Complaint Review: CompUSA

Ever went to go return a shrinkwrap sealed item that just wasnt what it was cracked up to be only to hear the store manager say "were sorry but since you opened it ...theres a 15% restocking fee"?. this is absolute THIEVERY and ive discovered a great way to defend yourself from it!!ok, big corperations are in charge of making these assinine rules ( and we all know what side of the political fence big corperations are on) so if you want to stick it to the the cons, and at the same time get much deserved justice, do this:

 



1.) take the item to any office max or office depot

2.) ask them to shrinkwrap the item ( you dont have to give them a reason why but if you feel you must then just say its cause your sending it as a gift...whatever) it will cost you a whopping 5 cents....

3.) take the item back where you bought it,,, and get your FULL money back! this has worked for me countless times,... so i can say personally that it works!!

 



now some might see this as "dishonest" but to those i ask you this....is a store theiving your 15% honest? they are getting the item BACK..what in the hell makes them think they deserve to keep 15% of your hard earned money?, this is nothing better than direct robbery from the customer and i dont feel a bit bad about doing what i have to do to protect myself, and i hope that others read this and they avoid being robbed as well =) just my 2 cents....shrugs

We do not do layaway anymore either.

Calvin, You need to get with a manager to clarify the restocking fee. I left the company in March of 2004 and we had started charging the restocking fee on certain items. Read the bottom of the receipt!

I worked for CompUSA for a few years. The fee is not an uncommon practice. I know Circuit City dropped it recently. But Best Buy and other companies still have it listed on theyre receipts and return policies but dont stick to them as tightly. It's mainly used because people would buy a computer or projector or laptop or camera even take them and use them once or twice within a week for a vacation or presentation whatever it may be. Then return the item. Thus causing CompUSA to have to send the item back because its not resalable. When products are shipped back to manufactures most of the time the store is not credited with the full amount of the item. Usually it was around 85-90% of the amount. Plus frieght charges which reached around $100-200 a day. There is a reason for the charge most of the salesmen failt to tell customers about the policy for fear of losing the sale. But you should always read or ask about this before making a purchase

Good customer service should include explaining all policies to the customer before the unit is purchased...even if the customer doesnt ask. Secondly, Circuit City hasnt had a 15% re-stocking charge for QUITE sometime. The only restock fee is on lay-a-ways that are cancelled. Ive worked for Circuit City since 2001, and the restocking charge had already been removed when I started...so I dont know where you people get your information from. Circuit City will give a FULL refund of the purchase amount as long as it is returned within the return period. NO FEE.

I am an ex-employee of CompUSA, with 7 years of experience in the industry.

One reason for the 15% restocking charge is very simple - the manufacturers of your item charge CompUSA a restocking charge of their OWN to return the item to them. As a former RTV (return-to-vendor) coordinator, I can tell you that CompUSA has lost more money on frivolous returns than even THEY can count. And a lot of customers unfortunately DO return items for frivolous reasons. It IS unfair that you as a consumer should be punished for other peoples' bad behavior, and I sympathize with you on that point. However, the previous rebuttals ARE true - the return policy is 1. on the back of the receipt 2. on the FRONT of the receipt as well, when I worked there, I don't know if that's the case now or not 3. on the signs nearby the customer service desk, AND at my store on every register as well. If you are a business customer, the return policy is printed on the back of your invoice. At my location, the cashiers even made a point of mentioning the return policy AT the registers, just in case anyone missed it.

Just to let you know, Best Buy and the other stores you mention DO have a 15% restocking charge on opened electronics - Best Buy is particularly hard about this issue - as well as many online E-tailers. For the same exact reasons that I've mentioned above. Even huge discount stores such as WalMart and Target are starting to crack down on opened electronic items, simply because people do not read the instructions or make absolutely SURE that this item is what they need. At one point during my career at Comp, computer manufacturers issued "caps" on returns - i.e., Compaq would take back 15% of our returned items and NO MORE. The rest would sit on our RTV shelves for days, weeks.... sometimes YEARS. When I left CompUSA in 2002, there was a Packard Bell computer sitting on the RTV shelf in my location that had been SITTING THERE SINCE 1996. Needless to say, we can't sell that item, we wouldn't even get fifty dollars for it!

