4 ms·

For what it is worth I actually contacted newegg at http://help.newegg.com/app/ask/site/US/category/74 http://help.newegg.com/app/ask/site/US/category/74 and as

by jtchang 14y ago

For what it is worth I actually contacted newegg at http://help.newegg.com/app/ask/site/US/category/74 http://help.newegg.com/app/ask/site/US/category/74 and asked them what they thought. I'm a big fan of newegg and hope they continue to bring competition to amazon. I am hoping this is just a small oversight and it will be corrected shortly.

joering2 14y ago
I stopped being their fan when their return policies changed. Now there is something called "Restocking fee" and I have to pay for shipping?? I don't think so. I use Newegg to research products but once I find what I am looking for, I search for the model on Amazon and end up purchasing there, knowing return policy is much better for customers.
- Yarnage 14y ago
  Yeah I was surprised by those changes as well when I had to return something. The CSR I spoke to apologized then sent me a prepaid label and charged me no restocking fee. So great customer service but the charges almost seem arbitrary when the CSR can just apologize and wipe them out...
  - eternalban 14y ago
    > So great customer service but the charges almost seem arbitrary when the CSR can just apologize and wipe them out... Only a fraction of total customers has your experience, so the cost -- marginal if only for a minor fraction prohibitive if for majority of users -- of keeping you happy as a customer is marginal. But they can't do that for everyone.
  - gav 14y ago
    From their FAQ: Does Newegg.com pay the return shipping cost for defective merchandise? No, Newegg.com does not pay the return shipping cost for defective merchandise. We are not responsible for product defects, because we do not manufacture the products we carry. However I had the same experience as you when trying to return a defective mouse: Me: I'm not going to pay return shipping. CSR: Ok, we'll send you a shipping label. It's confusing and arbitrary. What's worse is that you have to return it to their CA facility and wait a couple of days for them to decide to ship out a replacement, which is a two week turn around time for customers on the east coast. Overall Newegg's level of price competitiveness and service is slipping; I see no reason to order from them unless avoiding the sales tax on that order is worth it.
    - gaius 14y ago
      Newegg.com does not pay the return shipping cost for defective merchandise. We are not responsible for product defects, because we do not manufacture the products we carry. Under the Sale Of Goods Act 1979 in the UK, that's actually illegal.
      - jaylevitt 14y ago
        In some US states, too; many of our states have a code modeled on the Uniform Commercial Code. In Massachusetts, at least, all items come with an implied warranty of merchantability and fitness for purpose, e.g. that it's worth selling and useful. Sellers cannot legally waive those warranties. As a buyer, my only responsibility is to allow the seller to pick up the item from me. If some site tries to pull a New Egg on me, I point them to the relevant laws, and make a very gracious offer - not only will I allow them to pick the item up, I'll even pack it all up for them in a box. Lesson: Check your local laws before assuming that these "no returns" or "restocking fee" policies have any weight.
  - km3k 14y ago
    Yeah I asked a CSR about this. They said their policy is that they don't offer one but will give one without questions if you ask. I guess it's to reduce costs by charging people who won't bother asking. It is a strange policy, but I can live with it.
- smoyer 14y ago
  Wow ... I've spent thousands of dollars on merchandise from Newegg and it's a bit sad that it may have come to an end. What I really appreciated was competitive prices and excellent service. Perhaps you can't have both and stay in business. It's a very sad day.
  - thereallurch 14y ago
    Likewise, I've spent thousands. Stopped buying with newegg when they sent me a defective HDD and told me to RMA it with Western Digital.
- luser001 14y ago
  Heh, me too. Also, I just discovered http://pcpartpicker.com/ http://pcpartpicker.com/ yesterday. Looks pretty cool. I might do my research there and buy on Amazon. I might feel a little less guilty. :) The restocking fee policy (which screams "shady retailer" to me) on Newegg is only reason I stopped shopping there. OTOH, Newegg seems to have a much larger catalog of tech items than Amazon. Also the search feature on Amazon is quite bad: try searching for '16 gb ram' and sort by price. It will insist on showing you 2 gb packs also. Everything except the default sort order sucks. Which doesn't inspire confidence that Amazon isn't listing the items with the highest margins on top.
  - slig 14y ago
    > http://pcpartpicker.com/ http://pcpartpicker.com/ Built by an HNer: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1883123 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1883123
  - acgourley 14y ago
    I love pcpartpicker. It's great to see someone reverse engineering the pc part sales cycle. The fact it helps people communicate complete builds and see compatibility between parts is a nice feature too
    - pcarmichael 14y ago
      Thanks, Alex. I've really appreciated the feedback and encouragement you've given me.
      - talmand 14y ago
        I discovered the site because of this thread. Big thanks as I just picked up an I5-3570K with a $60 discount.
  - pcarmichael 14y ago
    Out of curiosity, how did you hear about pcpartpicker? (I created it, so I'm always interested to know how people find out about it. Hope you find it useful!)
- jbellis 14y ago
  What? Amazon is no stranger to restocking fees on electronics.
  - luser001 14y ago
    Can you elaborate? Both pages below imply that you get 100% if you return within 30 days. http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=hp_rel_topic?ie=UTF8&nodeId=901908 http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=hp_r... http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=hp_901926_calc?nodeId=901926#calc http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=hp_9... In contrast, the newegg page mentions the restocking fee clearly (2nd item). http://www.newegg.com/HelpInfo/ReturnPolicy.aspx http://www.newegg.com/HelpInfo/ReturnPolicy.aspx
    - jbellis 14y ago
      I bought an Acer Aspire Timeline laptop on Sept 16, 2009. I returned it on October 10. Amazon took a 15% "Partial Refund Deduction" off the refund amount.
      - luser001 14y ago
        Thanks for the info. I guess it's more complicated than I thought.

by jtchang 14y ago

joering2 14y ago

I stopped being their fan when their return policies changed. Now there is something called "Restocking fee" and I have to pay for shipping?? I don't think so. I use Newegg to research products but once I find what I am looking for, I search for the model on Amazon and end up purchasing there, knowing return policy is much better for customers.

