I bought 300$ worth of items from Dallee Electronics and returned a 60$ item because I couldn't figure out how to hook it up. It was not defective. They still charged me a "restocking" fee because it was after the 15 day return limit. $300dollars I spent and they still took more for returning a not used in original package item. I'll go elsewhere next time.
A lot of places charge restocking fees if the item is not broken, but rather for whatever reason is not good for you, that is pretty common. This is true especially of smaller vendors, we have gotten used to online stores like Zappos and Amazon where you can return items (Zappos pays for the shipping as well), but that isn't true across the board. Not saying that that kind of policy makes sense to me, the reason Zappos does that, for example, is that shoe and clothing sizes are vendor dependent, and since you can't try the shoes or clothing on, to have to pay return shipping would be a deterrent to shopping online....and with electronic do it yourself items, you are going to get people who buy it and then find out it isn't all that easy, or doesn't work with what they have. The reason they do something like 'restocking fee after 15 days' is they don't want to deal with people who have an item they bought laying around, get around to actually trying it a year later, and find out it doesn't work, then want to return it, so that may make more sense to me than a flat 15% restocking fee. Lot of places if you explain the situation might be willing to waive the fee IME, but depends on the circumstances, too.
There are so many variables to the OP’s question, were these products new, sealed in the boxes? Does the seller have a policy in place that is set in stone for one to read? Did the product have a warranty explicit from the manufacturer, with detailed instructions on how to do a warranty claim? As the OP kinda answered his own question, ask before you buy......if you don’t like their policy, don’t buy from them.....if their policy for helping the customer is terrible , they will rot and wither on the vine.....customer service is everything these days, it separates the men from the boys......I just had a customer with a defective part on his car, his car broke down, I went and picked him up, got his car towed, replaced the part, and got him back on the road....I’ll deal with parts house on my loss, and get compensated. But I didn’t throw the customer under the bus....they know that and that’s why they come to me....customer service....know who your dealing with ......before you deal...............Pat
Generally that is true, but the sad part is customer service these days often isn't a big priority. For the train manufacturers (Lionel, MTH, Atlast et al) there isn't that much competition, if you want a certain engine unless they all make a version, you are stuck with brand X, so basically you don't have a lot of recourse. Likewise, with other things, there just isn't a lot of competition. Whereas for example, if you don't like the way a car service center treats you, you have others you can go to (doesn't mean the owners necessarily understand that, the number of mechanics who gouge and rip off clients still boggles my mind). Call for a problem with Home Depot, and you get some idiot at a call center in India saying they will give you a 25 buck gift certificate, rather then actually helping you, or you go through voice mail hell to get to someone. It is one of the casualties of the low price world, there was a time that Walmart took pride in its customer service in its stores, now they are basically cheap goods, you don't like it, don't shop here.
