Deceptive Return Policy / Restocking Fee

I bought a weed eater at Corpus Christi Texas and I took it home. I
opened the box and try to turn it on but the weed eater was not
working. I took the weed eater back by the wanted to charge me 15%
restocking fee because I opened the box. I was really upset so I will
never go back to Sears again. If they product is defective, why I
have to pay the restocking fee. That been said the model I bough was
the last one on stock so they did not have anymore to replace it.

I bought a weed eater at Corpus Christi Texas and I took it home. I
opened the box and try to turn it on but the weed eater was not
working. I took the weed eater back by the wanted to charge me 15%
restocking fee because I opened the box. I was really upset so I will
never go back to Sears again. If they product is defective, why I
have to pay the restocking fee. That been said the model I bough was
the last one on stock so they did not have anymore to replace it.

A restocking fee is normally required to recover the cost of a high
ticket item being reduced. I ask you, would you purchase this without
being boxed (sealed from the factory) possibly without the owners
manual and neccesary parts without a discount? I think not. If
returned, this is the scenario.

then pay the darned thing! geez...they could probably just deduct it
from your store credit. or charge it to the sears account. I could
see it as a matter of principle, not paying it, but it IS listed on
the receipts and websites, and "almost everyone" knows that major home
electronics always always carry a restocking fee. No clue what the
fee does, but it's always charged. Especially on big ticket
electronics.

Dion R.,

Between being on the receipt and on their internet site I think they
have the topic pretty well covered.

Here is what they have on their site:

Satisfaction Guaranteed or Your Money Back

Our goal is that you are completely satisfied with your purchase. If
for any reason you are not satisfied, simply return your purchase in
its original packaging, with your original packing slip and sears.com
Order Confirmation E-mail Receipt within 90 days of your purchase, 30
days for Home Electronics and Mattresses for a refund or exchange. If
you are not satisfied with your purchase after these time periods,
please let us know. Your satisfaction is important to Sears.

A 15% restocking fee applies on Tires, select Home Appliances, Home
Electronics, Home Improvement, Household Goods, Lawn & Garden, and
Automotive products not returned in the original box, unused, and
containing all original product packaging and accessories.
Special orders cancelled after 24 hours of purchase are subject to a
15% order cancellation fee
For mailable and home delivery items, see our returns options below.
Shipping and handling charges are not refundable. For additional
questions on sears.com returns or order inquiries, email
webcenter@customerservice.sears.com.

BillR.

I have a few questions that I am curious about.

1) Why did you need a 1080p up converter if the TV was full HD 1080p?

2) What made your cable box incompatible? Was it because you needed
two HDMI jacks and the TV only had one and you did not realize this
until after purchase?

3) Were you trying to return it or exchange it? If you wanted to
exchange it I fell maybe they should have done that for you but not on
a return.

Was the television advertised as being compatible with your specific
digital cable box and converter? If not, then I don't see how you can
say this is false advertising. You should have looked into that
before purchasing the television. And why did it take two weeks for
you to realize the television wouldn't work? That's the first thing
you should have checked.

If Sears makes an exception for you then they'll have to do it for
other customers, as well. It wouldn't be fair to ask them to lose
money on electronics returns that can no longer be sold as new. I can
only imagine how people would abuse such leniency.

Sorry, Dion, but everyone's right. The restocking fee is on the back
of the receipt, as well as posted (should be) at each cash wrap. Also,
you could have asked the sales associate for the return policy.

I do not think customers should just assume that there isn't a
restocking fee. Many retailers, not just Sears, charge restocking fees
for items taken out of the box or items missing components.

There may be nothing wrong with the television. I'm sure that the
Brand central manager and the SGM believed you. But you have to
understand that Sears can't sell that television as new anymore, so
Sears is losing more money than you are on it.

Since you've exhausted all routes with the store, your best bet would
be to call Customer Relations--

1-800-549-4505

Good luck.

Sears restocking fee is printed on the back of your receipt, and as
someone mentioned earlier, most stores do have restocking fees for
large electronics. That's why it's important to do your research
before you buy something like this, to make sure it will be compatible
with the equipment you want to use it with.

"Being a business owner it is not very smart to lose customers at all
let alone over such a small amount of money"

Well, it's not such a small amount of money, since it's so important
to you. It's not a small amount of money to Sears either. Why should
they be the ones to suck up a $162 loss because of your error?

I dont see anything deceptive or out of line here, I'm sorry.

I know its on the receipt that there will be a restocking fee
especially for large ticket items at Sears because I had to return a
tv that I just did not work properly when I got it home.
This is not only at Sears but many places have this in place now.

You are asking them to void this policy for you just to keep you as a
customer. But as a customer you should be aware of return policies for
the places you do business with...especially being a business owner
yourself if they do it for you they have to do it for all.

Technically its not Sears fault because the tv was not compatible with
the cable system. Maybe it would be a good idea to do some research
and find out what models are before you purchase another and have to
return it.

Most, if not all, retailers charge a restocking fee on electronics
that are returned unless they are defective. This is to stop people
from "renting" a high priced item. What people would do is buy the
item, like a big screen TV, use it for the "big game" and then return
it. They will usually waive the fee if you buy something else.

How did this TV not work as advertised? Did Sears misrepresent it? I
don't think so.

How was the tv misprepresented, and by whom?

Home electronics have those restocking fees at most stores now. They
can't sell that tv as new.

Almost everyone has a restocking fee on electronics.

Did the TV Box actually say on there that it would work with your
cable box or your 1080p upconverter? Did a salesperson specifically
say that it would work with those two other pieces of electronics? If
not, then it is not the stores fault, it is yours. When making a
major purchase do more research, as you said, they were both
documented issues with that model.

If your TV was actually defective, there would be no restocking fee.