Should shipping on a DOA item be refunded?

[Yzzim]

I recently bought a refurbed ATI Radeon 8500DV at Newegg. The total cost was $128 w/free shipping.

Once I recieved the card I threw it in my system and everything seemed to work flawlessly. However, once I ran 3DMark2001 on it my whole computer would lock up in the same place time and time again. I even changed drivers a couple times and had the same problem.

Anyway, I just called up Newegg and they gave me an RMA #. They said I have to ship it back to them and I'd get a full refund. I asked if the shipping would be refunded and she said "shipping was free" and I said "well, how am I going to get it back to you" and she replied with "shipping is not refunded, only the purchase price."

Now comes my question. Why should I have to pay to send a non-working product back to them? Why should I have to be out the cash? If I bought a monitor for $300 + $50 shipping and the monitor arrives DOA and they don't have any more in stock, I have to swallow the $50 shipping charge? I don't think so. Not my fault it was dead.

 

[Electric Amish]

It costs just as much to ship a dead item as a live item.

If you don't pay it, it will just be tacked onto the price for everyone else, so you'll pay it one way or the other.

amish

 

[J3anyus]

Not my fault it was dead.

It's not the retailer's fault either. It's the manufacturer's fault, if anyone's.

 

[spanky]

well... many places have in fine print somewhere that says they do not need to pay for shipping back on returns. some ppl tho, have reported certain e-tailers paid for return shipping. i think that practice is slowly dying as everyone is cutting corners where they can.

 

[Furor]

you bought refurbished..that's a chance you have to take

 

[alphatarget1]

i think manufacturer/retailer should pay for the shipping, he is right, it's not his fault that the card was defective. it's the manufacturer's responsibility to make sure most of their products are not defective and they should eat all the cost of sending out a defective card.

my friend had a creative drive, RMAed 3 times and still doesn't work he had to pay shipping EVERY TIME and he was sick of it, so we pumped it a couple of times and then ran it over with a car

 

[BD2003]

With a store, its customary to split it. Although it sucks, its somewhat fair.

A user on the boards though, is typically well aware of the condition of the item before its sent to you. In that case, the seller should cover it.

 

[Yzzim]

Originally posted by: Furor
you bought refurbished..that's a chance you have to take

Newegg makes you pay for returning the item to them, whether it was refurbished or not.

well... many places have in fine print somewhere that says they do not need to pay for shipping back on returns. some ppl tho, have reported certain e-tailers paid for return shipping. i think that practice is slowly dying as everyone is cutting corners where they can.

Agreed. I understand with a company like Newegg, where they're working with very slim profit margins on most items. However, just because I understand doesn't mean I agree with them.