Your experience with Fry's

[root]

I have bought many motherboard-cpu combinations from
Fry's and, upon reflection, I realize I have had problems
with *every* one of them. Sometimes I have to return
them, but if the problem is not too serious I just live
with it. I wonder if I am the only one who has such
problems. Most recent example is a MB whose sound level
was way too low. I just stuck in a pci card.


What is your experience?

 

[Jamie]

I have bought many motherboard-cpu combinations from
Fry's and, upon reflection, I realize I have had problems
with *every* one of them. Sometimes I have to return
them, but if the problem is not too serious I just live
with it. I wonder if I am the only one who has such
problems. Most recent example is a MB whose sound level
was way too low. I just stuck in a pci card.


What is your experience?

Are you implying that they maybe sending you returned garbage?

No, can it be?

Do you honestly believe that a merchant would do that to you?

Ha , Ha.

 

[Jamie]

I've bought at least 6 board / processor sets and have had problems
with one of them and looking back on the one, it's entirely possible I
was doing something dumb and the board itself was fine. I'm not going
to buy another Maxtor drive though. Gee, I should go over today as
they have a 1500 gig Segate drive for $105.

Keep in mind the only questions you should ever ask a Fry's guy is
"what aisle is ??? on? " or "do you have more of these?".

G²

You must remember, he comments on the onboard sound being low, I hope he
does realize that most integrated MB sound, requires amplified speakers.

 

[William Sommerwerck]

I'm lucky. There's a "computer row" not far from Microsoft. I can go to
Northwest Hard Drives and know that I'll get knowledgable service at a
reasonable price. My current machine was purchased over eight years ago from
them, and it's still perking along fine.

Try to find a speciality shop. Fry's is nice for parts, and for components
if you know what you want, but I wouldn't depend on them for any "real"
assistance. (The other day I asked for wire-wrap wire, and the guy wanted to
sell me connectors.)

 

[iws]

| root wrote:
|
| > I have bought many motherboard-cpu combinations from
| > Fry's and, upon reflection, I realize I have had problems
| > with *every* one of them. Sometimes I have to return
| > them, but if the problem is not too serious I just live
| > with it. I wonder if I am the only one who has such
| > problems. Most recent example is a MB whose sound level
| > was way too low. I just stuck in a pci card.
| >
| >
| > What is your experience?
| Are you implying that they maybe sending you returned garbage?
|
| No, can it be?
|
| Do you honestly believe that a merchant would do that to you?
|
| Ha , Ha.

Well, with Fry's, whenever I've returned something, even unopened, they open
it, check that all the stuff is there and then slap a returned sticker on it
and that generally winds up back on the shelf at a discounted price. At
least you can tell if it's been returned. I recently returned a set of noise
cancelling earphones that were defective - they accepted what I said and put
a return to vendor sticker on the package.

 

[1PW]

I have bought many motherboard-cpu combinations from
Fry's and, upon reflection, I realize I have had problems
with *every* one of them. Sometimes I have to return
them, but if the problem is not too serious I just live
with it. I wonder if I am the only one who has such
problems. Most recent example is a MB whose sound level
was way too low. I just stuck in a pci card.


What is your experience?

<http://www.newegg.com/>

 

[William Sommerwerck]

I once bought a rather pricey video card that had been returned.

I had no way to inspect the contents at the store. When I got
home, instead of the expensive video card, a cheap junk
commodity video card had been substituted. The previous buyer
had done the swap, and the expert Fry's staff could not recognize
the difference between the pricey card and the cheap junk
commodity card when it was returned. Caveat Emptor.

Wasn't he one of the worst Roman tyrants?

Had it been marked as returned?

I appreciate the warning. I generally buy only DVDs/BDs and parts at Fry's.
I'll keep this in mind if and when I buy anything "nice". Thanks.

 

[Jamie]

Wasn't he one of the worst Roman tyrants?

Had it been marked as returned?

I appreciate the warning. I generally buy only DVDs/BDs and parts at Fry's.
I'll keep this in mind if and when I buy anything "nice". Thanks.

Kind of reminds me of when my son bought a wireless dual logitech
keyboard and mouse for $99 from Best Buy.

