HOWTO: Return an Opened Video Game
Most stores won't give you your money back for an opened video game box. Instead, they will give you the same title.
One man found a way to beat the sytem.
All it takes is slapping down your balls on the counter, a healthy dose of ox-like obstinance and a little creativity...
Read his breathtaking tale, "My Policy Differs From Yours" (Thanks to Danilo!)
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Comments:
3 things,
1. most places staple the receipt for the return to your original sales receipt, and even if you take that one off, they know your receipt has been altered.
2. even though most places have 'return policies' I'm pretty sure that stores aren't under any obligation to take anything back for any reason other than warranty issues, which are a seperate thing.
3. rent the games from gamefly or blockbuster before you buy them. That way you know when you've got a clunker of a game.
yeah, that dude got lucky. most places around here will open the 'new' game (cd, movie, whatever) before they give it to you.
I like the idea of renting from BB first, because they then deduct the rental price from the purchase price. But, I've got a PSP and their selection is complete ass.
If you live in Michigan, they have to take your return, for any reason, as long as it's within 24 hours. Doesn't matter if it's a car, or a pet, a video game, or a DVD.
Yes, they'll hassle you. Yes, they'll tell you that it's against their policy. But they have to accept the return. Just stay firm and let them know that if they don't accept your return, you'll seek remedy in court and, since they're breaking the law by not accepting your return, they'll not only have to give you the money you paid for the game back, they'll also have to pay for your legal fees and any damages you can get out of the judge.
Thankfully, I haven't had to return a video game more than once or twice, but I've been able to get my money back every time.
I have had luck in the past returning opened software. For instance, I took a game with multiple defects back and was told the policy was to exchange for the same game. When I explained that the game itself was defective and exchanging for the same defective game didn't make sense, I then had this conversation:
Them: Now, when you say the game is defective, is your system...
Me: I'm a software developer. Do you really want to get into the details?
Them: No.
Me: I fully acknowledge that it's possible that I copied this. I didn't, but it is possible. However, I've probably dropped $10,000 in this store in the last year or two and you've got to ask yourself, what's more important? Keeping my business, or preventing a $35 fraud which I assure you didn't take place?
The manager was standing about 10 feet away listening to the whole exchange. He walked up and told me that they'd be happy to give me my money back or store credit.
I've been lucky enough to not need to return software very often, but when I've had to, this has always worked.
D. writes:
"I work for the big blue box (Best Buy), and the policy about returned games is one we have as well (in fact, judging from the article's mention of talking to CS rep, followed by a manager, followed by a call to a district manager, I wouldn't be at all surprised if Best Buy is the retailer in question). Anyway, it's unfortunate when policies get in the way of good, honest customers, but 90% of the time when I see this policy coming into play, it is fairly obvious that people are just trying to "rent" the discs from the store so that they can burn them. Case in point: Someone brought back a stack of 5 opened CD's because they "didn't play in her CD player." We rightfully told her that if 5 CDs from different manufacturers didn't work in her player, the problem was with her player and not the discs. Rather than making any attempt to understand what was just told to her, she began to rant that "the customer is always right." Then she said the music "was bad anyway," and that was really why she was returning them. Hint: if you're going to lie to us, at least keep your story consistent.
Basically, it comes down to a judgment call on the part of CS reps and managers whether they think a generally nice person is being accidentally affected, or whether someone is pulling one over on the store. For instance, if you're arrogant and argumentative right off the bat when you come to return a product you bought 31 days ago, I'm probably going to resist making the 30-day exception. However, if you're pleasant, I'll do all I can to help. It comes down to being firm but understanding.
And yes, the store in question screwed up on enforcing their policy... when exchanging an opened media title for another of the same, they should always open the package before giving it to you, in order to prevent this kind of situation from their perspective."
This reminds me a bit of back when Master of Orion 3 came out- the sequel to MoO2, one of the best space strategy games of all time, that barely qualified as a game itself (I once beat it on normal difficulty through just hitting turn repeatedly until the AI running my empire beat the other AIs). I'm sure the local game store had a policy about returning opened games, but by the time my roommate and I got there there were a pile of opened MoO3s there and they weren't fighting any returns on it...