What fate awaits for the goods returned as unwanted?

[voidshatter]

I understand that consumers in the UK pay 20% VAT for the benefit of consumer protections. However, what would happen when a consumer purchases a brand new item online, such as a CPU, opens the box, tries the overclockability, then cleans it, puts it back to the opened box, and returns it for refund as unwanted under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013? Obviously, an open-box item depreciates at the time of breaking the seal. Someone throughout the process is going to take a hit.

• Ignoring the postage cost, who will lose money? The retailer? Or the reseller? Or the manufacturer?
• What will be the fate of the returned item? Will it be re-listed as B-grade? Or manufacturer-refurbished? Or brand-new, if the item can be easily restored into a pristine condition?

I feel uncomfortable about returning items of poor quality control, such like an expensive laptop with a few dead pixels on the screen, but I also feel uncomfortable to live with it for the price I paid. It would help me decide what to do if someone could shed more light regarding the fate of goods returned as unwanted.

 

[Semple]

If you have a defective laptop that you've just purchased, then you are absolutely within your rights to return it. I wouldn't worry about who in the chain will be losing out.

 

[voidshatter]

If you have a defective laptop that you've just purchased, then you are absolutely within your rights to return it. I wouldn't worry about who in the chain will be losing out.

What about a CPU working fine but with poor overclockability?

 

[PapaLazaru]

What about a CPU working fine but with poor overclockability?

Silicon lottery. I would not return it in general, but depends where I bought it from. A CPU is not guaranteed to overclock to anything, unless sold as such.

I have bought expensive headphones from Amazon to try out before and returned them with no guilt, they can suck it up, they make enough money.

Most companies should be factoring return percentages into their costs anyway.

 

[Quartz]

What about a CPU working fine but with poor overclockability?

Sorry but them's the breaks. Overclocking is almost never guaranteed. The item can possibly be returned under the Distance Selling Regulations.

The Distance Selling Regulations state that your right to cancel an order starts from the moment you place your order, and doesn’t end until seven working days from the day after you receive your goods. This period is extended in cases where the seller failed to provide the required information to you after you'd bought the goods (ie after you agreed the contract with the retailer).

Seven days is the minimum legal cancellation period, and many sellers choose to exceed this, so always check the terms and conditions in case you have longer to return your items.

Note though that

Distance Selling Regulations returns apply to most products, but there are some goods you can't return if you simply change your mind, including:
CDs, DVDs or software if you've broken the seal on the wrapping

 

[Resident]

Sorry but them's the breaks. Overclocking is almost never guaranteed. The item can possibly be returned under the Distance Selling Regulations.



Note though that

DSR is now CCR and has slightly more consumer protections, an increase to 14 days for returns periods.

 

[Dave M]

DSR is now CCR and has slightly more consumer protections, an increase to 14 days for returns periods.

And also slightly less

A deduction can be made if the value of the goods has been reduced as a result of you handling the goods more than was necessary.

The extent to which you can handle the goods is the same as it would be if you were assessing them in a shop.

 

[Resident]

And also slightly less

IIRC that clause was actually argue for the clothing industry to stop people ordering expensive clothes, wearing them once then returning them as unwanted. I've got a couple of associates that have been caught out by this clause although I do agree it's wide open for the retailer to abuse.

 

[Dave M]

IIRC that clause was actually argue for the clothing industry to stop people ordering expensive clothes, wearing them once then returning them as unwanted. I've got a couple of associates that have been caught out by this clause although I do agree it's wide open for the retailer to abuse.

I don't know the deliberations of the EU committee during the drafting of the regulations, I'm sure it was a very interesting time for you, but as the definition of the DSR was to give the same rights of inspection to distance buyers as exist to in-person buyers, the purpose was, I assume, to correct an error in the earlier regulation that in practice actually gave greater rights to distance buyers than to in-person buyers.

 

[Rozzy85]

I've dealt with returned goods for Argos, Tesco and various other e-tailers. An item returned as faulty would either be sold off in bulk at auction or they'll pay a contractor to test them and resell working products on sites such as eBay and Amazon. Only sealed items can be put back into stock and if the packaging is opened or damaged then they will have to absorb the loss of selling it off as used/faulty. A Laptop with dead pixels would have been sold on again but at a reduced priced.

