Warm: Fry's new open box policy, save about 5%

[iwearnosox]

They're finally taking some action on this. Effective immediately "select items" will be immediately discounted when returned, it appears to be about 5%. Not ground breaking but a discount none the less for people willing to play the "previously molested product" game at Fry's.

I returned a motherboard there and they knocked $10 off it before putting it back out..

 

[weepul]

lemme get this straight, they put it back on the self for 5% off the original price? or they're charging the person returning a 5% restocking fee?

i get the feeling it's the former from reading your statement. but i always thought returned items were cheaper than the new items @ fry's. they always have that fry's sticker with a discounted price on them for ages.

//krunk (^_^x)

 

[Bad Dude]

You are kidding me? What if the product is crap and you have to pay the 5% restocking fee? Now I did not see the restocking fee on the original post but Fry's has to make some one pays for it.

 

[kyutip]

5% is not enough to take chances on Fry's "previously molested product".
Go buy from Newegg or somewhere else.

 

[hjlin]

Alot of times, these "previously molested" items miss manuals/parts...etc. I avoid the packages with those stickers like plagues. I've never seen them cheaper though...

 

[Parasitic]

I think it's only the packages that are missing items get discounted. I returned a Maxtor 40GB hdd (in its original package, shrink wrapped AND tied), the CSR didn't even bother to open up the package and check...just stuck the infamous "previously returned" sticker on it and sent it on its way back to the shelf.

 

[Runequest2]

I returned a video card that was not working right. I told them that it was defective and they smiled at me and placed a sticker on it and I found it back out for sale the next day.

I never buy anything that has been opened at Fry's.

 

[iwearnosox]

Uh, read the thread carefully. It says items are immediately discounted. That means exactly what it says. They take 5% off of the resale price, without penalty to the returnee's purchase price.

This has no conditions like if the item is missing parts, etc. It's only applicable to items the computer deems worthy, but probably most motherboards are included.

If you're feeling goofy you could bring your own item back for a bit of a discount. The guy there tonight offered to sell me my item right back..

 

[nickels84]

Yeah I heard you can haggle at frys. You can go bother a manager and if you take up enough of his time he will most likely discount the product you chose that may have nothing more than a damaged box top, and I also heard about haggling with returned items as well. This might not be a good thing cause im sure they did this cause some managers were taking too much off. Anyway i guess we can just hope for the best, and grit our teeth at this new rule.

 

[jrichrds]

5% isn't hot. A $100 product becomes $95. If all they sold were returned ones for $95, I'd gladly pay $5 more for a new one. The discount would only be substantial when buying a very expensive product. But the more expensive a product is, the less you want to deal with a returned item.

Anyways, they should've always had some sort of discount on returned items. Who wants to pay full price for something that could have been damaged by someone else.

 

[rasputinj]

Originally posted by: Runequest2
I returned a video card that was not working right. I told them that it was defective and they smiled at me and placed a sticker on it and I found it back out for sale the next day.

I never buy anything that has been opened at Fry's.

I never buy anything at fry's with the white sticker on it, it just takes too long to wait in the line to return it, I have to drive 30 miles to get to my local Fry's. I just do not trust the moron who returned it ( probably broke it) . I really don't think they check the stuff out, I just think they put it all back on the shelf.

 

[gsethi]

at Frys, if you know the employees, you can get some very good discounts on their stuff.....one of my relative used to work in the retail store and i used to get anywhere from 10%-20% discount depending on the product....

some managers go as far as 50% for their friends/relatives......i have seen people at Frys walk out w/ ~$2500 TV's for ~$1100 but then again..you gotta know the employees.

Stay away from opened stuff from Frys....i have heard stories about people buying complete top of the line desktops and then changing parts and returning those systems....those people at Frys just see if the system boots up and if it does, it ok and it goes back for resale...

