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More trouble with Sears

eschoendorff

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So I bought that 8 piece SAE reversing GearWrench set at Sears last week, went to use it once, and that damned cap on the box end (that "feature that won't let you slip past the nut - also won't let you access stuff you need to access) drove me nuts. Now, at this point, I had already thrown some of the packaging out (the plastic display backboard), but I kept the cheesey wrench rack that came with is, as well as the cardboard display piece that it came with - oh and my receipt.

As soon as I put it on the counter, the lady (whose first language clearly was not English) kept asking things, but I honestly could not understand her. Finally, a tool area kid came over and saw what I had and right away got a little defensive. First, he insisted that I had to have ALL of the original packaging. I asked him, "Who keeps all of the original packaging????" Well, then fine, but there will be a 15% restocking fee. I asked him where that policy was written and he showed me that back of the receipt. At which point he also called for a manager. The manager (an older guy - clearly not interested in helping out) came over and reiterated what the kid said. I showed him on the back of the receipt that it clearly states "A 15% restocking fee applies on select Home Appliance, Home Electronics, Home Improvement, Household Goods, Lawn and Garden, Sporting Goods, and Automotive products not returned in the original box, unused, and containing all original product packaging and accessories." I shouwed him that NOWHERE did it say anything about tools. Then, he tried to argue that tools were part of "home improvement."

FINE. Just return the thing. The kid runs it through and - low and behold - there is no restocking fee!!!! THIS WHOLE SITUATION COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED IF THEY HAD SIMPLY RUN THE RETURN THE FIRST TIME.

So, problem solved, right? Nope. I have a final total of $90, of which I used a gift card with approx $19 and then put the rest on my Sears Charge. They wanted to issue me another gift card. FInally, after more protesting, another manager came over and used his super powers to have the return balance credited to my Sears charge.


So.... the moral of the story is 1) if you even think that it is feasible that you may at some point in the near future return an item at Sears, save you RECEIPT, YOUR ORIGINAL PACKAGING, and a DNA sample of the original cashier. Also, pay off your credit cards (yeah, I know, I should talk) and quit letting places like Sears soak you in interest. Finally, if you need to deal with someone at Sears, be prepared for a fight. Not that there'll be one (I have come across Sears managers who were TOP NOTCH at this same store), just be prepared.

Caveat emptor!!!!!
 
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PAToyota

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Playing devil's advocate - they're losing money when you return something and cannot sell it as new again...

Not for a minute that I'm saying this is what you were doing, but the guy ahead of me at Lowes the other day was attempting to return a bunch of sheets of drywall that had been all banged up - likely from forcing them down a stairwell to a basement and then back up again when he either didn't use them or decided the project was too much work - and screaming ****** murder when they were saying they couldn't accept them like that. The idiots that buy something for one use and then want to return it after they are done with it, try to return damaged goods, try to return stolen goods, and otherwise attempt to cheat the system are the reason that the return policies are getting so draconian.
 
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eschoendorff

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PAToyota said:
Playing devil's advocate - they're losing money when you return something and cannot sell it as new again...

Not for a minute that I'm saying this is what you were doing, but the guy ahead of me at Lowes the other day was attempting to return a bunch of sheets of drywall that had been all banged up - likely from forcing them down a stairwell to a basement and then back up again when he either didn't use them or decided the project was too much work - and screaming ****** murder when they were saying they couldn't accept them like that. The idiots that buy something for one use and then want to return it after they are done with it, try to return damaged goods, try to return stolen goods, and otherwise attempt to cheat the system are the reason that the return policies are getting so draconian.

I can understand that... but it was the way the whole thing was handled. They insisted that I needed ALL of the packaging before they even attempted the return. Then they insisted that I HAD to pay a 15% restocking fee. Turns out that the corporate computer thought otherwise. If they had just run the return, then all of this could have been avoided. They were insisting upfront that the computer would make them add the 15% charge.

That being said, so what if they lost a little money on this deal???? They are making 22% interest on the balance on my Sears charge. What about all of the stuff that I NEVER returned? It takes money to make money.
 

TNToy

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Psst... *Looks dramatically over both shoulders*

you do know that Sears is primarily a Credit Card company, right?

It's been decades since the Sears stores had anything near the revenue they're getting from their credit card side of the company.
 

