Ethics question: should I exchange this electronic device?

In My Humble Opinion
1

I recently bought a Uniden BCD396T from an online retailer. It’s an RF scanner, essentially a radio that can receive on pretty much any frequency, and automatically searches for activity on frequencies you ask it to.

It worked fine for the first day, but on the second I noticed that the speaker was a bit flaky. Even on frequencies that I was receiving clearly, it would cut in and out, but the audio would be perfectly clear through headphones. Eventually, on the evening of the second day, the speaker stopped working entirely, and the unit only worked if I used headphones or hooked up an external speaker.

So, I called the website I bought it from and asked them send to a replacement, which they did quite quickly, apologizing for the inconvenience. It should arrive tomorrow.

The problem is, the day after they shipped the replacement, the speaker started to work again after I accidentally dropped the unit on my desk. Not enough to damage it (it’s fairly rugged), but obviously enough to knock a loose connection back into place.

So, I now have a fully functioning radio, with a replacement on the way. My question is, should I return it and use the replacement, or simply send back the replacement unopened?

Part of me says that, since the device is working again, the latter is the only ethical thing to do. But on the other hand, it was defective…for at least 24 hours, the speaker didn’t work at all. The fact that I managed to fix it is not relevant - what if I didn’t drop it, and simply put it back in the box once I determined the speaker had stopped working? And what’s to say that the problem won’t occur again if I keep the original unit?

So, what do you think? Also consider that this thing was definitely Not Cheap.

2

It was defective and probably still is. Normally functioning devices don’t just fix themselves after a bang regardless of what they did on old sitcoms. Speaking from experience, the original unit is almost certain to give you more trouble over time as it gets banged around some more.

You would be foolish not to demand another one and you have every right to.

3

What Shagnasty said. The receiver works now because you bumped it and jiggled a loose connection. Tomorrow when you bump it the connection will break again. Send it back.

4

I agree. If a device works 50% of the time, it’s defective. If it works 90% of the time, it’s defective. A brand-new electronic device should work 100% of the time; and if you managed to get one that (perhaps through nobody’s fault) has a defect preventing it from working even rarely, you absolutely have the right to get a new one.

Daniel

5

I agree that a device that needs a whack to work properly is certainly defective.

6

It’s defective. Don’t give it a second though. Send it back, keep the new one.

7

IAASMFAEM, (I am a Sales manager for an electronics manufacturer)

Please do the company a favor and send it back. If it failed once, it will likely fail again during the waranty period. We would want to make sure that you have a working product and avoid incurring further expenses.

If the problem were just a user-error problem then I would prefer that you keep the old one, but you have a defective unit. If there’s a loose connection it will come loose again, especially since it’s a portable unit.