harphunt

I just got my brand new 9c back from Futaba in 7 days, doorstep to doorstep. Nice turn-around.

What bothers me is this. I received my brand new radio from Tower on a Wednesday. On Saturday morning I noticed that the silver plating on the handle was peeling off. In only 3 days of ownership I had to spend more money on what should have been an undefected radio- not even used

I asked Futaba to reimburse me for the $10 shipping charge, but they ignored both requests. It seems to me that if an item is defective due to the manufacture's fault and therefore under warranty, they should pay to make things right, not me.

Unused - three days old!

Sound Petty?

Thanks for letting me sound off.

linclogs

Let me see if I understand this.

You bought a new Futaba radio from Tower Hobbies but it was defective and you sent it to Futaba? Just curious - why didn't you send it back to Tower? Seems like it should have been up to them to replace it if what they sent you was defective. Am I understanding this correctly? I suppose either company could take care of this but Futaba would likely "repair it" and I would think Tower would "replace it". Since Tower was the company that you made the purchase from, I'd think they should stand behind what they sell, at least immediately after the sale. I could see if a problem came up some time later you'd be dealing with the manufacturer as a warranty issue, but I wouldn't think that would be the case within 3 days from receiving it from the seller.

You stated this was, "an undefected radio- not even used". I just went to Tower's website and looked up there policy on returns. This is what it says:

DEFECTIVE RETURNS

If the item you wish to return is inoperable, but has no apparent damage, it is considered defective. The instructions on how to handle this type of return will vary, since some manufacturers insist on handling defects directly. Defective merchandise may be returned to us as long as it is in new and unused condition. Used, defective merchandise should be returned directly to the manufacturer for warranty repair or replacement or see Returns to Hobby Services, below.

Manufacturer defects found after the product has been used revert to the manufacturer’s warranty (a copy of which can be obtained upon customer request) and they will handle any problems for you directly. If you can determine that a product is defective before using it, we may be able to accept it back for exchange or refund; however, we suggest that you call our Order Assistance line before taking any action.


Notice the line that states, "Defective merchandise may be returned to us as long as it is in new and unused condition". It appears that as long as the radio was unused, you could have sent it back to Tower.

harphunt

I asked Futaba what to do and they said to return it to them, so I did. They could have referred me to Tower. I was going to call Tower, but I had received that answer from Futaba. I wonder if Tower would have paid for the shipping?

amcross

My Feedback: (2)

Regarding Futaba not picking up the expense...please think of it like this.

You buy a toaster, or a TV, or whatever at Walmart/Sears/Appliance City/enterstorenamehere. The TV doesnt work when you get it home. Does Walmart come pick it up from you? Does your local hobby shop? No. Will GE (or whomever) drive out to your house to pick it up? No again. Neither will Futaba.

If it is a warranty issue, they will ship it back at no charge as a courtesy to you (unlike you having to go back to Walmart if they didn't replace it on the spot), but they usually dont pay the inbound shipping.

harphunt

If this had happened 6 months later, I would have felt differently. But after scraping money together to begin with to buy the best I could just barely afford, it made me sick to have to return my new toy and pay more money due to no fault of my own. Driving to Walmart costs much less than insured and trackable shipping.

I've mustered up the courage to move on.

Thank you

JohnW

My Feedback: (6)

I deal with DOA equipment often at work (computer LAN/WAN networking.) Often, the DOA items are physically small, but very expensive. Even if we do $1M in business a year with a vendor, the best terms anyone will offer is cross-ship, but we still have to pay shipping to return the item. This is a standard policy that everyone follows and should only be a surprise to those that have never had the need to ship DOA equipment before.

I can only think of one exception. About five years ago, IBM actually shipped free of charge a empty box to us so we could package up and return an item. They even included a call tag so we didn't have to pay any shipping. However, anyone that knows IBM realizes that thier prices (i.e. margins) are VERY high. They make so much off of the initial sale price that I suppose they can afford to ship empty boxes.

It sucks that you had a problem with your new radio. I know I personally go mostly insane when I ship my radio to Futaba for just normal checkups... I can't stand to be without my radio, even in January... what if we get one of those rare warm winter days and I don't have my radio??? Anyway, I understand your complaint, but what you experienced is how 99.99% of business handle returns. You are still money ahead considering you probably got a good sale price and you didn't have to pay sales tax.

Cheers

harphunt

Thanks. I guess I'm over it, but I'm used to doing a lot of business with companys such as LL Bean and Orvis (I'm a fly fishermen) where they bend over backwards to keep you as a customer. I got spoiled and forgot how the world operated.

Thanks