 

[axskkyline]

that sounds pretty bad........ i bought open box telephones... and they stop working after 2 month. Battery just died

 

[Nebor]

That's funny, because when I'd finally had it with my Asus P4C800 Deluxe motherboard, I went up to Fry's and said, "Looky here, I bought the performance guarantee, so you're gonna take this back and give me a new one." So they take it back, credit me back the $249.99 for the motherboard, and we head over to the components dept. to get a new one. Start rooting through the shelf... there are NONE that are unopened. "Wait", says the salesman, "there's some up on the top self, let me get a ladder." He goes to get a ladder, but someone else stops him, "Those are all opened too." So I'm like, I want another kind of board, obviously this one is crap. The kid starts hemming and hawing, saying that the PG is only good for the same model replacement. I say, "You can't replace this model, this model was unopened." So I end up talking to the "Person in Charge" and he says that's fine. I went and picked out an Abit IC7-G, of which several were also opened, and left the store. Keep in mind I knew nothing about the different 875 motherboards at the time, I just picked one at random... Guess I got lucky.

I got a $30 store credit, which I quickly used on 2 Tim McGraw CDs. Fry's is about a 20-30 minute drive through the worst stretch of highway in the world (635) so I HATE going there. And with the troubles I had with my motherboard, I was there 6 times in one week, as they sold me faster ram and whatnot, promising each time it would correct my problem. ANyways, I hate Fry's. The CSR people told me that a lot of people buy things, overclock them till they die, then bring them back. He called it "Buy to try."

 

[GoSharks]

i call it renting

 

[Pezman]

Originally posted by: nickels84
Yeah I heard you can haggle at frys. You can go bother a manager and if you take up enough of his time he will most likely discount the product you chose that may have nothing more than a damaged box top, and I also heard about haggling with returned items as well. This might not be a good thing cause im sure they did this cause some managers were taking too much off. Anyway i guess we can just hope for the best, and grit our teeth at this new rule.

This would be ok if it was a big ticket item but I wonder if one must spend an hour hassling a manager, theoretically couldn't they just get a job and work for 1 hour and EARN it LOL. Anyway, haggling at Fry's would make for an interesting case study in annoyance.

 

[ProUser]

You mean they sell NON-OPEN box items at Fry's? Everytime I happen to venture in there with the intent to buy something, every single box is an open box. It's like a search for the non sloppy seconds.

 

[pxc]

Originally posted by: ProUser
You mean they sell NON-OPEN box items at Fry's? Everytime I happen to venture in there with the intent to buy something, every single box is an open box. It's like a search for the non sloppy seconds.

Ha ha. Every single item in the store is opened! Funny. :disgust:

The truth is that every item that is returned, opened or not, gets a sticker on it. Missing parts are written on the sticker. I have returned dozens of unopened items and each one got a sticker. For some items, like sale priced motherboards, the return rate is high. For example, the stack of 200 or so ECS K7S5A Pro motherboards had about 10-15 returned boards the last time I looked. There were about 5 discontinued K7S5A boards on clearance ($29.90) and each one had a return sticker.

Except if an item is discontinued, I've rarely seen more than 20% of any item with a sticker on it. Discontinued items with return stickers stick around a LONG time. Most of the non-motherboard or video card items don't have any return stickers on them at all. It's easy to get a fresh boxed item if you don't see any on the main shelf. Just ask. For video cards, it's even easier. Those are stored above other shelves in nearby aisles.

I haven't ever HAD to buy a returned product (excluding clearance since many of those are only returns). Fresh boxed items were always available just by asking or looking above the shelves myself. The several open boxed products I have bought were complete and worked. I have taken advantage of the 5% discount on some discontinued motherboards (clearance + 5% off on top of that) in the last month it's been available.

 

[BudAshes]

Yeah i really dont understand how they make profits off their computer hardware. Its always so disorganized and people return it half the time, plus people take huge advantage of their return policys.

 

[ProUser]

Originally posted by: pxc

Originally posted by: ProUser
You mean they sell NON-OPEN box items at Fry's? Everytime I happen to venture in there with the intent to buy something, every single box is an open box. It's like a search for the non sloppy seconds.

Ha ha. Every single item in the store is opened! Funny. :disgust:

The truth is that every item that is returned, opened or not, gets a sticker on it. Missing parts are written on the sticker. I have returned dozens of unopened items and each one got a sticker. For some items, like sale priced motherboards, the return rate is high. For example, the stack of 200 or so ECS K7S5A Pro motherboards had about 10-15 returned boards the last time I looked. There were about 5 discontinued K7S5A boards on clearance ($29.90) and each one had a return sticker.

