I ordered a Nokia N800 from Amazon.com a few days ago. I originally heard about the N800 in a reply to a thread I started a little while ago about alternatives to the iPod touch.
As part of my pre-purchase research, I looked at the comments on the Amazon.com page. One of the commentators said that because the package was sent from the “Amazon Returns Center,” it was a reconditioned or used product. When I got my N800 yesterday, it looked new, except that the box wasn’t wrapped in plastic and was slightly worn but the Nokia seal sticker was intact. That didn’t bother me until I plugged the battery in and it behaved a bit strangely. It charged for about 45 minutes and then said “Battery Full.” Thinking that 45 minutes was a much shorter charge time than I was expecting out of the box, I unplugged and replugged the AC cable, expecting it to display that it was charging for a minute or two, and then that the battery was fully charged. It charged for another 30-45 minutes before stating that the battery was full.
With the unwrapped, worn box and the odd battery behavior, I began to get a little suspicious, so I looked up the addresses of Amazon’s return centers. One of them was 1850 Mercer Rd Suite 100, Lexington, Kentucky. My package was shipped from 1850 Mercer Rd, Lexington, Kentucky, no suite number was specified. I started to suspect that perhaps Amazon had shipped me a used unit, but I do remember getting Amazon shipments from Lexington in the past, and I understand that 1850 Mercer could just be a returns AND fulfillment center. I think Amazon counts the N800 as a cell phone and 1850 Mercer is their general returns center; their cell phone return center is in Texas, as far as I know.
In light of all that, I was prepared to keep it as long as it functioned properly. If not new, it was at least in new condition. When I booted the OS, however, I noticed a dead pixel not far from the center of the screen. If I’m buying something that’s supposed to be new, I don’t want a dead pixel right out of the box. I arranged for it to be returned; as is my experience, Amazon’s customer service was excellent. It’s on it’s way back and Amazon is paying for the shipping.
I can’t help wondering if that was a product that was previously returned because of the dead pixel or something else, and that they shipped it to me as new. I certainly don’t want to end up getting another defective unit and having to do the whole returns song and dance again. I saved around $40 getting this from Amazon vs. another retailer, but I’d rather pay the extra money if I can be sure I’m getting a new product.
Has anyone else had an Amazon.com experience similar to this? I’ve never had even the slightest problem with them before.
I’m thinking about calling customer service and mentioning the address thing. Maybe they’ll be straight with me, and if they say that they were going to send a previously returned unit to as a replacement, I can get a refund instead and buy the N800 new from somewhere else.
Is it worth calling them or should I just cool it until the replacement arrives?