PAToyota

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As I said, I wasn't attempting to imply that your transaction was at fault - just that all the idiots playing games with returns are what make it difficult for those with legitimate claims such as yours. That the idiots make it so that everyone is assumed guilty from the start.
 
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I knew a guy that wanted to paint his house. He went to HD on friday and bought an airless sprayer, went home and spent the week end painting his house, Then on monday he returned it FOR A REFUND SAYING "HE JUST DIDNT LIKE THE WAY IT WORKED"... now that is trailor trashy
 
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eschoendorff

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thefairlaneman said:
I knew a guy that wanted to paint his house. He went to HD on friday and bought an airless sprayer, went home and spent the week end painting his house, Then on monday he returned it FOR A REFUND SAYING "HE JUST DIDNT LIKE THE WAY IT WORKED"... now that is trailor trashy
Reread the first sentence of my first post. This was not a "used" tool. I don't think that any one of us on this board would be low enough to try to turn a sale into a sort of twisted rental.
 

Junkman

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thefairlaneman said:
I knew a guy that wanted to paint his house. He went to HD on friday and bought an airless sprayer, went home and spent the week end painting his house, Then on monday he returned it FOR A REFUND SAYING "HE JUST DIDNT LIKE THE WAY IT WORKED"... now that is trailor trashy

That is how I get great deals at HD and Lowes..... I buy the items that others return, and get a great deal on them. A $1300 pressure washer cost me $500, and a couple of months ago, I bought a 20" Husqvarna chain saw for $22.50..... originally over $350!!!!!
 

PAToyota

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eschoendorff said:
Reread the first sentence of my first post. This was not a "used" tool. I don't think that any one of us on this board would be low enough to try to turn a sale into a sort of twisted rental.

That was what I was trying to say - that none of us would likely do these things but that we're the ones paying for others that will do that sort of thing. You were assumed guilty because of people like the house painter or the drywall guy...
 

kythri

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PAToyota said:
Playing devil's advocate - they're losing money when you return something and cannot sell it as new again...

The thing is, though, that Sears doesn't (and perhaps can't) sell as new anything that's been opened.

Even if all the packaging had been there, if any seals have been broken, or any of the merchandise is used, it can't be sold as new.

Sears has remedies for this. They can mark it down in the store, and sell it for less than the normal price, or even sell it at cost, and break even on that particular sale.

Sears also sells used/reconditioned/returned merchandise on eBay, under the "sears" and "sears_liquidation_center" identities (and possibly others).

I'd imagine that quite a bit of non-Sears or non-Craftsman merchandise (such as GearWrench-branded wrenches) get returned to the vendor for credit.

None of these really result in an actual loss of money for Sears.
 

cloud

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Great, I have to return something at lunch. I opened it last night, and it was broken in the box...but the receipt says the same mumbo jumbo about the restocking fee, which there's no way in hell I'm going to pay. We'll see how it goes!
 

wantedabiggergarage

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cloud said:
Great, I have to return something at lunch. I opened it last night, and it was broken in the box...but the receipt says the same mumbo jumbo about the restocking fee, which there's no way in hell I'm going to pay. We'll see how it goes!


But is this a return, or an EXCHANGE, for one that isn't broken in the box?
 

cloud

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An exchange, good point! The receipt doesn't say anything about an exchange. Sweet. I *shouldn't* get any flack...of course...none of us *should.* We'll see, I post up in a bit when I get back from Sears.
 

kythri

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cloud said:
Great, I have to return something at lunch. I opened it last night, and it was broken in the box...but the receipt says the same mumbo jumbo about the restocking fee, which there's no way in hell I'm going to pay. We'll see how it goes!

Restocking fees are only supposed to apply to "buyer's remorse" type returns.

