Adorama Return Policy (Page 6): Helen & Henry have more than answer their company polies that are more than fair. You can have an issue with any including Amazon. What I find...

Gifted One Loc: S. E. Idaho

Helen & Henry have more than answer their company polies that are more than fair. You can have an issue with any including Amazon.

What I find compelling about A & B is that they are more than happy to upgrade my equipment even with making recommendation that cost a sale. But I truly amazed at their willingness to help me gain greater skill set by educating me.

In my town we no longer have a camera store. You can purchase from Costco or do a 100 mile round trip to touch a camera.

Thanks you guys.

J. R.

henryp Loc: New York, NY

RAR_man wrote:

Same for sale items from B&H. Very disappointing. I bought a wireless keyboard with solar recharge batteries. the keyboard turned out to be less than full size and the space bar stuck. I hated the product and asked for money back. I had to pay for return shipping.

If the reason for the return is our error, or a product that's damaged in transit or is defective out-of-the-box we include a pre-paid UPS return label so the cost of return shipping to us is on us. If the reason for the return is the customer changed his/her mind or doesn't like the item I think it's entirely reasonable the customer cover the cost of return shipping. YMMV

josephnl Loc: Irvine,, CA

Leitz wrote:

So you knew what the return policy was before the purchase, you knew what the tripod weighed, and you're complaining???

Totally agree. You knew (or should have known) the weight of the tripod before ordering it. See no reason why Adorama should not deduct their cost in shipping to you.

Dlevon Loc: New Jersey

henryp wrote:

If the reason for the return is our error, or a product that's damaged in transit or is defective out-of-the-box we include a pre-paid UPS return label so the cost of return shipping to us is on us. If the reason for the return is the customer changed his/her mind or doesn't like the item I think it's entirely reasonable the customer cover the cost of return shipping. YMMV

That is a fair policy.

BobbyT Loc: Southern California

Dlevon wrote:

I agree. You would think that B & H and Adorama, that complete a great amount of sales, and the ratio of returns is minuscule, would adopt that sort of policy, and write it off as a cost of business, and in turn get more business. I bought from them a long time ago, never had to return anything and was satisfied with my purchase. Times are different!

As the boss said in the Godfather movie: "After all, we are not Communists!" Come on Guys, Adorama and B&H are very fair vendors. Better than almost all! We should be happy for their very gracious business.

RAR_man Loc: stow, MA

you would think it a good policy as it is your policy. But this experienced weakened my opinion of B&H. First, i shop B&H i expect top quality items and in the past have been willing to spend a little more due to great customer service. I also expect that B&H would sell top quality products; even ones on sale. The item i purchased and returned was truly junk. Shame on B&H

Now you see, with a better return policy and with better quality sale items you wouldnt get this bad press. Not doing it out of spite but certainly out of disappointment

henryp Loc: New York, NY

RAR_man wrote:

you would think it a good policy as it is your policy.

You don't know me at all so I'll enlighten you -- if I thought it was a bad policy I'd be campaigning internally long and hard to make it better. It used to be 15 days, now it's 30. We used to have a limit on shutter actuations for digital slrs, now we do not. We used to be much more reluctant to send pre-paid return labels, now they're sent any time there's any doubt. I cannot take full credit for any of these improvements but I'm here long enough and high enough up the proverbial ladder that I can say I had some influence.

Quote:

But this experienced weakened my opinion of B&H. First, i shop B&H i expect top quality items and in the past have been willing to spend a little more due to great customer service. I also expect that B&H would sell top quality products; even ones on sale. The item i purchased and returned was truly junk. Shame on B&H

We sell products ranging from inexpensive and amateur oriented to top-notch (and priced accordingly) in order to offer the widest range of choices to the widest range of customers. You didn't like an item? We're very sorry. You wanted to return it? NO problem -- return authorization was sent and a refund processed when the package arrived here. That makes it not to your liking, but if we sell a hundred and get two returns (hypothetically) that's not "junk."

wolfman

henryp wrote:

We sell products ranging from inexpensive and amateur oriented to top-notch (and priced accordingly) in order to offer the widest range of choices to the widest range of customers. You didn't like an item? We're very sorry. You wanted to return it? NO problem -- return authorization was sent and a refund processed when the package arrived here. That makes it not to your liking, but if we sell a hundred and get two returns (hypothetically) that's not "junk."

Well said Henry! :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

Jbat Loc: Charleston, SC

HelenOster wrote:

I guess if you never return anything you are not affected?

I can certainly raise it with our management team that our customers believe we should not expect our costs of shipping out an item to be deducted from a customer refund - are you saying you'd prefer to pay a re-stocking fee of, say, 15%?

Do not believe that all your customers would think that your current policy is unreasonable or that it should be changed. It is perfectly reasonable to me the way you currently handle it and I can guarantee you that if you have a restocking charge, there will be many howls and complaints about that also. To charge the outgoing freight charge back to the customer when something is returned is a reasonable business way to do it. The biggest problem in this thread is that the item was on the big sale so the cost was way down and it also happened to be heavy enough to cause the freight expense to be high. Short of that, nobody would likely be complaining. The one thing I would add is that I would have thought that Adorama's freight expense would have been less that the $17 with the volume you do. If so, I think the charge back to the customer should have been at the actual Adorama freight cost. If $17 was the true cost, then I am good with that and would not be complaining if this was my tranaction.

Jim Bob

RRS wrote:

Sorry to hear that, that's why I only shop at B&H Photo. I doubt there will be a next time but now you know it's better for you just to sell the item yourself then to ship it back. I can understand the $18.00 shipping charge but the additional charge of $17.00 would have to be explained to me. If that's how they do business then this is great PR for them!

:thumbup:

HelenOster Loc: New York

Jbat wrote:

Do not believe that all your customers would think that your current policy is unreasonable or that it should be changed.

Thank you - and thanks also to everyone who has made such supportive comments.
Customer Care truly is at the heart of all we do, trying to balance the best possible value for money products for all, quality packaging and responsive service.

We are committed to an open dialogue with our customers, so we can make any changes that are needed to improve the overall customer experience.

Ralloh Loc: Ohio

This discussion proves to me that for some people, you could allow them a year to return an item and give them double their money back and they would still find something to complain about. I already knew that, though, having had my own business and dealing with the public for many years.

jamesl Loc: Pennsylvania

guligian wrote:

I purchased a Sunpak Quanaray tripod from Adorama.... (show quote)

You got free shipping on the order, but Adorama paid to ship it to you. You are returning it so in the end they didn't get the sale. They are just recouping the shipping cost which wasn't free for them, it was only free to you with the purchase. I don't feel it is unreasonable.

jamesl Loc: Pennsylvania

HelenOster wrote:

I'm truly sorry you feel this way, however our ret... (show quote)

Adorama's return policy makes sense to me, and I feel it is fair.

John_F Loc: Minneapolis, MN

guligian wrote:

I purchased a Sunpak Quanaray tripod from Adorama.... (show quote)

This incident is an example of the risks one takes with 'online' purchasing - all you know is a picture of an item and the reputation of the manufacturer. That is why my first stop is a camera store - there I can put my hands on the item and inspect it. Now going the 6 beef. The is a branch of engineering called Strength of Materials where we learn that the greater the load the greater must be the load-bearing section. So was the tripod too flimsy for the camera & lense to be mounted. Did you consult Adorama about the tripod's suitability for your purposes. One reason Adorama has a good reputation is that they will give you straight answers to technical questions, just like B&H and others would do. It is tough to generate much sympathy for you.