Got it home and open it..

There laid the contents.

Standard Key board with it's cord ripped out.

Standard Mouse (ball type), with it's cord ripped out.

On top of that, both these items looked brand new, as if some one
may have just bought a new computer and switched them. This store does
on sight upgrades so something tells me a salesman give some one a nice
mouse and keyboard for their cheap desktop they just purchased..

Taking it back was a horror show.. It was going to turn into a legal
battle because I was not going to allow Best Buy to take my kid's $99
from them. They tried like hell to just push me away after they already
told my kid to get lost when he present the package with the contents as
he received it.

I guess the call my wife made and me taking down names of the
managers of the store plus calling head quarters from that store kind of
told them I wasn't going to stop.

I was in the right, I knew it, I had them. I was going for it and
smelling as I was writing managers name down. She finally made a
phone call and then they decided it was in their best interest to give
me a new package. And I did open it at the store to make sure the
contents was there.
Strange thing about this though, I made a suggestion that I thought
this took place in the store since they do upgrades there. I notice one
employee was staying clear of this little gathering at the service desk..
All the others were looking at the contents and could not believe what
they saw how ever, the manager did notice this one employ kind of high
tailed it to the back of the store just as I said that as I look rite at
him!.

Before I left to go to the store, I had already Email head quarters
of the even because of what they did to my son, I was going to take care of
it, even if it meant legal battles.

I didn't get a response until I got back home, when I read it, all it
said was about this rock hard policy about customer returns..
Essentially, the way it was worded, its your tough shit if you get screwed!

I replied back indicating that their store manager did the right thing
by replacing the items and to never call me or reply back to me any
more and I was going do my shopping else where, where they took better
care of their customers and were a little more responsible for their own
dirty laundry with in instead of making the customers pay for it.

 

[iws]

|
| >Well, with Fry's, whenever I've returned something, even unopened, they
open
| >it, check that all the stuff is there and then slap a returned sticker on
it
| >and that generally winds up back on the shelf at a discounted price.
|
| I once bought a rather pricey video card that had been returned.

Well, that's your first mistake isn't it? I never buy returned stuff from
Fry's unless it's all that's available and I'm desperate. The one time I can
recall doing that, I opened it up in the store to make sure the right items
were all there.
I
| had no way to inspect the contents at the store.

Sorry, I'd insist on doing it at the cash register on such an item.

When I arrived home,
| instead of the expensive video card, a cheap junk commodity video card
| had been substituted. The previous buyer of the card had done the
| swap, and the expert Fry's staff could not recognize the difference
| between the pricey card and the cheap junk commodity card when it was
| returned. Caveat Emptor.
|
| I've also bought returns where something important was missing. For
| example, an ATI All-in-Wonder card, that included a fancy cable the
| connector box. The card was present and accounted for, but not the
| cable. The Fry's employee that accepted the return could have looked
| at the contents listed on the outside of the box, but I suspect that
| would have been asking to much.
|
| In both cases, complaining to Fry's produced sympathy, and nothing
| else.

So they claim you made the switch when you returned it?

| I have other Fry's horror stories, both first and 2nd hand, but you
| can find those all over the web. The above are simply two problems
| I've experienced with repackaged merchandise.

That's why you should avoid returned stuff. BTW, I've never had a problem
returning stuff to Fry's and I do it fairly frequently.
|
| >At
| >least you can tell if it's been returned. I recently returned a set of
noise
| >cancelling earphones that were defective - they accepted what I said and
put
| >a return to vendor sticker on the package.
|
| Most large electronics stores and online vendors have enough clout to
| force the manufacturer to accept all returns. Costco and Best Buy
| both do that. When something is returned by the customer, it goes
| back to the manufacturer or distributor. However, this is only
| functional with high priced hardware, where the exercise is
| financially worth the effort. You can usually find the returns marked
| as "remanufactured", "reconditioned", or "refurbished". Dealing with
| and reselling the returns has turned into a rather substantial
| industry. It's a large enough business that most computah
| manufactories have their own online outlet stores:
| <http://www.delloutlet.com>
| <www.shopping.hp.com/outlet>
| <http://www.toshibadirect.com/td/b2c/bstorelist.to?coid=-29405>
|
<http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs...N=4294961692&catalogId=10551&categoryId=16160>
| etc.
|
| --
| Jeff Liebermann [email protected]
| 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
| Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
| Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