If the product is defective/broken, I don't know that it's even legal to charge a restocking fee - let alone the obvious ethical issues.
 

wythors

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Edited for pertinence to this thread:

Mrs. Eschoendorff went to the Craftsman service counter and told the clerk she wanted a refund for the wrenches she had bought for her husband because they were pieces of ****. The clerk told her that he couldn't give her a refund because she was missing some of the original packaging. Suddenly, Mrs. E threw her arms up in the air and started screaming, "PINCH MY *******, PINCH MY *******, PINCH MY *******!!!!!!" The befuddled minimum wage lackey ran away to get the store manager in front of a rapidly growing crowd of customers. The manager approached Mrs. E and asked,"Ma'am what's wrong?" She explained the problem with the wrenches and he also told her that he couldn't give her a refund because she was missing some of the original packaging. Once again, she threw her arms up in the air and screamed, "PINCH MY *******, PINCH MY *******, PINCH MY *******!!!" and in doing so drew an even bigger crowd! In shock, the store manager pleaded, "Ma'am, why are you saying that?" In a huff, Mrs. Eschoendorff replied: "BECAUSE, I LIKE TO HAVE MY ******* PINCHED WHEN I'M BEING SCREWED!!"

The crowd broke into applause and her money was quickly refunded!!


:bounce:
 
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eschoendorff

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wythors said:
Edited for pertinence to this thread:

Mrs. Eschoendorff went to the Craftsman service counter and told the clerk she wanted a refund for the wrenches she had bought for her husband because they were pieces of ****. The clerk told her that he couldn't give her a refund because she was missing some of the original packaging. Suddenly, Mrs. E threw her arms up in the air and started screaming, "PINCH MY *******, PINCH MY *******, PINCH MY *******!!!!!!" The befuddled minimum wage lackey ran away to get the store manager in front of a rapidly growing crowd of customers. The manager approached Mrs. E and asked,"Ma'am what's wrong?" She explained the problem with the wrenches and he also told her that he couldn't give her a refund because she was missing some of the original packaging. Once again, she threw her arms up in the air and screamed, "PINCH MY *******, PINCH MY *******, PINCH MY *******!!!" and in doing so drew an even bigger crowd! In shock, the store manager pleaded, "Ma'am, why are you saying that?" In a huff, Mrs. Eschoendorff replied: "BECAUSE, I LIKE TO HAVE MY ******* PINCHED WHEN I'M BEING SCREWED!!"

The crowd broke into applause and her money was quickly refunded!!


:bounce:


HAHAHA funniest post of 2007!!!!!!!:bounce: :beer: :beer: :beer:
 
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69lkmno

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cloud said:
Great, I have to return something at lunch. I opened it last night, and it was broken in the box...but the receipt says the same mumbo jumbo about the restocking fee, which there's no way in hell I'm going to pay. We'll see how it goes!

Be prepared to get your ******* pinched!:beer:
 

cloud

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kythri said:
Restocking fees are only supposed to apply to "buyer's remorse" type returns.

If the product is defective/broken, I don't know that it's even legal to charge a restocking fee - let alone the obvious ethical issues.

For the record, I was able to return the part for an exchange with nary a question or a ****** pinch. I must admit, I was a tad dissappointed. Maybe I should take back an old ratchet this weekend just for fun?
 

Hurricane

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i had a similar incident when i tried to exchange an air compressor that was defective. brought back in the box and all, evidently i hadnt saved the instruction manual and the "cant understand normal thinking" woman behind the counter said i couldnt exchange it because i didnt have the manual for it:wtf:

took 20 minutes w/ the manager to get it straightened out. the particular sears by me is full of idiots
________
Stratosphere
 
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bmwpower

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I'm on my 3rd 8 gallon vacuum from Sears. The first 2 died during the construction of my house. The second one died after a month of use!

After the second one died, I left all the accessories, plus the hose, at home "by accident" and returned it. Stupid ***** behind the counter didn't even bother to open the box (I did save the box though). Now I have a nice 20 (2x10 connected together) foot hose to **** up stuff on my 3rd vacuum.
 

wilbilt

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Hurricane said:
the "cant understand normal thinking" woman behind the counter said i couldnt exchange it because i didnt have the manual for it:wtf:

Huh. That's pretty interesting, since I have never known a woman to read an instruction manual. Ever.