Yarnage 14y ago
Yeah I was surprised by those changes as well when I had to return something. The CSR I spoke to apologized then sent me a prepaid label and charged me no restocking fee. So great customer service but the charges almost seem arbitrary when the CSR can just apologize and wipe them out...
- eternalban 14y ago
  > So great customer service but the charges almost seem arbitrary when the CSR can just apologize and wipe them out... Only a fraction of total customers has your experience, so the cost -- marginal if only for a minor fraction prohibitive if for majority of users -- of keeping you happy as a customer is marginal. But they can't do that for everyone.
- gav 14y ago
  From their FAQ: Does Newegg.com pay the return shipping cost for defective merchandise? No, Newegg.com does not pay the return shipping cost for defective merchandise. We are not responsible for product defects, because we do not manufacture the products we carry. However I had the same experience as you when trying to return a defective mouse: Me: I'm not going to pay return shipping. CSR: Ok, we'll send you a shipping label. It's confusing and arbitrary. What's worse is that you have to return it to their CA facility and wait a couple of days for them to decide to ship out a replacement, which is a two week turn around time for customers on the east coast. Overall Newegg's level of price competitiveness and service is slipping; I see no reason to order from them unless avoiding the sales tax on that order is worth it.
  - gaius 14y ago
    Newegg.com does not pay the return shipping cost for defective merchandise. We are not responsible for product defects, because we do not manufacture the products we carry. Under the Sale Of Goods Act 1979 in the UK, that's actually illegal.
    - jaylevitt 14y ago
      In some US states, too; many of our states have a code modeled on the Uniform Commercial Code. In Massachusetts, at least, all items come with an implied warranty of merchantability and fitness for purpose, e.g. that it's worth selling and useful. Sellers cannot legally waive those warranties. As a buyer, my only responsibility is to allow the seller to pick up the item from me. If some site tries to pull a New Egg on me, I point them to the relevant laws, and make a very gracious offer - not only will I allow them to pick the item up, I'll even pack it all up for them in a box. Lesson: Check your local laws before assuming that these "no returns" or "restocking fee" policies have any weight.
- km3k 14y ago
  Yeah I asked a CSR about this. They said their policy is that they don't offer one but will give one without questions if you ask. I guess it's to reduce costs by charging people who won't bother asking. It is a strange policy, but I can live with it.
smoyer 14y ago
Wow ... I've spent thousands of dollars on merchandise from Newegg and it's a bit sad that it may have come to an end. What I really appreciated was competitive prices and excellent service. Perhaps you can't have both and stay in business. It's a very sad day.
- thereallurch 14y ago
  Likewise, I've spent thousands. Stopped buying with newegg when they sent me a defective HDD and told me to RMA it with Western Digital.
luser001 14y ago
Heh, me too. Also, I just discovered http://pcpartpicker.com/ http://pcpartpicker.com/ yesterday. Looks pretty cool. I might do my research there and buy on Amazon. I might feel a little less guilty. :) The restocking fee policy (which screams "shady retailer" to me) on Newegg is only reason I stopped shopping there. OTOH, Newegg seems to have a much larger catalog of tech items than Amazon. Also the search feature on Amazon is quite bad: try searching for '16 gb ram' and sort by price. It will insist on showing you 2 gb packs also. Everything except the default sort order sucks. Which doesn't inspire confidence that Amazon isn't listing the items with the highest margins on top.
- slig 14y ago
  > http://pcpartpicker.com/ http://pcpartpicker.com/ Built by an HNer: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1883123 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1883123
- acgourley 14y ago
  I love pcpartpicker. It's great to see someone reverse engineering the pc part sales cycle. The fact it helps people communicate complete builds and see compatibility between parts is a nice feature too
  - pcarmichael 14y ago
    Thanks, Alex. I've really appreciated the feedback and encouragement you've given me.
    - talmand 14y ago
      I discovered the site because of this thread. Big thanks as I just picked up an I5-3570K with a $60 discount.
- pcarmichael 14y ago
  Out of curiosity, how did you hear about pcpartpicker? (I created it, so I'm always interested to know how people find out about it. Hope you find it useful!)
jbellis 14y ago
What? Amazon is no stranger to restocking fees on electronics.
- luser001 14y ago
  Can you elaborate? Both pages below imply that you get 100% if you return within 30 days. http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=hp_rel_topic?ie=UTF8&nodeId=901908 http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=hp_r... http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=hp_901926_calc?nodeId=901926#calc http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=hp_9... In contrast, the newegg page mentions the restocking fee clearly (2nd item). http://www.newegg.com/HelpInfo/ReturnPolicy.aspx http://www.newegg.com/HelpInfo/ReturnPolicy.aspx
  - jbellis 14y ago
    I bought an Acer Aspire Timeline laptop on Sept 16, 2009. I returned it on October 10. Amazon took a 15% "Partial Refund Deduction" off the refund amount.
    - luser001 14y ago
      Thanks for the info. I guess it's more complicated than I thought.