I ordered my Garmin Forerunner 405 from work today.
Having shopped around endlessly for the last few weeks I narrowed it down to a toss up between Amazon and the possibility of cashback; or, as luck would have it, Ebuyer where I could get free staff delivery.
Then, at the last minute an alternative site cropped up where I could get the unit £5 cheaper including free delivery. Ho hum - tempting.
I very nearly just got it there and then, but then decided to check the returns policy.
The company in question is Pegasus Fitness. They look bona fide - they have what appears to be a proper postal address, standard telephone number etc so I have no qualms there. However if you put the distance selling regulations aside and look at what happens for faults during the warranty period Pegasus have theirs very locked down:
What If An Item Fails After Being Used?
Inform us by email at support@pegasusfitness.co.uk exactly what has failed and return the item to Pegasus Fitness by post. The original manufacturer will be informed and the item will be inspected by them to verify the stated fault. Only then can a refund be issued. We will offer to refund or replace your purchase.
We will only accept items that have failed up to fourteen days after delivery.
Plus:
In ALL CASES, the customers is responsible for the costs of returning items to Pegasus Fitness.
Let’s compare this to Ebuyer’s returns policy:
Items Faulty on Arrival
If your items are faulty on arrival, you have 28 calendar days in which to inform us of the fault (please note that for our business customers, this is 14 calendar days). Items should be returned in their original packaging complete with all accessories and documentation. Once we have verified the fault, we’ll issue a replacement or full refund to you via your original payment method and reimburse your reasonable return carriage costs. We test returned items, and if a returned item is found not to be faulty by our technicians we will return the item to you, in this instance you will be liable for the return carriage.
And further:
Items Faulty in Warranty Period
If any of your purchases develop a fault, and it’s more than 28 calendar days since receipt, then provided your item is within its warranty period, you are entitled to a warranty repair. In some cases, manufacturers provide a specialist full on-site service and/or telephone help facilities for your convenience which we recommend you use in order to correct the fault quickly.
Notice the very subtle but very important differences. If I order the 405 from Ebuyer then I get:
- Longer to identify a fault on arrival - an extra 14 days in fact.
- The return shipping paid for if within 28 days.
- Encouraged to return my item to the manufacturer if under warranty - but I don’t read any compunction to do so, it sounds like I can still deal with Ebuyer if I wish.
These extras make that £5 extra well spent at Ebuyer me thinks, though I’m a bit biased as they’re my boss. Pegasus are doing a fantastic job of beating Ebuyer on that price, a really impressive feat in fact when Ebuyer are already cheaper than Amazon!
Conclusion: shop around on the Internet but always make sure you read the small print before you grab yourself a bargain.
September 25th, 2008 at 12:18 pm
It’s always worth reading the small print as you point out. I’m intrigued to know if you have copied the Pegasus returns policy verbatim? It’s just that is says “IN ALL cases, the customers is…”. Shouldn’t that be “the customer is…”?
Slightly off-topic but you also have to beware of pictures of an item when buying online. Sometimes it does not actually show exactly what you are buying and only by reading the T&Cs you discover this. Worse still it sometimes shows a better model of the same item. Can they get away with this?
September 25th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
I copied it verbatim. I did notice the spelling error, I should have put [sic] when I did.
As for the photographs - damned good point! You are of course covered by the distance selling regulations if you receive an item that you change your mind about - including due to the received item not matching that depicted.
As for whether the photograph itself breaks regulations, dunno … I shall research.
Hopefully see you up in that there Malton this Autumn.
September 25th, 2008 at 12:48 pm
Trading standards don’t comment on the issue of accurate photographs specifically - http://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/cgi-bin/calitem.cgi?file=ADV0058-1111.txt
The applicable regulations won’t just apply to Internet purchases though I guess.
September 25th, 2008 at 1:32 pm
I just thought I’d mention the pictures issue because it’s easy to be caught out on. Although your trading standards link does not comment on picture accuracy specfically it does have some other good tips.
Believe it or not our company eBuyer order turned up just as I hit submit on the last post. I hope there’s nothing faulty in there
BTW, if you plan to visit another meeting that’s great. I may do a talk on the benefits of using “rm -rf /”, a command that every Windows 2008 Server and Vista system should have! It would also solve your Vista disk space problem too.
September 25th, 2008 at 1:39 pm
Please don’t remind me of the pain of Vista … or the fact that I’m going to be seeing a lot more of it thanks to my Windows only sports watch acquisition.
September 25th, 2008 at 4:17 pm
On no. I’m disappointed!
September 25th, 2008 at 4:17 pm
Or should that have been oh no.
September 25th, 2008 at 4:52 pm
I can’t believe you were debating on which company to choose over just a fiver, that’s scrooble like. You should always buy from a reputable dealer, ideally one you have used before, that way these issues shouldn’t popup.
I have never had issues because I have always followed this golden rule.
It’s a true case of you get what you pay for.
September 25th, 2008 at 8:39 pm
Of course I’d debate over a fiver. It’s a product from a 3rd party manufacturer which has a warranty - so I have a fallback there. Plus I’m covered by distance selling regs. Plus I’m covered under the Consumer Credit Act when I purchase on my credit card. The fiver was there for the taking if the returns policy had been more friendly
But yes, it is an example of getting what you pay for - and Ebuyer’s extras are worth the fiver.
I know, I’m a tight arse.