 

[voidshatter]

I've dealt with returned goods for Argos, Tesco and various other e-tailers. An item returned as faulty would either be sold off in bulk at auction or they'll pay a contractor to test them and resell working products on sites such as eBay and Amazon. Only sealed items can be put back into stock and if the packaging is opened or damaged then they will have to absorb the loss of selling it off as used/faulty. A Laptop with dead pixels would have been sold on again but at a reduced priced.

Thanks - this is the answer I've been looking for. It appears that the retailer will have to take the hit. This means each retailer will run their own algorithms and flag accounts with high return rates. They ban accounts which cause them to lose money. Thus, one should never abuse the return legislations.

However, I feel the pain to deal with items of low quality control. Sometimes it really takes several tries to get a laptop free of issues like crackling noise, coil whining, dodge click button, unaligned hinge etc. This raises tension between the customers and the retailers.

 

[Eurofighter]

If the laptop is really that bad then the retailed should be able to send it back to the manufacturer.

 

[Efour]

Talking about screens, isn't their a maximum allowed number of dead or lazy pixeles, before it's officially faulty?

 

[adolf hamster]

Assuming its not warranty returns (where eventually its the manufacturer who loses out and rightfully so) then i'd assume its the retailer loses out.

That said, i suspect there might be a level of workaround.

Lets say ocuk sells a cpu, it works fine but customer cant reach his oc target so chooses to return it, ocuk gets it back and although its not sealed its still effectively brand new, so it ends up going into another customers rig who maybe ordered a non overclocked system (lets say a business customer), so there's some salvagability there*.

Now thats a specific example, but its probable other manufacturers do this, i did get a warranty returned phone with a broken headphone port (not the same issue i'd warrantied for) and i wonder if they'd sent a returned phone without checking function.

* Not accusing ocuk of this practice, or indeed insinuating that the specific example is anything particularly contraversial, after all the second customer does get a fully functioning chip in-line with their requirements.

 

[neil_g]

Talking about screens, isn't their a maximum allowed number of dead or lazy pixeles, before it's officially faulty?

Certainly my old pioneer stated that there would have to be x amount of dead pixels before it was deemed an acceptable warranty issue. Anything below was considered "normal" for the manufacturing process.

 

[Jean-F]

Wow, talk about every day being a school day, I stumbled across Overclockers Forum some time ago, while web surfing, saw that there were varied threads, some more interesting than others, and decided to register, and kick my two cents in whenever I was moved to do so.
I had no idea what overclocking meant, still wouldn’t if I hadn’t Googled it today, likewise a CPU.
I feel like the new boy in class, ushered in, complete with Dunce Cap, and told by teacher to stand in the corner, listen, and try to learn from the other, more intelligent kids in the class.

 

[Quartz]

Talking about screens, isn't their a maximum allowed number of dead or lazy pixeles, before it's officially faulty?

Yes. This is governed by ISO 13406-2 and ISO 9241-302. Briefly, there are 4 classes. Class I/0 is flawless and Class IV/3 is utter sh***.

 

[Pipe & Slippers]

I understand that consumers in the UK pay 20% VAT for the benefit of consumer protections.

Errr, no

 

[Diddums]

I have bought expensive headphones from Amazon to try out before and returned them with no guilt, they can suck it up, they make enough money.

I don't know if you know or remember FrankieonPCin1080p but Amazon got fed up with him because he kept doing this. At one point he ordered like 15 mice and kept only one, Amazon refused the return and made him pony up. How true this is I don't know, he was shrouded in controversy at the time so it could've been nonsense.

 

[Terminal_Boy]

I don't know if you know or remember FrankieonPCin1080p but Amazon got fed up with him because he kept doing this. At one point he ordered like 15 mice and kept only one, Amazon refused the return and made him pony up. How true this is I don't know, he was shrouded in controversy at the time so it could've been nonsense.

Whatever happened to Frankie? His DayZ videos were hilarious.