In one of the discussion threads (and I don’t remember which one at this time) the poster suggested that rather than rent a tool for a specific project to buy the tool from Home Depot, then return it under their “satisfaction guaranteed” return policy at the end of the project. I’m sorry, but this is just plain wrong. The return policy is designed to assure the buyer that the tool does function as designed and advertised, not as a free loaner program.
Along these lines, I’ve known people to return a tool because they’ve found it advertised at a lower price after the original purchase. It’s up to the buyer to find the best price available before purchasing, not buy the item, use it, then shop for a better price. If you find a better price after purchasing the item, talk to the seller about perhaps getting a rebate for the price difference, but don’t stick the seller with a used item that worked just because you didn’t do your homework first. Abuse of sellers’ return policies simply gets passed on to the rest of us in the form of higher prices for the stuff we buy.
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Replies
Couldn't agree more...thanks for posting.
I for one, really appreciate HD's liberal return policy. I frequently find myself picking up a couple of different things because, e.g., until I actually try things out, I'm not sure what size will work best, or extra items because I'm not sure how many widgets I'll really need, etc. I don't abuse this policy and it saves me time and money. HD gains because their policy gets me to buy lots of stuff from them that I might otherwise buy somewhere else.
It really ticks me off that some folks return "paint", really cans now filled with water because they used the paint, or they break an item and then rebox it and return it, or lose or break parts and then carefully box up and return incomplete products to be reshelved. ("Anything wrong with the gizmo, sir?" "No, I just didn't like the color." BS!) This happened to me recently when I picked up a bunch of can lights without carefully inspecting each one. One of them had obviously been returned by some idiot who had cut the leads so short that the fixture was unusable. "Whoops. I guess 1" leads was just a little short. Oh well, I guess I'll just return it and let HD eat MY mistake and screw some other sucker who buys it tomorrow."
I'm also annoyed that anyone would consider HD's (or any store's) liberal return policy to be a "free loaner program". Enough jerks do this stuff, and the store will justifiably tighten up their policies, screwing the honest folks. Ironically, when that happens, the first to complain about the now-lousy customer service will be the very ones who can no longer freely steal from the business. Sheesh!
Thanks for leading the Vent Fest!
Mike Hennessy
Pittsburgh, PA
Anyone who thinks using something and returning it doesn't matter or doesn't cost anything, is a huge A-hole. They also don't have a clue. Nothing that is used can be sold as new. I don't expect that this is never done, either because of dishonesty or a mistake but the retailer can't legally do it. This means that they will lose money on it. It costs to have someone inspect it, clean it, repackage it, re-stock it (somewhere, not necessarily in with the new ones) and they won't make as much profit on it. All of this means that the markup needs to increase and then we all end up paying more because of some dirtbag who lacks ethics. I have been in retail for over 30 years and have had people try this kind of scam and we always had the return policy posted. One guy bought a big stereo system for his New Year's party and wanted to return it on Jan 2, which didn't work. Because he had financed it and it was a "no recourse" contract. This is an "all sales are final" type of deal and he was not a happy camper but if he wanted to have a big system for his party, he should have rented one. He just wanted to impress people and didn't want to pay for it.
"I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."
I just went through this policy with a brad nailer. I bought one reconditioned,sent it back,they sent a replacement,sent that back then bought new, now i am going to get another brand,but will probab]y have to pay a 15% restocking fee. the new nailer is not much better than the reconditioned one,but I just don't like it but it works prtty good ,but since i sent two back already, i think I will get a different brand and I mentioned the restocking fee. If the gun works ok they will charge me even though I did not finish the job,I have a lot of trim to finish,but they don 't know that so some times ya gotta eat it. he told me so many people buy it build their project then return it. sheesh!!
If you're returning the third one, ask for a manager if they try to take 15%. If you're buying a different brand, especially if it's from them, they shouldn't have any problem doing that. Go higher up the food chain, if you have to.
"I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."
