Gary’s friend’s laptop didn’t have a catastrophic flaw or anything. But its wireless Internet connection was slower than it should have been, indicating a possible problem with the wireless card. So he packed it up and sent it back to Newegg to exchange for a new one. Newegg’s RMA department decided there was nothing wrong with the machine and sent it right back. Gary advised his friend to initiate a chargeback on the transaction on his American Express card and refused to accept the laptop’s shipment back to him. Newegg responded by blocking his account, evidently not wanting his business anymore.

My friend has recently purchased a Dell laptop in new condition from Newegg.

Upon receipt of the laptop, I realized there may be some issues with the wireless network card as the connection speed was way slower than any laptop with a similar specification.

(The testing environment is both laptops were connected into the same network (2.4GHz N Network). All active/continuous network traffics, such as online movies, YouTube, were stopped to reduce any interference. Both laptops have the most updated firmware and drivers. By running a speed test using http://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest, Dell laptop showed a speed significantly slower than the control laptop.)

Since it was a new laptop, I suggested my friend not to take any chances (based on my professional knowledge as a CompTIA A+ and MCITP, as well as a currently licensed electronic repairer by the BEAR of CA Department of Consumer Affairs) and asked for a replacement (it was never my friend’s initial attempt for a refund).

Newegg issued a RMA and the laptop shipped back to City of Industry, CA. However, Newegg simply claimed that it worked and shipped the original back.

Of course, as a consumer, no one wants a new laptop with defective parts. So I suggested (which he did) my friend to initiate a chargeback with American Express and refuse accepting the package. American Express had successfully charged back Newegg. And the package was properly refused.

Here is what gets interesting – my friend’s account was totally blocked by Newegg.

I am not here to trash Newegg. But if you image this situation with a different retailer, such as Best Buy, Wal-Mart, and even directly from Dell, they will kindly accept the return and provide you a replacement.

What my friend really wanted is a laptop. He ended up having his account blocked.

That’s Newegg, apparently: great selection and prices, crappy return policies.

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