Circuit City Liquidation: If You Buy A Shattered TV, You Are Out Of Luck
WCVB TV in Boston has an interview with two Circuit City liquidation customers who are out $1,100 after they bought a Samsung LCD TV from Circuit City's liquidation sale — only to find out that it was totally shattered. When they tried to return it — Circuit City's liquidator told them the merchandise was sold "as is" and cannot be returned for any reason. WCVB TV says there's a sign in one store telling customers not to open the merchandise, and another that allows customer to check their merchandise only after they've paid for it. Is this ethical?
Team 5 Investigates discovered that while consumers are warned about final sales, they have no way of knowing if what they're buying is bad. In the Natick store, inspections are allowed only after a customer pays, and in Somerville, one sign says "Check your purchase," but another sign says, "Don't Open The Merchandise."
In Minnesota, we found a similar story. A family paid $1,500 for a TV at the Circuit City liquidation sale — and claim that they were prevented from opening the box to make sure the TV wasn't damaged. The TV was, of course, totally shattered. When the local Fox affiliate tried to investigate, they say they were "kicked out" of the store.
Meanwhile, back in Boston, the customers told reporters that they were going to try to get their credit card company to help them — but honestly, we're not optimistic. All sales are final in a liquidation sale. That's only one of the many reasons you should avoid them.
UPDATE: For those of you asking why state laws don't apply here, it's because federal bankruptcy laws are in play.
Customers Burned In Circuit City Closeout Sale [WCVB]
(Photo:catastrophegirl)
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Comments:
It really sucks that he manufacturer won't help, but I do hesitate to blame them since the product wasn't defective. Circuit City is handling the liquidation poorly, but there is something to be said for the fact that the signs do indeed say "All Sales Final". I suppose I tend to expect people to read and understand stuff like that. If you can't check it before you buy it, and you know all sales are final, you should know you're taking a huge risk. Just another reason why one shouldn't buy from Circuit City.
Unfortunately, they can refuse service to anyone. If they see you beginning to open a package, they can kick you out. As long as they don't do it along discriminatory bases, (i.e. race, religion, etc.), I do believe it's legal.
I would never buy anything at a liquidation sale, **especially** from Circuit City.
Afaik, AS-IS has a legal implication of only covering disclosed damages or state of the merchandise. If you buy a display model as-is, you can't complain about that huge dent in the side you saw. The biggest things towards their favor would be that they were not allowed to check until after the purchase, and no returns even at that point. A policy meant to prevent being able to make an informed decision.
Its not like buying a used car, which you know is used, and have the option of getting it checked out by an independent mechanic.
IANAL, Laws Vary.
Once again, stupid human tax ......
@silver-bolt: Err, it's seen like tortuous interference in contract law, where one party intentionally does something to prevent the other party from fulfilling their part of the contract.
The sad part is, the $1,500 cracked ‘liquidation’ tv was probably still priced 50% more than the same-brand flat-screen at Walmart, which could have been returned. Retail is changing forever.
I don't really see what you have to lose by opening the merchandise anyway. You get caught, they throw you out, you don't gamble your $1100 on potentially broken merch. You don't get caught, you see it's broken, you DEFINITELY don't spend the $1100.
From [www.mass.gov]
"Implied Warranty of Merchantability:
Under the implied warranty of merchantability, the merchandise must do what it was designed to do with reasonable safety, efficiency and ease, and for at least a reasonable period of time. For example, a toaster must toast, a TV set must have a picture and a clothes dryer should not overheat and catch fire when properly operated.
Every item sold by a merchant in Massachusetts automatically comes with the implied warranty of merchantability. There is no warranty of merchantability if the seller is not a merchant, or if the seller is a merchant but does not ordinarily sell goods of that kind. For example, a computer purchased from a restaurant that does not usually sell computers will not have this implied warranty.
Under this law, a merchant cannot sell merchandise "as is", "with all faults", or with a "50/50" warranty. (M.G.L. c. 106, §2-314)"
Also from the same site... this is the important one in massachusetts:
Defective Merchandise:
A store, however, cannot use its disclosed policy to refuse the return of defective merchandise. When the item purchased is defective, you can choose a repair, replacement or refund. This right is contained in the Implied Warranty of Merchantability law. Under that law, merchants cannot limit your remedies. In addition, this means that if a merchant chooses an "All Sales Final" return policy, it must disclose that policy without limiting your rights. For example, the disclosure of the return policy must be similar to a posting which reads:
"All Sales Final, With the Exception of Defective Goods." (940 CMR 6.12)
While in Natick, make sure to check out the Twinkee factory before you go to CC>
Why doesn't some kind of 'lemon law' apply here?
@AcceptingTheAward_GitEmSteveDave: I steer clear of liquidations. I bought my LCD at Costco. Could I have gotten a better deal? Sure. But I have a 90 day return policy and a doubling of the manufacturer warranty. So its worth it to be treated well.
Circuit City no longer exists.
This is a liquidation company making decisions.
@AcceptingTheAward_GitEmSteveDave:
Umm...sorry to break it to you but the Twinkie factory is now a Nordstroms and some condos. Long time gone, can't go back to Twinkistanople...
It's also just down the road from the tire slashing Dunkin Donuts :)
I'm curious as to what model TV is involved here... I just bought a 47" 1080p Philips TV from Walmart for $1130, with tax. Circuit City's pricing has been awfully dodgy during this liquidation.
I bought a copy of "Orange Box" for the PC for $19.99 with 10% off and the following week the same game was $29.99 for 20% off.