I may do that. the main reason for my post was , I did not borrow the tool to finish my project, just wanted to own a nailer for my job. they added that to their policy because they were getting returns from people finshing their projects. so some people ruin it fior everyone, but I wonder, just because the item was returned still working but not satisfactory, how can they prove someone used it just to build something??that is the part that i don't like. i returned the gun because of the problems with it, figured i would have more so opted to return it and I hope they don't slap me with a restocking fee,i just may have to fight with a manager, I guess, too much work!
Sadly here in the "huricane belt" of the Gulf Coast everytime we have a hurricane coming all the box stores sell out of generators, then after the hurricane they seem to get a lot of them returned. They now at least won't take them back if they still have gas in the tanks. We bought one before a hurricane years ago, unfortunately had to use it for weeks to supply our emergency needs until power was restored. It worked great but leaked oil badly like it had a blown seal. Took it back (probably had several hundred hours on it) and they promptly refunded money. I told them I has used it, just wanted to swap it for one that didn't leak. The manager said why not wait until we get another hurricane on the way, then it may be a newer model or something. I went ahead and swapped, didn't want to fight the crowds next time!
Home Depot is not the only idiot here. I was at the in-laws about a year later helping after they got hit with another hurricane. FEMA was offereing to reimburse for generators. For some reason I had the sales slip in my wallet. Went to the FEMA tent with a year old sales slip from nearly 200 miles away and they gave me 100% of what I paid for it in cash (plus some ice which is why I was there). I would like to say thanks to all of us taxpayers for deals like that! To be honest FEMA did not make that offer locally when we had to have ours, not enough high-profile folks here to get FEMA to care but that's another soapbox.
Friends,
The liberal return policy is not new to Home Despot.
It is the reason that I started buying ALL of my tools at Sears in 1968, when I started woodworking. I was loyal to Sears for a couple of decades. It was their Golden Guarantee that got me in the store and kept me hooked. It was a "Peace of Mind Guarantee." There is a cost to implementing such a guarantee. This thread has gone over those costs. There is a benefit to the store for having the guarantee -- people are more willing to give their stuff a try, and to become loyal to the store. Is the payoff worth the cost?
We'll see. If it isn't, then Home Depot will drop it. Is Home Depot worried about people who people who "misuse" the policy?
I don't think so. I believe they just estimate the cost and build it in. The cost might be a little less if people didn't "misuse" the concept, but if I were you, I wouldn't think much about it. It is a very small problem compared to others. Stop to think that we still kill about 50,000 people a year on the roads in the US. That is about 1000 a week. Compared to safety on our highways, it might be safer to be in a war zone. Yet no one talks or things much about it. To me, misusing the return policy at Home Depot is a nit. Highway deaths is a PROBLEM. We NEED onboard visual monitoring in each vehicle. Look at the number of overweight woodworkers who are literally killing themselves with food. I would rather fight to reduce the average weight of woodworkers than fight to implement a better return policy at Home Depot. Maybe Taunton should form a partnership with Jenny Craig. We could have a special area in Knots with help for dieting woodworkers. Think of the number of woodworkers who use their tablesaws without a blade guard. Do you ever do that? Now that is a battle worth fighting. We should organize a group of woodworking police who enter peoples homes to check to see if the blade guard in on the saw. This is much more important than the return policy at Home Depot.Think of the poor woodworkers who are absolutely addicted to Festool or to Lie Nielsen. These people (including me) need professional help. There are probably woodworkers whose families are going without food so that they can purchase a second Domino, or #8. We need to set up a fund to help these families, and not worry about Home Depot. Heck, if Home Depot can afford to pay their outgoing CEO something like $400 Million, do you think they worry about some guy returning a lawnmower that he has used?Think about it.
MelPS - If you thought this message was written in all seriousness,
please think again. I just couldn't resist the urge to try a little dark humor. Sorry about that. It just goes to show you. You just cant trust anyone anymore. :-)As the song says:
Don't let the sound of your own wheels drive you crazy.Measure your output in smiles per board foot.
Can I join your "self-help" club, Mel?Frosty"I sometimes think we consider the good fortune of the early bird and overlook the bad fortune of the early worm." FDR - 1922
Frosty,
It is always a pleasure to hear from you. Glad you enjoyed my poor attempt at dark humor.
