Complaint Review: ElectroZone - Las Vegas Nevada

On 4 Nov 2009 I ordered a Samsung UN46B8500 from NexTag Trusted Seller ElectroZone (www.electrozone.com; 3960 Howard Hughes Pkwy #500; Las Vegas NV 89169). Sales person Jeff (#203) assured me the TV was new & factory-sealed, and guaranteed no-cost replacement of any damaged merchandise. It was delivered to my office 2 weeks later, and the ICAT Logistics delivery person left it in the lobby. I was supposed to have had an opportunity to inspect it, but did not, and the signature line on my copy of ICAT's Client Ticket is blank. I loaded the box into my car, brought it home, and set it up without incident. It worked beautifully for 9 days, and then the screen went dark and the set would do nothing but emit a faint "ticking" sound.

Looking for loose connections and for the serial number, I noticed that much more was wrong than just the failure of some internal electronic component: there was major albeit not immediately obvious structural damage: the plastic bezel was bowed forward (see Figure C, which shows a straightedge against the top front of the bezel), was partly detached from the steel back panel, and part of it was broken off. The steel back panel itself was dented and bent near the top (Fig D), perhaps causing the damage to the bezel when the later was screwed to it. None of this damage is visible from the front. The heavy steel back panel could not have been bent so sharply by impact during shipping without leaving evidence on the shipping box. The shipping box, however, is pristine (Figs A & B). Thus, it is not possible that the damage was caused by the shipper or by me, when I transported the box in my car from my office to my home. There are two possibilities:

[1] Samsung assembled the TV with a damaged back panel at its factory in Mexico. This would explain the chipped paint on the back-panel edge (Fig D), which is normally covered & protected by the plastic bezel, and how the heavy steel back-panel itself could be so sharply bent without causing extensive damage to more fragile parts. I contacted Samsung's Customer Service, which advised me to return the set to the seller, because I had had it such a short time.

[2] ElectroZone swapped a damaged TV into a clean box. In retrospect, I recall that the inside packaging of the screen, the clear plastic strips protecting the bezel and the bag surrounding the screen, were sloppily applied and torn, respectively. (Not at all like the careful packaging of Apple products, I remember thinking). I spoke at length with ElectroZone manager Louis and his boss Aaron. Both were courteous and initially responsive, but appeared to be operating within very narrow policy constraints. Among the points they made were these:

[2.1] ElectroZone sells only new equipment in factory-sealed boxes, and is little more than a conduit from manufacturer to consumer. "Factory-sealed", however, must be a term of art, because the Samsung box has quick-release latches, designed so it can be undetectably opened and re-closed (Fig B), these being intended to facilitate inspection, but also making it easy for anyone in the supply chain to swap boxes and contents.

[2.2] Aaron emphasized that I was responsible for inspecting the set for physical damage upon delivery, but also stated that the delivery company was within its rights to accept a signature from anyone (or, apparently, from no one) at the delivery address. It is ironic, then, that Samsung's re-closable shipping box served only the function of making it possible for suppliers and vendors to conceal damaged merchandise, but not for me to verify undamaged delivery! Since I did not refuse delivery, Aaron asserted that ElectroZone had no further responsibility, although he offered to present my case to Samsung (which I can do myself) and, if they declined to replace the TV, to comp me an extended warranty (my AMEX card already provides this).

[2.3] Because I moved the set from my office to my home, Aaron suggested that I might have caused the damage. This, of course, is nonsense.

Apparently, ElectroZone is one of the worst internet vendors selling the Samsung UN46B8500. NexTag lists 10 such vendors with BBB ratings from A+ down to F, and ElectroZone is one of the two vendors rated F. Citing complaints of "defective products", "failure to respond to complaints", and others, www.bbb.org cautions against dealing with this company. The Nevada Secretary of State reports that ElectroZone's business license was revoked in 2002. Despite all this, NexTag gives ElectroZone a 5-Star Trusted Seller rating, suggesting that NexTag ratings are worse than useless.

It is possible that Samsung assembled a bad TV. But it is also possible that the set suffered a severe impact somewhere between Samsung in Mexico and ElectroZone in Las Vegas, that the box was swapped, and maybe the bezel replaced, to conceal the damage. The failure of the internal electronic component, which caused the set to go dark, is more parsimoniously explained by the impact theory, but could also be the result of the same poor quality control that might have passed structural damage at Samsung's factory.

A week has passed since ElectroZone last responded to any inquiries. Samsung will say only that the mater is in process. In the meantime, standing coldly in my home, is a large black Samsung monolith, along with the silent Bose music system and shut-down Mac-mini that were to be my home theater.

How long will it take Samsung and ElectroZone to get together and replace this TV? Will they instead try to drag me through an indeterminate course of repairs, in which a local contractor, likely without factory training, would attempt to substantially rebuild the TV on my living room floor? Will I be able to enjoy my purchase, or will I instead spend the next  weeks learning more than I want to know about my legal options, consumer protection agencies, federal regulatory agencies & Internet complaint sites? If the later, perhaps I will also learn something useful about how to purchase a product such as this without finding myself with a $3,000 problem and no one responsible.