Any item that CompUSA cannot return to the manufacturer, they will attempt to sell it on the clearance floor - which means a HUGE discount to the consumer. Fine and good for them, but WE take the hit. Your 2600 dollar item can only be sold for 1400 - most, if not ALL of CompUSA's profit! The retailer loses MONEY on the item.

"So what?", you're probably thinking. "What's this have to do with me?"

It has EVERYTHING to do with you as a consumer. Let's say that every customer does this. Every item we sell is returned at full price, and then we have to sell it at a clearance price. CompUSA loses ALL of their profit. We can't buy more equipment to sell. Next thing you know - poof! No more CompUSA. No more new computers for you to buy, because we're out of business! All because you wanted to take it home, try it out, and return it. Just like a car rental!

Now, I'm not saying that the original poster has this mindset, or even that his intentions weren't good - I'm sure they are. The whole point is that there IS a good reason - no, SEVERAL good reasons - why companies charge a restocking charge for items that are opened.

Think about it.

Thanks for allowing my opinion.

I am an ex-employee of CompUSA, with 7 years of experience in the industry.

One reason for the 15% restocking charge is very simple - the manufacturers of your item charge CompUSA a restocking charge of their OWN to return the item to them. As a former RTV (return-to-vendor) coordinator, I can tell you that CompUSA has lost more money on frivolous returns than even THEY can count. And a lot of customers unfortunately DO return items for frivolous reasons. It IS unfair that you as a consumer should be punished for other peoples' bad behavior, and I sympathize with you on that point. However, the previous rebuttals ARE true - the return policy is 1. on the back of the receipt 2. on the FRONT of the receipt as well, when I worked there, I don't know if that's the case now or not 3. on the signs nearby the customer service desk, AND at my store on every register as well. If you are a business customer, the return policy is printed on the back of your invoice. At my location, the cashiers even made a point of mentioning the return policy AT the registers, just in case anyone missed it.

Just to let you know, Best Buy and the other stores you mention DO have a 15% restocking charge on opened electronics - Best Buy is particularly hard about this issue - as well as many online E-tailers. For the same exact reasons that I've mentioned above. Even huge discount stores such as WalMart and Target are starting to crack down on opened electronic items, simply because people do not read the instructions or make absolutely SURE that this item is what they need. At one point during my career at Comp, computer manufacturers issued "caps" on returns - i.e., Compaq would take back 15% of our returned items and NO MORE. The rest would sit on our RTV shelves for days, weeks.... sometimes YEARS. When I left CompUSA in 2002, there was a Packard Bell computer sitting on the RTV shelf in my location that had been SITTING THERE SINCE 1996. Needless to say, we can't sell that item, we wouldn't even get fifty dollars for it!

Any item that CompUSA cannot return to the manufacturer, they will attempt to sell it on the clearance floor - which means a HUGE discount to the consumer. Fine and good for them, but WE take the hit. Your 2600 dollar item can only be sold for 1400 - most, if not ALL of CompUSA's profit! The retailer loses MONEY on the item.

"So what?", you're probably thinking. "What's this have to do with me?"

It has EVERYTHING to do with you as a consumer. Let's say that every customer does this. Every item we sell is returned at full price, and then we have to sell it at a clearance price. CompUSA loses ALL of their profit. We can't buy more equipment to sell. Next thing you know - poof! No more CompUSA. No more new computers for you to buy, because we're out of business! All because you wanted to take it home, try it out, and return it. Just like a car rental!

Now, I'm not saying that the original poster has this mindset, or even that his intentions weren't good - I'm sure they are. The whole point is that there IS a good reason - no, SEVERAL good reasons - why companies charge a restocking charge for items that are opened.