Enjoy.
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
Agreed. Some people just don't get it. They are the same folks that fall out of the car when someone bumps them in the rear. ??
Positive from HD: I buy paint all the time that others said"wrong color" and they don't want it. Many times its an earth tone and you can adjust it for use. I buy 5 gallon drums for exterior priming at 1/4 of the price. I fear this will be stopped soon -its got to be expensive.
I fear this will be stopped soon -its got to be expensive.
Dan,
I have been "bitten" only twice at HD's returned paint. Both times the jerks that returned the gallon of Deft and the 5 gallon drum of Behr's natural deck sealer added some foreign liquid to raise the full look in the can.. I don't think you have to worry of their "OOPS Paint" going away. A HD employee told me that they sell it at the $5 a gallon rate because if they had to dispose of the gallon of paint through EPA regs, the store would be charged "$50 a gallon".
I have a question for you. You had said you buy their 5 gallons drums and use it for exterior priming. I have always heard that one coat of Primer and one coat of paint is better than two coats of paint... Share your point of view will you?
Thanks,
Bill
Primer and top coats are very different. Primer is not designed to be durable and withstand the elements, but it has better adhesion qualities. The top coat is durable, harder, and resisted dirt and grime, but is not as forgiving as to the substrate.Pardon my spelling,
Mike
Make sure that your next project is beyond your skill and requires tools you don't have. You won't regret it.
Bill
Its a bit strange how I came to the paint and how I use it. I was watching this old house and Tom Silva and Norm were talking about the merits of oil paint vs water based. They wound up visiting this "paint test farm" where all of the paints were tested in the open elements for exterior stuff. The position of the paint industry made sense after they talked:
Interior paint is all about color ,flow and consistency. People are changing paint very often- no need to focus on durability like the exterior. Just work on choices and stay up with what's vogue.
Exterior paint: whole different ball game. To me it was like watching the US Army try to buy an all weather boot. It just doesn't cut it in every environment and the paint test effort is similar.
My challenge in my area is heat and radiant sun shine. Brittle paint and peeling. I rarely see ice, frost, and snow.
I fired off an email to the local university engineering/architecture dept. and gave them my low down and asked if they had some testing or a contact person I could get some information beyond the sales counter level on latex exterion paint. Touchdown. I talked to the testers directly at a major paint supplier "off the record"
They had advice for me in the hot weather:
1.Use water based paint when you can its just tougher and easier-- the oil has not shown itself to be better in test results(tough for me).
2. Primer has 2 key qualities they are developing: max thickness to cover the existing surface and adhesion for the paint. This is a balancing act for them. Too much of one is not good.
At the end of all this talking to this scientist/chemical engineer/lab expert who happened to be a really nice guy, I couldn't help sounding frustrated. He asked me where I wanted to go with all these paint questions.
I responded by telling him you know when we wanted to seal brick in the old days, we would pour "unusable" old ellmers white glue in water and make a sizing to seal the brick. It works.
When I do rough out buildings in my area, I like to mix all of the paint for the job in a big bucket(5gal) to get a consistent color and then I pour in a bunch of my glues(mixed to sizing) that are over a year old. Its cut with lots of water and added judiciously to the paint to enhance the bond of the primer and the color coats.
He told me that is a method lots of painters have used over the years and its a great way to use up older glue that can be thinned with water.
"one primer and one color coat" I take that about like I take the directions on the varnish cans that say do not thin with mineral spirits or naptha. I see the same thing everyday in the automotive paint industry. Warning not to thin or add flow enhancers. The key: run some of your own tests and see what happens. All of the paint companies are still trying to find the paint that works in every environment on all surfaces-- kinda like that boot...
later
Thanks Dan,
Your experience and candid information gives me a direction to start looking, for soon I'll be putting Hardyboard 4x8' panels on a 16'x32', two story, storage shed and paint will follow.
Bill
I totally agree with what you're saying. I truly don't understand people who live their lives that way, especially your first example ("Don't rent; just use a new one and return it!") The whole "me first" attitude, "if the system can be manipulated, by all means do it!" Sheesh.
