Return faulty goods to Amazon and get banned?

[coldraven]

Did anyone see this article in the Guardian? Not only did this guy get banned but also lost his gift card credit balance. That sounds harsh :(
I certainly will not be buying a Kindle after reading this. What would happen to your book collection if you got banned?

http://www.theguardian.com/money/2016/mar/18/banned-by-amazon-returning-faulty-goods-blocked-credit-balance

[TheFu]

That is why reading AND understanding what you are paying for is so very important. Most "content" purchases aren't really purchases like a book, they are a license with restricted use and Amazon can remove access to that content whenever they like. It isn't just on Kindle devices, but for all "content" purchased - even with physical media.

Do you think you own the DVD/Music CD/BluRay content? Nope. You own the media, but not the content on it. That is licensed with specific terms. You cannot have "public displays" with the retail DVDs sold, for example.

I have 1 amazon kindle book. Haven't read it because I won't load proprietary reader software onto any of my systems. Think I need to get a refund.

[Rocky_Bennett]

The guy in the article returned over 10% of all merchandise that he bought. You can't do that anywhere, for any reason. He needed to be banned.

[coldraven]

The guy in the article returned over 10% of all merchandise that he bought. You can't do that anywhere, for any reason. He needed to be banned.

According to him, "the goods were either faulty, damaged or not as described".
Have you never seen those videos of delivery guys throwing parcels around?

[CharlesA]

If reddit is any way to judge, this happens all the time, usually after a person has been returning high value merchandise or merchandise that is likely to be counterfeit.

I've done a bit of returns with Amazon and haven't had any issues, but I don't know what percentage my purchases to returns is.

[grahammechanical]

This kind of business practice will continue until people vote with their feet. People will not do that. This is a "never happen to me" situation.

Regards.

[montag dp]

It sounds very shady, but it would be nice to hear the other side of the story. From what I hear, there are a lot of people abusing return policies on electronics these days, essentially treating the purchase as a free trial.

[CharlesA]

It sounds very shady, but it would be nice to hear the other side of the story. From what I hear, there are a lot of people abusing return policies on electronics these days, essentially treating the purchase as a free trial.

Yep. That's what I've heard as well. Only hearing one side of the story rarely paints a full picture. :)

[SantaFe]

Yep. That's what I've heard as well. Only hearing one side of the story rarely paints a full picture. :)The local electronics store had that happen, usually around the Super Bowl & World Series time. People would "Buy" a giant screen TV before the game, and suddenly felt the need to return it for a refund afterwards.

They got tired of this naturally & changed the refund policy to replacement only, no cash refunds. Was fun to watch the reactions of those renters when they found out they were stuck with it. ;)

[TheFu]

I've returned a few items to amazon. Never had any issues. For some items, the return was more hassle than the cost of the broken item, so I didn't bother - have a long-corded-microphone like that now. Doesn't work with **any** of my systems - none. It was $24, but I didn't do the testing to determine it wasn't working completely until 35 days after purchase. Did test it the first week and I remember having issues, but I vaguely recall that it worked with some configuration. Just don't remember which STTR or TRRS or RTTS adapter made it work. Damn Apple - setting incompatible 3.5mm jack standards.

I blame apple, not amazon for the issue. ;) I like to blame Apple for all sorts of things. Easier that way. DRM -all Apple's fault. ;) Linux not winning on the desktop - Apple again. FBI trying to get a defacto law passed without congressional approval - Apple again. See - it **is** all their fault. ;)

Ah - good - this is the Cafe. ;)

[kurt18947]

The local electronics store had that happen, usually around the Super Bowl & World Series time. People would "Buy" a giant screen TV before the game, and suddenly felt the need to return it for a refund afterwards.

They got tired of this naturally & changed the refund policy to replacement only, no cash refunds. Was fun to watch the reactions of those renters when they found out they were stuck with it. ;)

The 'big box' home centers such as Home Depot & Lowes have a similar problem. People need an expensive but infrequently used machine or tool so buy it, use it for a few days then return it. Cheaper than renting.