Aquarium Design Restocking Fee

[Richard]

I think a business can make whatever policy they want but a customer has a right to complain about it too.

Kaiser loses $8 and AD makes $8. AD loses all of Kaisers future business and now Kaiser is forced to shop online where everything is cheaper, is always in stock, and is delivered to his door for less than what he would have spent on gas driving to the store.

Hmmm...So who is the loser in this situation?

Kaiser, spend the extra money and just order an eheim 1260 or 1262. You be glad you did.

[TexasTodd]

I've taken a few things back to AD that didn't work properly. I've had absolutely NO problems as each time they verified the problem and promply gave me a new replacement.

Now, I haven't simply tried to just return something, but to me that's a different issue than a defective item.

Ditto what Richard said on pumps...Buy an Ehiem if it'll fit to your skimmer, Mag drives aren't the best pumps.

TT

[Kristy]

I feel the need to defend Jason and AD. We have done a lot of business there and he has always taken care of us. We had a heater that went out after about 6 weeks, and he exchanged it free, no problem. He is always available for advice and I think the store is commited to excellent customer service and the aquarium community.

Bottom line though, retail is about making money. He doesn't sell used equipment, so most likely has to return the "used" product to the vendor, who probably charges the fee (or at least shipping involved.)

[tony]

jason also allowed me to return a broken koralia no questions asked

he is good people

[BoborLinda]

We shop, look & dream at Jason's. NEVER have we been treated with anything but respect & courtsey. Each person there has gone out of their way to help, & being new to this hobby is a MAJOR Help. True, I'm not fond of a restocking fee, but so many of the businesses are doing this, but the help we get outweighs the cost. I don't plan on loosing who I consider to be a friend, for a few dollars. Thank you guys, and KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK! A D is 5 star in our books*****+

[captexas]

Just my $0.02.

Drs. Foster and Smith don't have a restocking fee.

ANY merchant can certainly have/post a policy. However, if they choose to to tick me off by following that policy, I will certainly exercise my right to shop elsewhere.

Dr. F&S may not, but others do. You have to look for the fine print. Marine Depot has a 20% restocking fee on ALL return items. Premium Aquatics will accept returns, but the customer is responsible for shipping and if you refuse their shipment, they charge you a 25% restocking fee plus shipping costs. Custom Aquatic has a 15 to 30% restocking fees if you don't follow all of their rules and if the product was used in any way. Champion charges a 20% restock fee unless you exchange the item for another one. Hellolights reserves the right to charge 15 to 25% fees for certain returns. That's just a quick few that I looked at. I bet most of us have ordered from them without knowing these rules when we made our purchases. Funny how we can get so upset as customers over rules we don't pay attention to. If the roles were reversed and we were the store owners, I bet we would have the same rules in place!

[caferacermike]

In the end I agree wholeheartedly that if the issue is that AD feels the item is used so there is a reason to charge a restocking fee, the item should be sold for 10% less. If the item is being sold as "new" at the same price it was originally sold for, then that is shady. That's the type of stuff that annoys me as a hobbyist. However, if AD feels that the restocking fee is to cover the cost of having an employee stock the item, fill the void, restock the item, explain every detail about the item, as well as the time to ring you up originally and then the cost of the employee's time to make the return, then the fee is acceptable if in writing somewhere.

Just wanted to add that I won't shop at a place that wishes to make a fuss about me returning an item. End of story. The big picture is that I may continue to shop there for years if they respect that I may have been unhappy with a purchase. They charge me a restocking fee I'll never spend another dime there again. That is the shops chance to take.

[Bill S]

I'm NOT knocking AD. My point about Drs F & S is that they ARE the competition for LFS. Ask the folks here that HAD a LFS and now don't. Their model is to put on your doorstep, tomorrow morning, an item you can get from your LFS for 50% more today. Gotta tell you. That's tough to compete with.

Now, that being said, if I returned an item to a local establishment, LFS or not, that I had USED for a couple of days, I don't think I'd be too upset at getting charged for that use, if it was my fault that the return happened. Now, if they gave me bad advice, or I had a defective item, that's a different story. On a defective item, I'd expect it to be replaced or get my money back, THEIR CHOICE.

[MissT]

I'm NOT knocking AD. My point about Drs F & S is that they ARE the competition for LFS. Ask the folks here that HAD a LFS and now don't. Their model is to put on your doorstep, tomorrow morning, an item you can get from your LFS for 50% more today. Gotta tell you. That's tough to compete with.

Now, that being said, if I returned an item to a local establishment, LFS or not, that I had USED for a couple of days, I don't think I'd be too upset at getting charged for that use, if it was my fault that the return happened. Now, if they gave me bad advice, or I had a defective item, that's a different story. On a defective item, I'd expect it to be replaced or get my money back, THEIR CHOICE.

I agree that it is very tough to compete with that pricing, but just because they don't charge a restocking fee, do they cover the shipping to send the item back? NOPE... how much does it cost do ship a 5+ lb. pump? It's more than $7.99.....

If an item is defective, the return is pretty much based on what the manufacturer does to take care of the customers. If we have problems at our shop with vendors/destributers/manufacturers following through with quality product, and returns, we will not stock their merchandise hands down.