For me, Home Depot's return possible makes it possible to buy a tool I'm not dead certain about and if it is not a suitable performer then return it. I think the only item I've returned under that circumstance was some saw blade I didn't like.
I bought a scroll saw at Lowe's several years ago, and then a week later they had a big sale on them (maybe $30 less). I took my receipt in and talked to the manager. He did a "return" on the item and then "resold" it to me, with the sale price.
This has been a real problem in women's high-end clothing stores with formal gowns. Unlike a man's suit which is worn many times, a gown tends to be used once and then not used again because "it has been seen on me." I know of stores that will use a UV light on the under-arm area to see if there is evidence of wearing. I am always amazed at the people who do not see this as stealing value.
Edited 10/30/2007 12:23 pm ET by dherzig
I have not noticed Home Depot here to have a usable return policy.
Only ever tried returning one product that failed on the first day and got no end of hassle. Return desk called a tool guy and both argued with me that I must have misused the tool to cause it to jam. How do you misuse a $30 bullet-powered hammer? The one I finally got in return worked fine.
I will only have any sympathy for a retailer that both has a decent policy and honours it. Home Depot in Canada does not. Lee Valley and Future Shop are examples of retailers that have/honour good policies.
Andy
I doubt if the HD problem is Canada-wide. Of the three where I live, the one that's gone ultra-big-box now has employees who don't know what company policy is, and couldn't care less. The display models of table-saws would make you weep. They now have a notice that says that after 30 days faulty tools will be sent for repair rather than replaced. The other two are OK and quite helpful.
Jim
Jim, Good point. I have noticed differences between two of any store in the same chain. Comes down to management. My store is not in a low income area as another poster talked about though. Someone also mentioned HD repackaging stuff. I don't notice that but the nearby crappy tire (only in Can) seems to only sell repackaged stuff, half of which is missing parts. Andy
Andy,
It's funny you bring up Can Tire... Years ago (when I was in high school) I used to work in the Sports and Gardening area (I know, they don't really go well together) people would bring things back in. We would pick them up at the front, take them to a shelf in the back room. The manager for each area was suppose to fill out the paperwork for Warrantee. I never saw my manager fill out a single piece of paper in the 10 months I was there.
I remember one garden hose reel being brought back 3 times... Then someone bought it and kept it...
Buster
3 times! Think of all that Funny Money going in and out of the till. Can Tire is good for some things. One of their Saturday employees scratched the rear bumper of my wife's car "helping" her to load some monstrous concrete garden thingy into the trunk. The manager offered to pay for a paint job at a bodyshop of her choice. He nearly had a baby when he saw the estimate, but he paid up like a man. In real money.
Jim
One of my friends had his car sideswiped by one of their delivery trucks to the tune of $3000 earlier this year. Not even an apology. Andy
Funny money going in and out of the till..reminds me of something that happened to me last year. I had a mastercraft mitre saw, and as I was reading the paper one day I saw a half page ad declaring a recall on these saws. I went to the store with my saw and the ad and demanded my money back. After discussing the problem with a couple of managers, the cashier said no problem, but we want the canadian tire money back. (all $2.00 of it IIRC)
-pjw
You know it's funny... I grew up in a small town, and Can Tire was the big store at that time. I always remember having a small stack of Can tire money around the house. Even one of the restaurants would take Can Tire Money at par for a short period of time.
Since I've moved to Calgary I think I've been to Can Tire maybe three times in 8 years...
I have had a HD employee suggest that I purchase a tool, use it, and then return it for a full refund. I have also returned defective items at HD to later find them back on the shelf for sale as new. Those are two of the reasons why I never shop at Home Depot anymore.
LOWES has the same "policy", I returned a shop vac that would not work, and while I was in the store, watched the clerk put the same defective
shop vac back on the shelf. The local Home Depot here clamped down on people who were buying paint sprayers and returning them a week or two later, all covered with paint.
I think people are jerks for doing this. I needed a framming nailer for my addition. It was $45 a day to rent. So I went on eBay and bought a used one for $150. When I'm done with it I'll sell it on eBay. (The used ones sell for about $150). So all it will cost me is $20 bucks in shipping. This is what people should do.
