMin said:
Why not? They can't sell it as new and will have to lose money by selling it open box or refurb.
Click to expand...

i guess thats true too. They are definitely not losing money though because their cost is probably less than $1000, so they just won't be making as much money.
 
If you're within the first two weeks, make a genius appointment and tell them you're unhappy with the display. Play the steve jobs keynote on the apple home page to show them how it won't cover differences in blacks (steve jobs looks like a giant floating head against the background).

They will update my MB to a MBP today without a restocking charge thanks to this. Good luck.
 
Be nice and be honest with a Genius. I've never had to pay a restocking fee and I've returned a number of things (exchanged computers, iPods, etc).
 
scottintosh said:
i guess thats true too. They are definitely not losing money though because their cost is probably less than $1000, so they just won't be making as much money.
Click to expand...

Exactly! Apple isn't losing money in the deal, they're just not making as much (and marginally, at that!). And are they hurting?! I think NOT.

Umm, I think the applicable phrase about potential returns of products and the loss or lessening of sales revenues in the resale of those products as "the cost of doing business." How many businesses ALREADY build that potential loss into the pricing structure at the front end anyway? <....stepping down from soapbox...>

<...and stepping back up...> I too think States should outlaw the practice of charging consumers restocking fees. <....stepping back down from soapbox...>


(By the way.. cool name there, Scottintosh! ;))
 
PhilaScott said:
(By the way.. cool name there, Scottintosh! ;))
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haha, thanks I was pretty proud when I though of it lol.

I scheduled an appointment with a genious tomorrow. It has been 10 or 11 days, so i'm withen the 14 day period.

I will not switch to the new MBP if they charge me the 10% restocking fee.
 
I managed to get my restocking fee from 15% to 5% by saying I was unhappy about the display and showing exactly what i was unhappy about.

In the end I did not take the 5% but made another deal.
 
try to convince a genius that you are disappointed with the screen or give some weird reason good enough for them to waive the restocking fee.
 
scottintosh said:
haha, thanks I was pretty proud when I though of it lol.

I scheduled an appointment with a genious tomorrow. It has been 10 or 11 days, so i'm withen the 14 day period.

I will not switch to the new MBP if they charge me the 10% restocking fee.
Click to expand...

They usually don't charge a restocking fee if they upsell you another machine. My experiences are they try and tag you with it when you want a flat out refund.
 
Is the upgrade to the MBP worth it?

I'm in the same boat. Took my machine back to the Apple Store, and I have an authorization number to have the screen replaced, exchange for a MB, or upgrade to the MBP.

I can do one of the above, or shrug, and just not watch movies with nighttime scenes or steve job keynotes on it (and avoid the John Dorian floating head visual).

I've gotta crap or get off the pot here pretty soon. What do y'all think? Is the MBP worth the extra money?
 
PhilaScott said:
Exactly! Apple isn't losing money in the deal, they're just not making as much (and marginally, at that!). And are they hurting?! I think NOT.

Umm, I think the applicable phrase about potential returns of products and the loss or lessening of sales revenues in the resale of those products as "the cost of doing business." How many businesses ALREADY build that potential loss into the pricing structure at the front end anyway? <....stepping down from soapbox...>

<...and stepping back up...> I too think States should outlaw the practice of charging consumers restocking fees. <....stepping back down from soapbox...>


(By the way.. cool name there, Scottintosh! ;))
Click to expand...

[high horse]This would just make things more expensive for the rest of us. Apple is a business with shareholders and a duty to those shareholders to make profit. It's not a matter of if they are hurting or not. They expect to make a certain amount per unit sold, and a returned unit cannot be sold as new, so they make less money. The only way to build this into the cost of doing business is to charge more for the machines and everyone pays.

Now, if the computer is defective or was misrepresented in some way, then the restocking is unfair, and in most cases Apple will waive.

There are too many people that buy stuff from places like BestBuy to use it for a few days and give it back. It used to be a cheap way to rent a video camera for vacation. At least now they charge restocking to prevent this.[/high horse]

Peace. :)


RE: Scottintosh. Good luck with your situation. This doesn't apply to you. I'm just making a point that restocking fees aren't evil. It's business. I have a new MB and the screen is not as good as my Air, but its still very good imo and sufficient for most daily stuff (MS office, surfing). I'm luck enough to have an iMac too for any photography/photoshop. You could always buy a cheap Dell LCD if you needed a better screen for specific tasks.
 
NC MacGuy said:
They usually don't charge a restocking fee if they upsell you another machine. My experiences are they try and tag you with it when you want a flat out refund.
Click to expand...

I just went to the apple store (about 40min drive each way) and I now have a new MBP and did not get charged the restocking fee.


I have to say, however, that it was the WORST experience that I have ever had at anystore.

The manager kept saying that HE did not see a difference between the screens and that it is not qualified to waive the restocking fee. I assured him that it is MY money and I am not satisfied with the screen quality. He gave me plenty other BS responses that they only have one screen for the Macbook. I showed him the two different model numbers and he still gave me BS.

I ended up getting emotional and thats when he cracked.

I felt that it was ridiculous that he was giving me such a hard time, when I had a legitimate complaint.

Just thought I would let everyone know.
 
scottintosh said:
I just went to the apple store (about 40min drive each way) and I now have a new MBP and did not get charged the restocking fee.


I have to say, however, that it was the WORST experience that I have ever had at anystore.

The manager kept saying that HE did not see a difference between the screens and that it is not qualified to waive the restocking fee. I assured him that it is MY money and I am not satisfied with the screen quality. He gave me plenty other BS responses that they only have one screen for the Macbook. I showed him the two different model numbers and he still gave me BS.

I ended up getting emotional and thats when he cracked.

I felt that it was ridiculous that he was giving me such a hard time, when I had a legitimate complaint.

Just thought I would let everyone know.
Click to expand...

Was it worth $160? Probably is in my opinion. Have fun with your new toy, hope it is a good one!:D
 
scottintosh said:
The manager kept saying that HE did not see a difference between the screens and that it is not qualified to waive the restocking fee. I assured him that it is MY money and I am not satisfied with the screen quality. He gave me plenty other BS responses that they only have one screen for the Macbook. I showed him the two different model numbers and he still gave me BS.
Click to expand...

I had a similar conversation.

But I used a document showing objective measurements done by Notebookjournal. He called in a technical guy to ask if it was true. The tech guy confirmed it. Then they offered a deal with the MBA w/o restocking fee.
 
Philflow said:
I had a similar conversation.

But I used a document showing objective measurements done by Notebookjournal. He called in a technical guy to ask if it was true. The tech guy confirmed it. Then they offered a deal with the MBA w/o restocking fee.
Click to expand...

woohoo! So, does the MBA screen rock or what? I'm typing this on my new MBA and it's like night and day!!:D

Hopefully next rev. will nail the MB for me.
 
Philflow said:
I had a similar conversation.

But I used a document showing objective measurements done by Notebookjournal. He called in a technical guy to ask if it was true. The tech guy confirmed it. Then they offered a deal with the MBA w/o restocking fee.
Click to expand...

Oh nice, the difference between the two is amazing. I love my new MBP.
 
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