 

[iws]

|> I once bought a rather pricey video card that had been returned.
| > I had no way to inspect the contents at the store. When I got
| > home, instead of the expensive video card, a cheap junk
| > commodity video card had been substituted. The previous buyer
| > had done the swap, and the expert Fry's staff could not recognize
| > the difference between the pricey card and the cheap junk
| > commodity card when it was returned. Caveat Emptor.
|
| Wasn't he one of the worst Roman tyrants?
|
| Had it been marked as returned?

That's one of the nice things about Fry's - you can tell that something's
been returned because it has a sticker showing that and usually a discounted
price.

|
| I appreciate the warning. I generally buy only DVDs/BDs and parts at
Fry's.
| I'll keep this in mind if and when I buy anything "nice". Thanks.
|
I know it's fashionable to dump on Fry's but their sale prices are usually
pretty good and their personnel are no more clueless than what you'll find
at the competition (Best Buy, etc.) I bought my 61" TV there at a price
unmatched even online. Delivery and setup went without a hitch. Their price
match works too although I've only ever used it for stuff I've bought at
Fry's that subsequently went on sale. And their ads along with those of the
grocery chains, the daily crossword, and sodoku are the only reasons I
continue to get a daily newspaper!

 

[iws]

| root wrote:
| > I have bought many motherboard-cpu combinations from
| > Fry's and, upon reflection, I realize I have had problems
| > with *every* one of them. Sometimes I have to return
| > them, but if the problem is not too serious I just live
| > with it. I wonder if I am the only one who has such
| > problems. Most recent example is a MB whose sound level
| > was way too low. I just stuck in a pci card.
| >
| >
| > What is your experience?
|
| <http://www.newegg.com/>
|
Great but it's not a B&M store. Sometimes it's nice to be able to actually
go into a store and check things out in real life.
| 1PW

 

[William Sommerwerck]

Unfortunately, that's the risk one takes when buying something that's

obviously been resealed and inspected by the dealer, rather than
having the same thing done by the manufacturer, who presumably will
retest the product and make sure the nothing is missing. Also, I
can't realy blame Fry's for the board swap, as they were as much the
victim as I was.

If Fry's was a victim, it was its own victim. Any business that doesn't
carefully check returned items deserves what it gets. Unfortunately, what
they got was passed on to you.

 

[William Sommerwerck]

More Fry's horror stories:

<http://airlessspraycenter.blogspot.com/2008/02/why-you-should-never-buy-fro
m-fry.html>

Being in the repair biz, I probably see a disproportionate number
of such horror stories. I'm sure there are a substantial number of
satisfied Fry's customers, like yourself, or they would have long
gone out of business. However, I'm not terribly interested in their
style of customer service and support should something go wrong.

I met the brothers Fry when their Renton store opened a few years ago. They
seemed like nice-enough people, not out "just to make a buck". But...

These problems are not caused by incompetent -- or even dishonest --
employees. They start at the top of the company. You have to decide how
customers should be treated, make sensible rules governing the way employees
handle returns, problems, etc -- then enforce them. At the very least, Fry's
is erratic in enforcing its policies.

Despite the "Your best buys are at Fry's" slogan, Fry's is not, overall, a
discount store. There are plenty of full-priced items that make up for the
discounts on stuff that sells for less than list. I think Fry's would be
better off hiring fewer but better-qualified people, and paying them more.

By the way, a department manager went out of her way to help me get an item
Fry's had only limited stock of. I was very pleased, and let her know.

 

[PeterD]

I once bought a rather pricey video card that had been returned. I
had no way to inspect the contents at the store.

Did you ask? (a manager). I always do so, have not bee refused by any
store yet. It is both a reasonable and prudent thing to do.