As far as the box goes I think it's determined by location. The HD I went to before I moved was in a low income area. And you couldn't return anything with out a hassle and 3 mgrs to sign off.
The HD I go to now is in a high income area. They are nice knowledgeable it's easy to make returns.
I hope HD doesn't change thier return policy. I always overbuy, cause I hate to run back to the stor for 1 more 2x4!
I agree.
The reality is that there will always be those who will take advantage of "the system" to the detriment of those who dont. "borrowing" a tool from a retailer then returning it with a bogus claim is the same as wellfare fraud, tax evasion and all the other "it dosen't hurt anybody" type crimes. These people may well be "cash regester" honest, but they dont posess a very strong sense of civic morality.
I am a 500 thousand dollar a year remodeler and spend a lot of money at Home Depot. I also make liberal use of their return policy. After a job I might have $100 of materials that I will not likely need for a long time; items like 5 gang electrical boxes, odd breakers, odd plumbing parts. When I buy these items I dont worry too much because I know that if I don't use them I can return them with no hassle. This is very valuable to me. My wholesale suppliers are not so leaniant.
Pardon my spelling,
Mike
Make sure that your next project is beyond your skill and requires tools you don't have. You won't regret it.
"I also make liberal use of their return policy. After a job I might have $100 of materials that I will not likely need for a long time...." Totally reasonable use of their return policy. You haven't used the items, LOL! Makes sense that contractors, etc., would overbuy a bit to ensure they don't waste time traipsing to HD/Lowe's for one electrical outlet in the middle of a job and such.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Exactly FG,
Their liberal policy really saves me a lot of time and money.
"Was it a 1/2" or 3/4"?....." "Will a long 90 fit?" "Do I already have one of these on the site?" These questions are easily answered with "buy both".
To return the favor I try to buy the open packages when they are complete (even though I don't return open packages).
Home Depot is making plenty of money and they pass a lot of the cost down the line to the manufacturer, so I doubt that they will change soon.Pardon my spelling,
Mike
Make sure that your next project is beyond your skill and requires tools you don't have. You won't regret it.
I overbuy for projects all the time... Just never with the intent to rip of the company or avoid a rental. Their return policy is designed for this... and I love it. Others love it as it enables their dishonesty.Drew
In one of the discussion threads (and I don't remember which one at this time) the poster suggested that rather than rent a tool for a specific project to buy the tool from Home Depot, then return it under their "satisfaction guaranteed" return policy at the end of the project. I'm sorry, but this is just plain wrong. The return policy is designed to assure the buyer that the tool does function as designed and advertised, not as a free loaner program.
Completely agree. It makes you wonder how some people were raised; if it was me, I'd have trouble sleeping after pulling something like this.
This is also the reason I rarely buy tools from Home Depot anymore. I won't pay new prices for used tools.
Some times it seems the store encourages this type of behaviour. I was to Lowes yesterday asking about some concrete patch. the clerk picked up a product and encouraged me to try it. "If you don't like it, just return it." If I used the product, which I did, I could never bring back an empty can. By the way, this thread gives me a renewed sense of appreciation for fellow man, a breath of fresh air. I expect we'll not hear from those who abuse the system. Of all my evil days, I don't ever remember stealing from or cheating a store.
My brother was an assistant manager at Home Depot... he had a guy who purchased a mower each spring and returned it every fall... ( I got one of his used ones) Blatant dishonesty... It is just sad that such a thing could happen without the police being involved.Drew
I used to work at Radio Shack years ago, and we used to get peaple buying TVs before the big game, or camcorders and then return them in about 2 and a half weeks. So you could tell they used them for the big party for the game or a vacation. This was sadly common.
Doug
From what I'm seeing it would appear to me that the store(s) are the issue, or more specifically their return policy. I do agree with all posters in that they would never be a part of this unscrupulous activity of returning something that I no longer needed or wanted.
In my mind, if I purchase something at a retail establishment and it turns out to be defective or missing parts then I feel justified in seeking satisfaction in the form of returning it or getting a replacement.