Think about it.

Thanks for allowing my opinion.

I am an ex-employee of CompUSA, with 7 years of experience in the industry.

One reason for the 15% restocking charge is very simple - the manufacturers of your item charge CompUSA a restocking charge of their OWN to return the item to them. As a former RTV (return-to-vendor) coordinator, I can tell you that CompUSA has lost more money on frivolous returns than even THEY can count. And a lot of customers unfortunately DO return items for frivolous reasons. It IS unfair that you as a consumer should be punished for other peoples' bad behavior, and I sympathize with you on that point. However, the previous rebuttals ARE true - the return policy is 1. on the back of the receipt 2. on the FRONT of the receipt as well, when I worked there, I don't know if that's the case now or not 3. on the signs nearby the customer service desk, AND at my store on every register as well. If you are a business customer, the return policy is printed on the back of your invoice. At my location, the cashiers even made a point of mentioning the return policy AT the registers, just in case anyone missed it.

Just to let you know, Best Buy and the other stores you mention DO have a 15% restocking charge on opened electronics - Best Buy is particularly hard about this issue - as well as many online E-tailers. For the same exact reasons that I've mentioned above. Even huge discount stores such as WalMart and Target are starting to crack down on opened electronic items, simply because people do not read the instructions or make absolutely SURE that this item is what they need. At one point during my career at Comp, computer manufacturers issued "caps" on returns - i.e., Compaq would take back 15% of our returned items and NO MORE. The rest would sit on our RTV shelves for days, weeks.... sometimes YEARS. When I left CompUSA in 2002, there was a Packard Bell computer sitting on the RTV shelf in my location that had been SITTING THERE SINCE 1996. Needless to say, we can't sell that item, we wouldn't even get fifty dollars for it!

Any item that CompUSA cannot return to the manufacturer, they will attempt to sell it on the clearance floor - which means a HUGE discount to the consumer. Fine and good for them, but WE take the hit. Your 2600 dollar item can only be sold for 1400 - most, if not ALL of CompUSA's profit! The retailer loses MONEY on the item.

"So what?", you're probably thinking. "What's this have to do with me?"

It has EVERYTHING to do with you as a consumer. Let's say that every customer does this. Every item we sell is returned at full price, and then we have to sell it at a clearance price. CompUSA loses ALL of their profit. We can't buy more equipment to sell. Next thing you know - poof! No more CompUSA. No more new computers for you to buy, because we're out of business! All because you wanted to take it home, try it out, and return it. Just like a car rental!

Now, I'm not saying that the original poster has this mindset, or even that his intentions weren't good - I'm sure they are. The whole point is that there IS a good reason - no, SEVERAL good reasons - why companies charge a restocking charge for items that are opened.

Think about it.

Thanks for allowing my opinion.

Circuit City was getting a lot of compalints about it, so they did drop the 15% restock fee. However, it is still a 14 day return period, which is plenty of time to make sure your computer purchase is working properly.

The retailer can set thte rules on purchases. If you aren't happy with them, or think thet you might want to return an item such as that, simply make the purchase elsewhere.

The 15% restocking fee on laptops/notebooks is very common. Best Buy, CompUSA, and Circuit City all implement the same 15% restocking fee.

The reason for this fee is simple. People will often take laptops on vacation, use them as DVD players/entertainment systems, and then simply return them.

The 15% restocking fee is not a secret and is disclosed at both the bottom of your receipt and on the wall of the retailer.

I have worked for Compusa for 7 months.
I can tell you this. When you buy a large item. You should ask question before you sign.

It states it very clearly on the reciept, As well as on the wall when you walk in and a tthe checkouts.

I think you failed to read the print.
Also to clarify, Best buy does charge a restock fee and The other people you mentioned raise their price to cover that non restock fee.

Think aobut it, you return it. If someone else wants to buy it, they will want soemthing off to make up for the oen box. The company will make their money back some how.

I suggest you ask the important questions before you buy and leave the store!