So how does a company afford this?

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slackerinabox

Lifer
Mar 15, 2003
12,668
103
106
I'm not a spam bot, I assure you. I bought a dyson vacuum from an ebay seller (buyhappier.com) 2 years ago (refurb, with 3 year warranty included). Smooth transaction but 2 years later and the vacuum is acting up. I confess that I haven't taken the best care of it but asked if they could take a look anyways. Now I'd vacuum jelly beans and other stupid toddler messes so completely expected them to offer a reasonably priced service fee vs. a free repair.

Not only did they send me a free shipping label, but they emailed me the other day letting me know that they'd be refunding my purchase price in full since the model was discontinued.

How can a company afford to do that? I kinda feel guilty and would have accepted store credit or even a "dude, you're on your own." Since the purchase price was in line with what other stores charged without the warranty, how could a store afford that level of service?
 
sdifox

sdifox

No Lifer
Sep 30, 2005
100,517
17,964
126
freedomsbeat212 said:
I'm not a spam bot, I assure you. I bought a dyson vacuum from an ebay seller (buyhappier.com) 2 years ago (refurb, with 3 year warranty included). Smooth transaction but 2 years later and the vacuum is acting up. I confess that I haven't taken the best care of it but asked if they could take a look anyways. Now I'd vacuum jelly beans and other stupid toddler messes so completely expected them to offer a reasonably priced service fee vs. a free repair.

Not only did they send me a free shipping label, but they emailed me the other day letting me know that they'd be refunding my purchase price in full since the model was discontinued.

How can a company afford to do that? I kinda feel guilty and would have accepted store credit or even a "dude, you're on your own." Since the purchase price was in line with what other stores charged without the warranty, how could a store afford that level of service?
Click to expand...

They bought the insurance. Someone else is footing the refund.
 
Eureka

Eureka

Diamond Member
Sep 6, 2005
3,822
1
81
Online seller = no labor costs and no storefront costs.

Margins are probably decent on these items. If you sell 10 and only get 1 return, you're still ahead. Also, as sdifox said, insurance helps too.
 
D

DeviousTrap

Diamond Member
Jul 19, 2002
4,841
0
71
If it's a 3 year warranty, chances are they're returning it to the manufacturer themselves and getting another vacuum cleaner in exchange. Then they'll sell that new one as a "refurb" and recoup the cost of your refund.

Question is though, if there was a 3 year warranty, why did you go to the store instead of directly to Dyson?
 
S

slackerinabox

Lifer
Mar 15, 2003
12,668
103
106
DeviousTrap said:
If it's a 3 year warranty, chances are they're returning it to the manufacturer themselves and getting another vacuum cleaner in exchange. Then they'll sell that new one as a "refurb" and recoup the cost of your refund.

Question is though, if there was a 3 year warranty, why did you go to the store instead of directly to Dyson?
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The warranty was with the store, I believe the dyson warranty was only 30 days (lost the docs years ago).
 
sixone

sixone

Lifer
May 3, 2004
25,030
5
61
DeviousTrap said:
If it's a 3 year warranty, chances are they're returning it to the manufacturer themselves and getting another vacuum cleaner in exchange. Then they'll sell that new one as a "refurb" and recoup the cost of your refund.

Question is though, if there was a 3 year warranty, why did you go to the store instead of directly to Dyson?
Click to expand...

And if they can sell that new one to you, they'll get that refund back.
 
Koing

Koing

Elite Member <br> Super Moderator<br> Health and F
Oct 11, 2000
16,843
2
0
You are probably more likely to buy stuff from them now right? They have definitely left a good impression on you. I'd rather shop at a place like that then save a bit here and there.

They probably get a lot of repeat business as well for such a good service.

Koing
 
DrPizza

DrPizza

Administrator Elite Member Goat Whisperer
Mar 5, 2001
49,601
167
111
www.slatebrookfarm.com
Juddog said:
Impressive work as always, DrPizza!
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Actually, I was trying to answer the question - how long is the warranty from Dyson on a refurbished vacuum (since I know that Dyson has an outstanding warranty period & really seems to stand behind their products), and the 5th or 6th hit, using my search terms, was the OP's thread from last year. :p
 
S

slackerinabox

Lifer
Mar 15, 2003
12,668
103
106
DrPizza said:
You've only had that vacuum for about 13 months, not 2 years:

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2269496

So, you paid an extra roughly $40 for the extended warranty. On a $240 vacuum, they only need to sell to 6 customers to break even; well, maybe 7 customers, counting the shipping cost.
Click to expand...

Ha - I swore it was longer than that. Long year I suppose :) Either way the manufacturer's warranty for the refurb was 30ish days, this was all through the store,

And they price matched to a cheaper refurb price I found, $259 (the red one cost more than the $240 refurb back then). Anyways, I'll be buying more from this company so mission accomplished.

And I picked up a refurb oreck now if anyone's a vacuum junky - works better on carpets than my dyson but not good on hardwood floors
 
Ichinisan

Ichinisan

Lifer
Oct 9, 2002
28,298
1,235
136
Who refunded the purchase price? Dyson or the seller? I think some people assumed the seller did it...but I assume you're talking about Dyson.

[edit]
OK. Looks like the seller offered the 3 year warranty.
 
rudeguy

rudeguy

Lifer
Dec 27, 2001
47,351
14
61
freedomsbeat212 said:
I'm not a spam bot, I assure you. I bought a dyson vacuum from an ebay seller (buyhappier.com) 2 years ago (refurb, with 3 year warranty included). Smooth transaction but 2 years later and the vacuum is acting up. I confess that I haven't taken the best care of it but asked if they could take a look anyways. Now I'd vacuum jelly beans and other stupid toddler messes so completely expected them to offer a reasonably priced service fee vs. a free repair.

Not only did they send me a free shipping label, but they emailed me the other day letting me know that they'd be refunding my purchase price in full since the model was discontinued.

How can a company afford to do that? I kinda feel guilty and would have accepted store credit or even a "dude, you're on your own." Since the purchase price was in line with what other stores charged without the warranty, how could a store afford that level of service?
Click to expand...

I was a retail manager for years. This was one of the selling points of better brands.

Some brands include a buy-back for the merchant (NOT THE CONSUMER!). So if I sold you a stereo and it went bad, some brands would let me return it to them and I would get full credit. So if you had a problem with that brand, no sweat. Lets get you a new one. In reality, I could have also refunded your money but then I wouldn't be making a profit on the second sale.

Now lets say you bought a different brand. Not cheaper, just different. But that brand only does a 90 day buy back, which is standard. After 90 days, I would have to ship your stereo off to get fixed. Sure the cost was covered, but you had no stereo for the weeks or months it took to get fixed.

I am 90% sure Dyson is a brand that buys back for the duration of their warranty.
 
ProchargeMe

ProchargeMe

Senior member
Jun 2, 2012
679
0
0
I find logitech to be similar. Normally you email them and tell them your problem, and they'll ship you a replacement free of charge!
 
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