Yep, Circuit City liquidators selling broken returns

A reader of Kotaku bought a game. Inside the box was a disk ripped up by a shredder, with the previous owner's name carved into it. All sales final!

[#1 posted by dculberson , February 24, 2009 1:43 PM]

Ahh, have fun fighting those fraud charges!

[#2 posted by bcsizemo , February 25, 2009 6:26 AM]

You know it's shitty that stuff like that happens, but at the same time....different place, different time, different attitude.

I used to work for a small computer "chain" mom/pop style place. Good people, not bad prices. People used to complain about our 14 day return policy and 15% restock fee (on open/used products)...

However it's all in the perspective. Now I know this isn't the same, but go to a junkyard. Some will charge %15-20 percent restock, but I've been to several that go as high as %50. That's on used crap YOU had to pull out...

So since we expect Circuit City to have these policies, we EXPECT this company to honor them as well. Frankly if they just took everything from the store, went down to the local fair grounds put it all out and said "as is" you'd have many many less complaints. Same company, same policy, different perspective.

[#3 posted by dculberson , February 25, 2009 6:56 AM]

I understand what you're saying, and agree to an extent. But when they sell damaged goods that have been repackaged and sealed, coupled with a "no opening the package" policy and a "no returns" policy, they're intentionally ripping people off and abusing people a lot more than even a flea market would get away with. It really is fraud and nothing less.

Both of the posts to BBG have been regarding goods damaged beyond the point of repair in a manner that would have been obvious to the people repackaging it for sale.

[#4 posted by Roy Trumbull , February 25, 2009 8:21 AM]

Most auctions of a companies goods are conducted by auctioneers who've paid a lump sum for the goods. They're working for themselves and not for the company that went bust.
The only defense is to be there for the inspection period and to know your merchandise. I've been to auctions of technical goods where people have bid more than the new price for used goods.

[#5 posted by nwimpney , February 25, 2009 11:02 AM]

There's a big difference between shopping at a flea market, and a large retail store.

Under normal circumstances, sales of most software are "final", and you're not allowed to rip open the box to be sure that it hasn't been damaged and subsequently resealed.

There's still the expectation that you're dealing with a legitimate company, and misrepresenting a product is still fraud, even if all sales are final.

A defective product in a factory sealed package, sure. There's no way of knowing. If you get a bad one, tough luck...

A resealed package, though, shows intent. Whoever did it knew that it was being sold, and knew they were ripping you off. That's a crime.

[#6 posted by dainel , February 26, 2009 2:05 AM]

People need to use commmon sense.

1) "I bought this DVD writer yesterday. When I went home and tried it, it didn't quite fit. Only then did I realize I need the one with the other connector. It's $10 more, but I'm willing to pay the difference." The shop says "all sales are final".

2) "I bought this DVD player yesterday, but when I got home and opened it, I found that the box only contains two rather larger stones and lots of styrofoam packing." The shop says "all sales are final".

If you cannot see the fundamental difference between these two, you're not human. I declare you an early-AI, incapable of sentient thought. :)

I don't know about the weird Americans, but over here, no shop actually tell you not to inspect the products before you get home. In fact, most of them want you to. When it comes to electrical/electronics, they will open up the box and plug-in/turn-on without you saying anything.

I've had instances when I was in a hurry, the item was cheap, and I told them I didn't want it "tested"; but they still insisted. There's even one shop that insisted on testing every light bulb I bought.

My guess is, there's been cases in the past when customers had returned in a few hours/day, claiming the product was faulty; and the shop couldn't tell whether the product was initially faulty, or the customer had swapped it. They therefore instituted a no-returns policy. The "check everything before you go" policy starts after angry customers turns up shouting about being cheated, although many shops foresee that, and started both policies simultaneously.

[#7 posted by Johnny One Spur , February 26, 2009 4:23 PM]

Commenters, read the other BB post or its attached article about the Circuit City liquidation. Packages are sealed, and you're NOT allowed to open or inspect the merchandise before purchasing. The people selling CC's merchandise are not CC employees, they're a liquidator whose only interest is in getting rid of the stuff for as much money as possible.

The kicker, according to the last article, is because this is a "bankruptcy liquidation"(which is a federal deal), state laws protecting the consumer don't apply (federal rules trump state rules). In the liquidation, "all sales are final" means just that, and there's no recourse if what you bought was broken or (in this case) shredded. Sneaky, but the last article, which was pretty comprehensive, gave the idea that there's no hope whatsoever.