Buyers Beware: An In-Depth Look at Refund/Exchange Policies of Electronic Devices

We were given a Buyer Beware project in our Advertising class a few weeks back. We were divided up into pre-determined groups, where we then had one class to choose a topic. My group (me, Steve, Mike, and Lennie) settled upon one subject that we thought would be interesting. We decided to research the refund/exchange policies of electronic devices from four major stores in Winnipeg. We wanted to see what kind of information they tell customers and what type of information they withhold or fail to mention.

We visited the electronic stores and handed out surveys as our primary research. For our secondary research, we visited various websites to gather more information about the stores.

We went to Future Shop, Best Buy, Visions Electronics, and Advance Electronics to find out each store’s policy from a representative. Listed below are the refund/exchange policies of each store:

Best Buy and Future Shop
(both have the same policies, as they are sister companies)
- 14 days for a refund or exchange with computers, monitors, printers, notebook computers, camcorders, digital cameras, radar detectors, portable DVD players, and air conditioners.

- 30 days on the remaining items excluding software, gaming, CDs, and DVDs due to copyright laws. The difference of the days is based on the possibility of “rent-able items”.

- These policies are printed on the back of the receipt, communicated by the employees, posted by every till, and posted by the front registers and customer service.

Visions Electronics
-15 days for a refund or store credit.

- Exchange only until 30 days from purchase.
- Refuse return on copyright materials in addition to headphones.

- The policy is posted on the back of the receipt, and employees are trained to explain this to the consumer at the time of purchase.

Advance Electronics
- 15 days for a return or store credit for unopened merchandise.

- Up to 30 days exchange, with the exception of headphones.

- The policy is also posted on the back of the receipt and displayed at every sales till

Restocking Fees

Each of the stores have a restocking fee. This fee enables the stores to retain money from a product if a customer returns something that has missing components or has already been opened. If a person would like a refund, the store can choose the percentage they will deduct from the original price.

Future Shop and Best Buy
- These stores choose the restocking fee based on the items that are missing from the whole product 
(ie. manuals, cables, etc.)

Visions Electronics
- 15% restocking fee

Advance Electronics
- 10% within 30-60 days of the return
- 20% within 61-90 days of the return.
- After 90 days, a person can no longer receive a refund; only an exchange

Repackaged Items

All of the retailers that we spoke to sell items that have been repackaged. The items that are repackaged can be missing various items, such as manuals, cables, or have some sort of damage.

Future Shop and Best Buy resell their items less 10% of the original price.
Vision Electronics and Advance Electronics also resell their items, yet they choose their own deduction based on what is missing from the item.

Purchasing Online

All four electronic stores also have online stores where people can purchase their electronics. A person can create an account, fill out shipping information, and then pay by credit card. It can become difficult to return an item that has been purchased online. In-store and online return policies from the stores differ from each other. It is important for consumers to research the online return/refund policies carefully to ensure they do not experience difficulty.

American Stores

We also looked at two popular stores in Grand Forks, ND where people purchase electronics. As the dollar is almost at par, many people head south to buy electronics as it can be more economical. We researched the refund/return policies of Target and Walmart .

They are as follows:

Target

- 90 day return or exchange policy

- Has a refund look-up system to verify purchase from their store in the event a person does not have their receipt.

Walmart

- 90 day return policy, yet has restrictions on certain items. 

- 15 days: computer hardware, GPS units, digital music players and portable players

- 30 days: camcorders and digital cameras

- 45 days: computer components and accessories 

- Has options in case you do not have your receipt.
- If the item is under $25.00US, you will receive cash back.
- If the item is over $25.00US, you will receive credit in the form of a Walmart gift card.

A person is not allowed to return an item to a Canadian Wal-Mart.
Canadian consumers are not able to purchase items on the American Walmart site or on the Target site.

Even though it can be a great deal to purchase an electronic in the United States, a person must be aware of the customs information.

Residents who have been out of Canada for 24-47 hours can claim $50CAN, more than 48 hours but less than 7 days, $400CAN, and 7 days or more, $750CAN.

If the item(s) you purchase is more then the allowed exemption, a person must pay 10% of the total price. However, if a person lies and the customs officials find out, then he/she is subject to pay 40% of the total price.

Buyers Beware!

Following are a list of conclusions that we feel consumers should be aware of when purchasing electronics:

- Educate yourself on the return policies that the store has in effect to ensure a smooth return experience

- Retailers copyright materials such as CDs, DVDs, software and gaming items
only approved with an exchange if the product is defective

- Headphones are not allowed to be returned at Advance Electronics and Visions Electronics

- Consumers should be sure to inspect all items that were included in the product when purchased to prevent any risk of a restocking fee

- Buyers should be aware of any items that were repackaged to ensure they are getting a brand new item. Or to ensure they are not being charged more than needed for the repackaged item.

- Online items have different return policies as in-store items; be sure to read them over.

- For across border purchases, be sure to take in account the extra fees that you may come across at the border. Lying can lead to extensive penalties, which can make the item more expensive than purchasing it in Winnipeg.

Our goal was to educate consumers so that they are aware of the proper steps to take when returning or exchanging. This will ensure that consumers are equipped with the knowledge that will allow them to have a positive experience when returning or exchanging an item.

So be careful out there!

Here is a video that my group did. A little amateur, but the first clip shows what not to do when returning an item and the second clip shows the right thing to do when returning an item....enjoy!