You wouldn't believe what comes into the landfill where I work! Brand new you name its brought in here all the time. Everything from lawnmowers to stepladders to power tools of all manner, some in the original boxes! And this is just what we know of.
Hey you folks, feel good about your honesty, you can all sleep at night and look your fellow man in the face tomorrow, not over your back.
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
"My brother was an assistant manager at Home Depot... he had a guy who purchased a mower each spring and returned it every fall... "
Cheat me once, shame on you. Cheat me twice, shame on me!Woody
I have a friend who owned a small hardware store. One of his mowers became missing one day. Then later it came back for a warrantee adjustment! That didn't go over too well.
i once lived in Fla and went to a builders square store to buy a post hole digger and noticed they all looked used
i asked a clerk if they had any unused ones and he said no
it seems everybody there would purchase one as they needed it and after they had finished using it they would bring it back for a refund
being new at the time in the sun belt it took me a while to get used to some of their quaint habbits
""If you don't like it, just return it."" He's just saying if it isn't satisfactory, return it. Sometimes, I think the employees say this to cover their not-so-well-informed butts. We had the hardest time getting the right adhesive for our kitchen floor installation, because the people at HD didn't know diddly about what they were selling. I bought what the guy said was "the best" and it turned out it was totally the wrong thing for the flooring/base combination we were dealing with (he was fully informed on that data). Fortunately I figured it out before using the darned stuff. forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Another thought.
Guess who pays for all this in the long run.
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Being in retail I hate to get involved here. But! There are some customers I sure wish I could charge a restocking fee. You know full well the item was used to do a job or that the clutz had no Idea of what He/She was doing or what to expect from the product or how to use it even after I try to get all the info I can about the job and give a good "How To" and then return the item none the less even when told the application isn't practical.Work Safe, Count to 10 when your done for the day !!
Bruce S.
Bad sales advice. Oh, yes. many years ago on my first real furniture adventure - a grandfather clock. In the local hardware store I asked for some wood glue. The salesman suggested a product that was being used quite extensively. I think it was Nail Stick. I didn't buy that one and the next time in I asked the owner about it. "Oh, no. I think this product would be much better and I wound up with a Weldwood product.
I used to pack put over nights at k-mart,we had people walk into the store, go to the t.v dept ,pick up a t.v. go to the return line,"oh, I lost my receipt" and the idiots would give them a refund,!!!
Forest.. Why they went under and returned.. I do not have enought guts to face one of them women at the service counter that yells at me.. WHAT DO YOU WANT!..
Hacker:
As everyone has said, there is simply no justification for using the return policy as a substitute for tool rentals. However, it's not exactly "free". You've got to go to the store and pay for the item them wait in line at the service desk to return it - all of which can be quite time-consuming.
The other day I needed a reciprocating saw for a small job, but the rental was about $40 with tax and a cheapo Firestorm was on sale at $55. So I bought the Firestorm and have used it on several occasions so it's nice to have. Although it would fall apart in two minutes on a job site, it's great for occasional use. Even if I had the ethical sensibilities of a Nigerian spammer, the exchange program would still be more costly for all those little one-offs. Did the same thing with a hammer drill.
Hastings
That's when I use Harbor Freight -- bought a $17 angle grinder and a box of cut-off disks. Figured I broke even first time I used it instead of trying to cutoff with a Dremel or hacksaw. My take is that it's not exactly "victimless," someone is paying for this whether it's the mfr, HD, or the hapless consumer that buys something that's used expecting new. I bought some hardware from Lowe's last summer. The first box was missing half the parts, stop mid-project, make a trip back, Second box was also missing parts and third box worked.That said, I did return that POS PC detail sander that did not work well on the first job, broke on the second and really should have never been sold.Hastings wrote:
The other day I needed a reciprocating saw for a small job, but the rental was about $40 with tax and a cheapo Firestorm was on sale at $55. So I bought the Firestorm and have used it on several occasions so it's nice to have. Although it would fall apart in two minutes on a job site, it's great for occasional use.
