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Why unbox at home?

makinao

makinao

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Dec 27, 2009
296
116
Why is it that so many people in this board wait until they get home to unbox their store-bought new unit, then complain about the inconvenience of dragging themselves back to the store because of some minor issue?

I've always inspected my purchases in the store. I always have sales people get me a new unit from the storeroom, and unseal the box for my inspection when I've already initiated the payment. My regular Apple reseller always gives me a chance to sit down and go through the whole setup process (initial startup, registration, software installation, etc). This also gives me enough time to inspect the unit for cosmetic flaws and potential hardware/software problems. The sales and tech people gladly assist me, and I've never felt like they just wanted to shove me out the door as soon as I paid.

So I can't understand people who complain that they are spending a lot of money on things and demand a cosmetically micron-perfect product, but don't take the time to inspect them properly at the point of sale.
 
Maybe they don't want to open it in the store? I see no reason to open it up in store, you'd expect a big company like Apple to have products you can take home and not worry about if it's broken or not even before you've opened it...
 
because we have a live and don't want to waste our time in an apple store unpacking a gadget and look for stuck pixels?

also we assume that most of the units are fine and the chance to have a bad one is less than 3%.

seriously, I drive by an apple store or best buy on my commute, pick up what I need and rush home or to work. I simply don't want to miss a work meeting or miss a gym workout with friends. I buy the darn thing and unpack it later when I have time. sometimes a even few days later.
 
So i don't look like a freak at the store.
I don't know. :confused: Most people just don't tend to do that.
 
because it can be a hassle to rebox the device so that something doesn't happen when we driving/walking/busing back to our homes. That is why I dont- I don't want to have to repack it in a rush or on the street.
 
makinao said:
Why unbox at home?
Click to expand...

Probably for the same reason I take my new clothes home in a bag and I don't walk out of a shop wearing my new shoes.

But seriously, because my computers are tools that help me earn an income and so setting them up at my workplace is far more convenient.

I do not buy them to impress others and they are not objects of desire for showing off.
I don't mind if the home button is 0.25mm to the left of where it should be or the Mac Pro's got a miniscule scratch on its bottom.

As long as it works I am happy.
 
Because taking something back to the shop is not difficult for me. Besides I buy all my Apple products online from either Amazon or their own online store.

I've never had to take a product back.

Even if I did inspect an Apple product, where would I unpack it? All my nearest Apple Stores, all the ones I've ever visited have been completely packed. How could I guarantee that nobody had taken any parts from it? Or that I hadn't dropped anything?
 
Can you imagine if everyone did that? I imagine most people expect a new product to be perfect. It's annoying having to return stuff, but I'd rather save time and inspect it at home, rather than having to inspect everything thing I buy in the shop.
 
I make big purchases at places with 30 day no hassle return policies. Also I know that the likelihood of a faulty product is close to zero, which is why I skip warranties too.

Also I don't expect a product to be perfect. I'll scratch it myself within a month anyways. Though I never have bought something with a stuck pixel. I have had only one LCD ever develop one and I rarely ever noticed it.
 
makinao said:
My regular Apple reseller always gives me a chance to sit down and go through the whole setup process (initial startup, registration, software installation, etc). This also gives me enough time to inspect the unit for cosmetic flaws and potential hardware/software problems. The sales and tech people gladly assist me, and I've never felt like they just wanted to shove me out the door as soon as I paid.
Click to expand...
US Apple Stores recently starting doing that for all customers (if the customer wants to) ... it's a free service called "Personal Setup".

It's also the reason why they dropped their restock fee.
 
arkitect said:
Probably for the same reason I take my new clothes home in a bag and I don't walk out of a shop wearing my new shoes.
Click to expand...
Speak for yourself.:p I used to do that when I was younger, I would wear the new pair out of the store.

For me the fun in getting new goodies is getting home, opening the box, enjoying the new electronics smell and plugging it in while skipping all of the directions. Unboxing at the store kinda seems like a douchie thing to do.
 
For a large part of this site's demographic, an un-boxing is like masturbating. Do you masturbate in the store?
 
For me, its like any other product I buy.

Basically, it goes like this
step 1. walk into a store
Step 2. Buy what I need
step 3. Go home
step 4. open said purchase items.

This actually works for laptops, toasters, and toothpaste. :cool:
 
MacNut said:
Speak for yourself.:p I used to do that when I was younger, I would wear the new pair out of the store.

For me the fun in getting new goodies is getting home, opening the box, enjoying the new electronics smell and plugging it in while skipping all of the directions. Unboxing at the store kinda seems like a douchie thing to do.
Click to expand...

At first I thought you had written:
For me the fun in getting new goodies is getting home, opening the box, enjoying the new electronics smell and plugging it in while skipping in all directions.
Click to expand...
:D
 
I take it home to unbox it because I am NOT one of THOSE people like the OP seems to be. Also unlike people on these boards who complain I am fine with a scratch here and there. The things are meant to be used. Small things to not bother me. Dead pixels depending on twere they are can annoying the crap out of me.

I also know if things do not fail in the first 30 days chances are they are not going to fail for 5 years. For example Hard drives. They either fail very early on or somewhere past the 5 years mark.
 
I just bought a new slim PS3 to replace my launch 60 and waited to get home and take a shower so I could enjoy unpacking everything and take it all in. The iphone 4 was opened at ATT when it came in and the 3g stuck in the box before I got out the door.

I think it all depends on the person.:)
 
maflynn said:
For me, its like any other product I buy.

Basically, it goes like this
step 1. walk into a store
Step 2. Buy what I need
step 3. Go home
step 4. open said purchase items.

This actually works for laptops, toasters, and toothpaste. :cool:
Click to expand...

What about chocolate milk? I can't make it home without cracking the milk open.
 
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