WARNING: Future Shop is selling REFURBS as new.
 

Ok, so my laptop died last night. So this morning I checked Future Shop's website on a whim. They had a full loaded-to-the-tits Dell Studio 15 that I've been eyeing for months. For only $1149, too, which is below Dell's price (with coupons) on Dell.ca. So I checked it out. I bought one. Heck, they threw in a 3-in-1 printer for $10!

So I opened up the laptop in the parking lot, thank the computer gods. The box looked new, but there were HUGE scratches across the screen and a gouge/divot out of the case lid.

I examined the box more closely. There was a shipping sticker. It said it was sent from Dell Returns in Ontario to Best Buy's Western distribution center before arriving at the Bridgeport Future Shop. It was unit 3 of 24, sent on August 18th. Odd, n'est pas?

I walked back in and returned the laptop. The guy tried to blame the scratches on me at first, but the manager agreed with me. He suggested I look at the other one they have in stock. I did. Surprise! Even worse scratches and a divot in the centre of the screen! The case exterior was mint, at least. THAT box had the same shipping sticker, but was item 10 of the same batch of 24.

So, do I pay $1400 after taxes for a laptop that is obviously a Dell return/refurbished unit that Future Shop is trying to sell as new? Sadly, no.

I wonder if Dell knows these units are being sold as "new in box" items.

damn not good

I'm glad you caught it before driving off. Good lookin out!

I can't take the credit for that one. My man insisted on checking the laptop before we drove away. :)

Thanks for the info, I'm in the market for a new laptop and will stay clear of Futureshop from now on. Is it legal what they are doing?

I'm going to take a guess and say no. :)

This kind of thing shou be reported to the media. Who knows how often this is happening.

You work for a company that knowingly supports piracy, sorry you didn't get screwed over, like you help screw over companies everyday.

:321GFY

Not surprising Future Shop even buys reject product lines from the manufacturer and sells the products as new. Go to a Future Shop on Boxing Day and the return line is 5x the length of the purchase line...

close one! you almost got ripped off by a shady company!! some of us aren't so lucky to prevent ourselves from getting ripped off from shady fuckers.

I don't trust them for computers. I remember years ago buying a flatbed scanner and opening it up to see fingerprints all over the glass.

I get my stuff from ncix.com now, or from a local family-owned shop. Plus the extended warranty sales pitches always get on my nerves.

There into hidden x sales to
http://www.complaints.com/directory/...pril/11/23.htm

How many laptops you destroyed now? Seems like ya got a ruined laptop every month or two.

I bet once you returned it they put it right back on the shelf for the next person until someone buys it and gives up on trying to return it.
WG

Roger that... I only buy buy new stuff... and deal with the manufacturer. :2 cents:

that's where I buy all my computer stuff. ncix rocks.

I thought when you buy something like that they open the box in front of you to make sure its all good? always been that way with me.

Thanks for the infos
I get my shit on http://www.newegg.com/

Big fan of ncix as well.

Report them to Dell.

:2 cents:

Just buy from dell and get a new one... don't be cheap

that is furcked!

there's a saying around here.... im not rich enough to buy cheap stuff.

They most likely did.

Long ago in the early 90's I worked for Radio shack for a little while. The store manager of the store I worked in did that kind of stuff all the time. Someone would bring something in that didn't work and he would exchange it. He then sent the broken item to repair and when it came back he would sell it as new.

I also saw him, on several occasions, sell items he knew were broken, but he wanted to make the sale and he figured by the time they brought it back he would have a new one in stock and he would just exchange it.

The shittiest deal I saw was a guy heading out hunting who bought two hand held CBs to take on the trip. The manager sold him the one we had in stock and one broken one. The guy had told him they were heading out right from the store so he is going to get up there and find out it doesn't work. I ended up saying, as he brought it out of the back, "Oh, I didn't know we had any more of those left." The manager shot me a look and the guy gave us both a strange look. He bought them and must have got my hint (or was planning ahead) because he went out to his car and tried them. When one didn't work he came right back in. The manager was pissed at me, but not nearly as pissed as that guy would have been when he gets out in the middle of nowhere with only one working CB

I bought a cell phone from a "reputable" (name brand) dealer and discovered shortly afterwards that everything inside the box had been opened, and the warranty card was FILLED OUT with someone else's details! Considering I paid a cash premium to buy the phone outright rather than be locked into an ongoing contract I was pretty pissed. Instead of saying sorry and offering to suck my dick they argued with me for about 10 mins before finally exchanging it for a brand new one.

I've been on the same laptop since 2004, actually. I was looking into replacing it a few months ago, but never did buy one.

I love their lowest price guarantee..... just TRY cashing in on that... they bundle useless crap with a big ticket item so there's no way in hell it is "exactly" the same product, and therefore, is not guaranteed to be the lowest price. Fuckers.

What a freaking scam.

I buy all of my shit from the DELL Outlet online.

I never buy the scratch/dent models.

I save upwards of 70% of the retail price.

I get my merchandise shipped to me within three days because it is in the states.. New shit takes 2 weeks because it is being made in Taiwan and sent here on a ship.

well, it is called Future Shop, they probably wanted it to look like it would in the future.

I used to buy stuff from them years ago, never a problem. They were taken over by Best Buy a few years ago. I guess the profit margins have to be maintained.

Same for me. I have three brand new looking refurbished pcs that I purchased from the Dell Outlet at a fraction of the price of a new Dell pc.

Wow that sucks! That reminds me of a funny story... Those computer salesguys at Futureshop are pretty slick! I once bought like 5-6 laptops off this one guy in the course of say 2 months and he was so good I wanted to know if he wanted to come work for me. He said how much do you pay? I said well that depends, how much do you make right now? Expecting him to say $11 an hour...

Nope he made after commissions about $80,000 a year... At fucking future shop LOL! He was maybe 21-22...

Unreal

or, just maybe, and I am going out on a limb here, he said that much to see if you would match it, even though he really only made 1/2 that... just a theory though.

That does seem high. He was probably bullshitting, unless he was really raking in the commissions.

I know Best Buy starts at $10 per hour, and i've heard as high as twenty for specialists, and they are not commissioned, except for on extended warranties they sell.

Apparently Futureshop make less per hour since they are commissioned. Obviously their head computer guy is going to make more than regular guys though.

They also get a decent employee discount.

Apparently they are pressured to sell 8% of their total sales in the extended warranty.