Edited 11/1/2007 7:11 pm ET by byhammerandhand
While I agree that using HD as a free rental store is sinful. I can see the advantage of taking tools for a test run. I don't condone this practice but what about the guy that buys a power tool or something and after a days worth of use just finds the item to function as expected but finds for whatever reason that particular tool isn't for him. For example the question of ergonomics could come into play if someone bought some tool and found that on the job it was really uncomfortable to use because of it's design. Would it be fair to return the tool?
What gets me are the jerks who buy a tool (say perhaps a cordless screwgun), they obviously use the hell out of that tool since it looks like it has been dragged thru the mud at various jobsites for a year, then return it saying that they don't like it. And the Borg (HD) will take it back. Really?
What irks me about HD.. and Lowes too for that matter, is the new check out procedure where you have to "ring up" your own purchases.
Aside from inconveniencing the customer so that they can save on salaries and benefits, the scanners never seem to work right and the entire experience takes a toll in customer frustration and time lost.
My original post was not about HD. Rather than praising or flaming HD, my post was bemoaning what I consider to be dishonest behavior on the part of the customers who abuse a store's return policy.
What irks me about HD.. and Lowes too for that matter, is the new check out procedure where you have to "ring up" your own purchases. I do that and like it.. OK but at my local HD they have a girl to help you if you need something scanned.. I fumble alot and get help as often as possible...
I assume she is cute?
Doug
I'm way late to the discussion, but I agree with you 100%. It's wrong to return a used item to avoid a rental, and the cost gets passed on to people with more honorable intentions. It also tends to shape future policy which makes "more acceptable" returns more problematic for everyone.
Unless a store offers a price guarantee policy, they aren't obligated to meet a lower price. And if they do offer a guarantee, a simple price adjustment should be all that's needed. Price shopping is the consumer's job...you agree to a price when you buy it...honor the agreement.
It's a good practice to open any package carefully in case it needs to be returned for legitimate reasons. Honorable returns, which can certainly include a change of heart if it stays within a store's policy, should be repacked as closely to original as possible. It's pretty unappealing for someone else to buy a return from a torn up package, even if the contents are all present and accounted for.
I went to home depot to buy a lawn mower after buying one off the floor at Lowes that had a seized engine. It had gas in it so it was obviously returned and placed back on the floor. The new mowers are placed high on the wall and I could not clearly see how the handle attached. When I went to put it up I realized I would need to remove four screws to store it. I felt bad returning it but I washed it first and then bought one that had a quick release handle. I now attempt to buy from Depot and avoid Lowes.
I went to thread and it seems some part of the return policy is missing but still, I went through this thread it really stucks a pin in my head. So went through some searches and found more readable information to easy return and refund and about the Home Depot Return Policy. After going through it seems like somewhere you all wrong about the policy. They have 90 days policy for general products and other few products such as Computers fall under the 30 days policy. One to return the product in its original form with the purchase receipt.
Larry, the thread is from 13 years ago. I think HDs returns policy has changed since then.
Mike
I recently purchased some bandsaw blades at HD for a portable bandsaw that I was using for putting in a steel pipe fence. Purportedly they were brand new. When I pulled them out of the package, three packages and two blades per package, I found out that they were used and wouldn't even cut. I was able to return them, but it cost me 1-1/2 hours and a 50 mile roundtrip drive. If you count my time, my helpers time and the vehicle, those blades cost me an additional $177. Original cost for the three packages was $54. It's not just the extra cost to the retailer.
On the other side; I bought a Craftsman drill at Sears 20 years ago. It died a few months ago so I took it to a Craftsman dealer (guaranteed for life, etc.)
My only gripe is, although they still carried the same model, it now has a keyless chuck. I hate, despise and loathe keyless chucks. But, I like that they honor their replacement policy.
An added story. A friend tours yard sales looking for old Craftsman tools he can return for new ones. My take - I secretly hope he gets caught.
Mikaol
I definitely couldn't do that myself, but the business has to know they're opening themselves up to those sorts of practices if they have a policy like that. Hopefully it doesn't get abused to the point that they change the policy. If I buy a tool for a job and like it, I definitely want to hang onto it.
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