My wife considers the manual to be just more useless packaging material to be thrown out with the box, receipt, warranty papers, etc....:mad:
 

zimaad

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FYI, after reading this thread I decided to go to my local sears and return a few screwdrivers that had been worn and didn't work well. Not a single question asked and I was out of the store. I was happy with the service! I agree though, it's the reason I bought them.
 

wantedabiggergarage

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Hurricane said:
i had a similar incident when i tried to exchange an air compressor that was defective. brought back in the box and all, evidently i hadnt saved the instruction manual and the "cant understand normal thinking" woman behind the counter said i couldnt exchange it because i didnt have the manual for it:wtf:

took 20 minutes w/ the manager to get it straightened out. the particular sears by me is full of idiots

That is pretty stupid, and you should have responded to her by saying, that you want to open the new one, and check for problems, and they can transfer the owners manual, you just want a working unit.
I had one problem. The guy couldn't understand why I was replacing a flex socket. I told him to move his finger off the pin that was sticking out, and would he be the one who got charged if the pin came out in a transmission. He shut up.
 

kythri

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cloud said:
For the record, I was able to return the part for an exchange with nary a question or a ****** pinch. I must admit, I was a tad dissappointed. Maybe I should take back an old ratchet this weekend just for fun?

What did you exchange it for? Same stuff?

I've never had a single issue on a warranty exchange there, myself.
 

Morrisman

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thefairlaneman said:
I knew a guy that wanted to paint his house. He went to HD on friday and bought an airless sprayer, went home and spent the week end painting his house, Then on monday he returned it FOR A REFUND SAYING "HE JUST DIDNT LIKE THE WAY IT WORKED"... now that is trailor trashy
A guy I worked with a while back told me he'd had a job in Walmart or some such place back when he was in college, 1970's, and he reckopns me that sort of thing happened all the time even back then. Guys would often 'buy' a spraygun setup for a weekend, then bring it back on Monday, covered in paint, saying it 'wasn't suitable'. Full refund given, and the costs passed indirectly on to all the normal customers.:mad:

Even here in the UK you can do it in any big store, with most products. God only knows what clown thought up that idea. There was a time when you could only return goods if they were genuinely faulty.
 

kythri

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bmwpower said:
I'm on my 3rd 8 gallon vacuum from Sears. The first 2 died during the construction of my house. The second one died after a month of use!

After the second one died, I left all the accessories, plus the hose, at home "by accident" and returned it. Stupid ***** behind the counter didn't even bother to open the box (I did save the box though). Now I have a nice 20 (2x10 connected together) foot hose to **** up stuff on my 3rd vacuum.

So you stole the stuff? That's kinda asinine, you should have told them, and only taken the vacuum, not the accessories.

This, folks, is part of the reason prices are higher, and warranties get changed/canceled.
 

kythri

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Morrisman said:
A guy I worked with a while back told me he'd had a job in Walmart or some such place back when he was in college, 1970's, and he reckopns me that sort of thing happened all the time even back then. Guys would often 'buy' a spraygun setup for a weekend, then bring it back on Monday, covered in paint, saying it 'wasn't suitable'. Full refund given, and the costs passed indirectly on to all the normal customers.:mad:

Even here in the UK you can do it in any big store, with most products. God only knows what clown thought up that idea. There was a time when you could only return goods if they were genuinely faulty.

The sad part is, with all the hired help virtually right off the street, having little or no knowledge in the field they're working, a lot of times, they don't have the ability to aptitude to test a return to determine if it's faulty.

I mean, I've got no problems with returns when something's defective, or something is unopened or unused, and still saleable (even if it must be discounted because of packaging issues), but the "renters" really irk me.
 
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eschoendorff

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kythri said:
The sad part is, with all the hired help virtually right off the street, having little or no knowledge in the field they're working, a lot of times, they don't have the ability to aptitude to test a return to determine if it's faulty.

I mean, I've got no problems with returns when something's defective, or something is unopened or unused, and still saleable (even if it must be discounted because of packaging issues), but the "renters" really irk me.
My problem was that it wasn't until I tossed (I had no intentions of returning) *some* of the packaging that I discovered tha tthe wrench set was unusable. Renters irk everyone. I have been a pretty gdamned good customer for Sears.
 

bmwpower

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kythri said:
So you stole the stuff? That's kinda asinine, you should have told them, and only taken the vacuum, not the accessories.

This, folks, is part of the reason prices are higher, and warranties get changed/canceled.

...and now that I think about it, it was only the hose that I forgot. And it was an accident.

If the fall of Sears is due to my keeping a $1 hose, so be it.

After all the nonsense I had to go through, I figured it was the least they could do.
 
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