Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
• Check carefully for any mention of restocking fees. Many vendors who
trumpet a “No questions asked money-back guarantee” mention only in
the fine print that they won't refund all your money—they charge a re-
stocking fee on returns. We've seen fees as high as 30% of the purchase
price. These vendors love returns, because they make a lot more money
if you return the product than if you keep it. Do not buy from a vendor
that charges restocking fees on exchanges (as opposed to refunds). For
refunds, accept no restocking fee higher than 10% to 15%, depending on
the price of the item.
•
If you order by phone, don't accept verbal promises. Insist that the reseller
confirm your order in writing, including any special terms or conditions,
before charging your credit card or shipping the product. If a reseller balks
at providing written confirmation of its policies, terms, and conditions,
find another vendor. Most are happy to do so. If you're ordering from a
vendor that uses web-based ordering exclusively, use a screen-capture
program or your browser's save function to grab copies of each screen as
you complete the order. Most vendors send a confirming email, which we
file in our “Never Delete” folder.
• File everything related to an order, including a copy of the original ad-
vertisement, the email (or faxed or written) confirmation provided by the
reseller, copies of your credit card receipt, a copy of the packing list and
invoice, and so on. We also jot down notes in our PIM regarding telephone
conversations, including the date, time, telephone number and exten-
sion, person spoken to, purpose of the call, and so on. We print a copy of
those to add to the folder for that order.
• Make it clear to the reseller that you expect them to ship the exact item
you have ordered, not what they consider to be an “equivalent substi-
tute.” Require that they confirm the exact items they will ship, including
manufacturer part numbers. For example, if you order an EVGA 512-P3-
N871-AR GeForce 9800 GTX+ graphics card with 512 MB of RAM, make
sure the order confirmation specifies that item by name, full description,
and EVGA product number. Don't accept a less detailed description such
as “graphics card,” “EVGA graphics card,” or even “EVGA 9800 GTX graphics
card.” Otherwise, you may get less than you paid for—a lesser GeForce
card, a card with a slower processor or less memory, or even a card with a
GeForce processor made by another manufacturer.
• Verify warranty terms. Some manufacturers warrant only items purchased
from authorized dealers in full retail packaging. For some items, the war-
ranty begins when the manufacturer ships the product to the distribu-
tor, which may be long before you receive it. OEM products typically have
much shorter warranties than retail-boxed products—sometimes as short
as 90 days—and may be warranted only to the original distributor rather
than to the final buyer. Better resellers may “endorse the manufacturer
warranty” for some period on some products, often 30 to 90 days. That
means that if the product fails, you can return the item to the reseller, who
will ship you a replacement and take care of dealing with the manufactur-
er. Some resellers disclaim the manufacturer warranty, claiming that once
they ship the item dealing with warranty claims is your problem, even if