Except if an item is discontinued, I've rarely seen more than 20% of any item with a sticker on it. Discontinued items with return stickers stick around a LONG time. Most of the non-motherboard or video card items don't have any return stickers on them at all. It's easy to get a fresh boxed item if you don't see any on the main shelf. Just ask. For video cards, it's even easier. Those are stored above other shelves in nearby aisles.

I haven't ever HAD to buy a returned product (excluding clearance since many of those are only returns). Fresh boxed items were always available just by asking or looking above the shelves myself. The several open boxed products I have bought were complete and worked. I have taken advantage of the 5% discount on some discontinued motherboards (clearance + 5% off on top of that) in the last month it's been available.

Who pissed in your Cheerios this morning? It was a joke, you know, making light of a situation. I understand not everyone laughs at the same jokes, but you don't need to come back all snotty. Sigh.. some people. Anywho.

I don't know what Fry's you go to, but my exageration was not far from the truth. The last few times I have gone in to buy a video card, or other peripheral I literally had to search for a NON returned product. If I go to the store to purchase an item, I want it NEW. You can put all the stickers you want on it, but the return line at Fry's is usually out the door and I will do absolutely anything to avoid any possibility of having to get in that line - ever.

To ME, a 5% discount is not worth ANY possibility of getting:

1. A damaged product, returned for a reason.
2. A product missing something.
3. A product that has been who knows where, with who knows who.

From a place like NewEgg, where the return is simple - I'm game. Fry's return is a whole new ballgame.

 

[edplayer]

Originally posted by: Bad_Dude
You are kidding me? What if the product is crap and you have to pay the 5% restocking fee? Now I did not see the restocking fee on the original post but Fry's has to make some one pays for it.

Smart people don't have to pay

Sorry...

 

[weelzuhn]

Originally posted by: ProUser
Who pissed in your Cheerios this morning? It was a joke, you know, making light of a situation. I understand not everyone laughs at the same jokes, but you don't need to come back all snotty.

yeah, but jokes are supposed to be funny...

pxc, just gave some helpful information, in contrast to your own "funny" post. You know, helpful information, like information that can help you make decisions regarding Fry's and your time and money. I understand not everyone appreciates getting these facts, but you dont need to come back all snotty.

 

[iwearnosox]

Please people. Have a :beer: on me and let's have a group hug...

 

[ProUser]

Originally posted by: weelzuhn

Originally posted by: ProUser
Who pissed in your Cheerios this morning? It was a joke, you know, making light of a situation. I understand not everyone laughs at the same jokes, but you don't need to come back all snotty.

yeah, but jokes are supposed to be funny...

pxc, just gave some helpful information, in contrast to your own "funny" post. You know, helpful information, like information that can help you make decisions regarding Fry's and your time and money. I understand not everyone appreciates getting these facts, but you dont need to come back all snotty.

You know that arguing on the internet is for retards picture floating around? Never been a truer statement. Hence my "lighten up" comments - which apparently you can use as well. RELAX. It's an internet message board!

The point I'm trying to get across is the Fry's near me has SO MUCH open-box inventory it's getting the point of being rediculous, and their return line literally can be an hour+ wait. Managers will almost always give a 5% - 10% discount if you purchase these items, all you have to do is ask. I have made the mistake of buying open boxed items there in the past, simply because they did not have ANY non-open boxed of the product I want. I simply walked over to the manager, asked for a discount - that easy. Unfortunately, I ultimately regretted doing so because the products were either missing parts, or were clearly used and abused before return.

If you have ever had to return something to Fry's you know the pain.

 

[weelzuhn]

Originally posted by: ProUser
You know that arguing on the internet is for retards picture floating around?

why settle for a picture, when the original is just a glance in the mirror away?

Originally posted by: ProUser
Hence my "lighten up" comments - which apparently you can use as well. RELAX. It's an internet message board!

good advice, perhaps you should take it.

cheers and thanks for the info!