 

[PeterD]

I probably could have asked. I could also have opened the box at the
cashier. I might even have opened it after I passed the door guard in
the parking lot. Plenty of lost oportunities to prevent a problem.
However, I didn't and I don't recall why. Somehow, I think it a bit
odd that I would be expected to do so. I can see that it would be my
responsibility that something would be suitable for a purpose, but
it's Fry's responsibility that it be complete, intact, and correct.

Being right is great, but bottom line if you are the one who looses
out, then right or not it isn't a good idea! <g> Just yesterday I
opened a box at Home Depot to ensure that it was the right product. No
where on the box did they have specifications! Amazing, a manufacturer
who puts all kinds of advertising on the box, but forgets to put basic
specifications (such as pipe size) on the box!

 

[JB]

I have bought many motherboard-cpu combinations from
Fry's and, upon reflection, I realize I have had problems
with *every* one of them. Sometimes I have to return
them, but if the problem is not too serious I just live
with it. I wonder if I am the only one who has such
problems. Most recent example is a MB whose sound level
was way too low. I just stuck in a pci card.


What is your experience?

So far, so good. I have done quite a bit of mental juggling sorting through
stuff available to build systems. You have to inspect and know what
hardware goes together well. I have seen "errors" such as misplaced price
tags and such. I found an Intel Boxed Quad Core/Fan kit sealed in the box
with heat sink compound goo as if it had been pre-tested, but it passed all
tests, so I don't know what that was about.

I have had problems with BestBuy in the past, and I won't touch anything
reboxed from them. Fortunately I have taken open box equipment to their
bench to try before buying and all failed before I lost any money. I
bought memory recently without incident.

Everywhere seems to have a turnover of kids. Never make an assumption that
anyone you buy from knows enough or cares enough to look out for you.

 

[JB]

..

Being right is great, but bottom line if you are the one who looses
out, then right or not it isn't a good idea! <g> Just yesterday I
opened a box at Home Depot to ensure that it was the right product. No
where on the box did they have specifications! Amazing, a manufacturer
who puts all kinds of advertising on the box, but forgets to put basic
specifications (such as pipe size) on the box!

It is all our responsibility to do thorough inspections of our purchases and
hold the vendor to his responsibility so they don't make a habit of screwing
customer confidence. If I am prepared to buy, I have no problem with
opening a box right on the floor, especially if the description on the box
is sketchy or doesn't tell me what I ought to know. If I don't buy it,
there is a good reason.

 

[William Sommerwerck]

Would you buy a box that someone else has ripped apart? That's why

manufacturers put tamper seals (tape) on their boxes. Seriously... If
you found something you wanted to buy, ripped apart the packaging in
the store, and then replaced it on the shelf, would you expect someone
else to buy it? I wouldn't.

The assumption is that one rips it open at the checkout.

 

[PeterD]

Would you buy a box that someone else has ripped apart? That's why
manufacturers put tamper seals (tape) on their boxes. Seriously... If
you found something you wanted to buy, ripped apart the packaging in
the store, and then replaced it on the shelf, would you expect someone
else to buy it? I wouldn't.

The only way to do it is to grab a sales associate and explain the
situation to him (or his manager). I agree it is not a good or proper
thing to just open packages on the floor. I also think that any retail
store that does not have a display item is bound to get just that:
people will open the box!

Oh, and when I got my unit, there were three other choices of
products. Both of the other products had open boxes where someone else
had done the same thing! (And yes, I did take the box I opened, seemed
fair to me.)

 

[1PW]

| root wrote:
| > I have bought many motherboard-cpu combinations from
| > Fry's and, upon reflection, I realize I have had problems
| > with *every* one of them. Sometimes I have to return
| > them, but if the problem is not too serious I just live
| > with it. I wonder if I am the only one who has such
| > problems. Most recent example is a MB whose sound level
| > was way too low. I just stuck in a pci card.
| >
| >
| > What is your experience?
|
| <http://www.newegg.com/>
|
Great but it's not a B&M store. Sometimes it's nice to be able to actually
go into a store and check things out in real life.

Point taken. But, if after you've had a bad experience at Fry's,
Newegg's growing customer satisfaction shouldn't be overlooked.