I see an opportunity for a flash mob of people coming in and opening boxes like the gremlin on the wing of the plane in The Twilight Zone movie.
@ztoop: That is only for court enforced liquidation, where the bankrupt company still owns the property, and the court receives any revenue to hand out. This is not the case, afaik.
This situation falls under the category of "You Asked For It." One would think that by now people would know to give liquidation "sales" a wide berth.
Circuit City stunk when they were open, so why would anyone expect things to suddenly improve during their liquidation? I wouldn't buy a pack of gum from them, much less a $1,500 TV.
Wait, just so I'm clear here, does Circuit City exist? Who is making the decisions?
Gee, I wish someone would let me know, multiple times even ...
@menty666: Heck, I say finding a shattered TV ought to give you license to shatter some liquidator skulls. Maybe then there wouldn't be so much shattered merchandise pawned off on unsuspecting customers.
The sad part is, as well, the Walmart TV is a specific Walmart model and would be made more cheap than the tv from circuit city
Wow, huge money making opportunity for them. They can buy broken stuff from other stores for pennies on the dollar and then sell it as is/no peeking, and suckas will buy it because they have those huge "Going Out of Business" signs.
@ConstanceMaynooth: Myer-Emco is running a deal where you are guaranteed a price below the circuit city liquidation.
I'd shop ANYWHERE before Walmart.
@redskull: Circuit City no longer exists.
This is a liquidation company making decisions.
Sorry I couldn't help myself ;)
The sign in the CC near me said they consider opening packages the same as shoplifting and will prosecute. Nice way to have your cake and eat it too. Can't inspect before hand, can't return after.
This nearly happened to me. I tried to buy a PS3 guitar for Rock Band from Circuit City because the price was pretty good. I could tell the box had been opened before, so I took it to the counter and asked if I could open it to make sure everything was there.
Shockingly, I was told "no."
I said, "You want me to buy a product that I cannot return sight unseen?!"
The clerk stone-faced replied, "I can't open it. If you don't want it, don't buy it."
I didn't buy it.
I hate to blame the victim here, but really, who would spend over a grand on something sight unseen which they cannot return?
What I want to know is why the bank hasn't helped with a chargeback yet.
Anything that is taken out the door is technically the customers. The areas to check items after purchase is put up to help the customer. If something is broken and checked before departure the situation is different. Let's be honest it's not as if the liquadators/ccity knows that a tv is broken. Why is the blame not with Samsung for packaging a tv that is broken?
@mikedt: Shoplifting is a criminal offense and only the state, not private companies, can prosecute them. Also, just because a company considers opening a package to be the same as shoplifting, it does not mean that the law says the same thing.
We are not yet at the point where companies can make up laws.
@dreamsneverend: If you check after you checkout you are out of luck. And technically you don't have the right to open the box and look before purchase.
@ztoop: "There is no warranty of merchantability if the seller is not a merchant, or if the seller is a merchant but does not ordinarily sell goods of that kind."
They could argue a liquidator doesn't usually sell any certain kind of goods.
@wchamilton: It could be better specs for $1500. Especially if you're comparing them against a TV from Wal-Mart, which has been well-documented for using inferior parts to bring the price down.
@Xerloq:
Chargeback for a purchased "as-is, no returns" item? They'd have to make a case that the store is falsely representing that all the products are in working condition. I think there is an argument there... there is implied representation of functionality even for "as is" products, especially when sold at full price.
Still, the credit card company will have a hard time getting around the fact that you want a chargeback on a item which was clearly sold as-is, no returns.
This is certainly underhanded by the store.
But, at the same time, if someone is willing to fork over $1,500 for a mystery box, all sales final...well I guess sometimes greed can cloud good judgment.
If they allowed people to open the boxes of everything before they bought it, then everybody would be complaining that they are selling all those open boxes as new, even though the boxes have never left the store.
Liquidation (def) - a sale where the discounts are not commensurate with the risks
@JobStratton: Because it was most likely not broken when boxed. The blame is with the liquidators not letting people inspect items. They're playing a dirty game, attempting to repay the debts of Circuit Shitty, and will screw the customer at any cost.
@NotATool: Taken to its logical end, why would anyone buy anything at a liquidation sale if there isn't the most basic of protection?
That box over there...yeah, that's a TV or maybe a box of rocks or tissue paper.
@silver-bolt: "Who asks if they can open already opened stuff anyway?"
God, learn to read. I did not say that box was open. I specifically said "I could tell the box had been opened before." Which means was opened in the past, but not in the present.
Maybe you go around retail stores ripping open boxes, but I don't.
Ok, there is a huge point that seems to be forgotten here or at least was ignored by all the investigators.
Our CC store is set up the same way- items cannot be opened before the purchase. The point of the "testing station" is that if a customer opens a product right there in front of us, and there is legitimately a verifyable problem/defect/missing parts, our Liquidation Manager WILL allow a return/exchange.
If the customer chooses to not at least open and visually inspect the merchandise before leaving, it's their own fault and our LM will not extend them the same courtesy. The signs about not opening the merchandise is because people are, for lack of better words, savages, and it creates issues of missing/damaged product, or yes, as mentioned, attempted theft, which there is ALOT of. If we see someone opening a box, we have to assume they might be stealing something from it.
That said, it was the customer's own fault for not inquiring about testing the product before leaving, and the news company should have investigated a bit further before simply going "Gee, they have 2 conflicting signs up, news story!" Nothing was stopping the customers from opening their item before leaving.
Liqidators rule...honestly what can stop you from inspecting your goods before you leave the store? It's like checking your eggs before you leave the store, no one wants to come home and see cracked ones.