I find myself questioning what is the “right” thing to do in this situation, so I pose the question to you:
I bought a TV from a retailer with a 90-day return policy over thanksgiving.
I received the TV, and have used it a few times (I haven’t had much time to use it for various reasons) and I have decided that I do not want to keep the TV - I am not impressed with the picture quality and other things about the TV. This is an important point (as will become clear in a bit)
There is a good chance I am going to be moving in the next 5 months, and with the logistics of the move, it would be far easier for me to not have to move a TV (it’s a 40-inch LCD).
I like having a TV to watch from time to time.
So, you can probably see the quandary: is it “ok”/ethical/proper/etc. for me to keep the TV for as long as possible, use it in that period, and return it within the 90-day return period, or ought one return the item as quickly as practicable after making the decision that one doesn’t want to keep the item?
First thing is to calculate out exactly how long you’ve had the TV. You stated over Thanksgiving so I’m going to say 42 days. Then subtract that number from 90 and you have 48 days in which to make a decision.
It seems to me that this is a left brain/right brain problem so it’ll need to be solved both creatively and logically. OK, now get a dart board and two darts. What you’ll want to do is throw one dart with your right hand and one with your left hand. It can be simultaneously but that is by no means necessary.
Now mark the numbers you get. Add them up. That’s how many days you’re allowed to keep the television before returning it. If you get more than 48, you’ll have to keep the TV as you’ve missed the return window. Alternatively, you can try to then return it after the 90 days and see where that gets you. Most likely you’ll not go over (however if you get two bulls-eyes, you’re kinda screwed. But you can make the money back on the ambidexterous darts pro-circuit).
A question arises if you hit a double or triple score. In the American version of ethical darts, you’d have to count it. However Australian Rules Ethical Darts stipulates that at least one throw of a double or triple may be negated providing you add a third dart into the rotation.
It’s really your call.
Nope. You do not have a crystal ball, so you cannot know what may happen in the future. Even if you did, the 90 day return policy strikes me as analogous to an extended test drive. The store has assumed the risk that someone may decide to return the TV after 89 days, 23 hours, and 59 minutes of continuous use.
By technical ethics, I think if you know you don’t want it, you should send/take it back pretty immediately once you make your decision so they can re-sell it.
However - the period of time in question is so small that I really doubt that you will spontaneously change into an awful monster if you keep it for a few more weeks.
That said, irony has a way of kicking people while they think they are being smart, and if you put it off to the exact day, you will end up with norovirus or something equally awful which prevents you from returning said TV in time. Be warned.
(Also the longer you keep it, the more likely it becomes that the store employee/floor manager person will give you the hairy eyeball when you cart the thing back, but they tend to enjoy having people to hate on so they can brag to their friends about the horrid customers they have to deal with. I’d consider that an ethical draw myself.)
Thanks for your “concern” - I was planning on returning it after 85 days so as not to tempt fate. And, they can look at me funny all they want - fact is I have a right to return it within 90 days.
I’m just more interested in the ethical points for and against my plan, is all.
I more or less agree with Lasciel. I think the most moral thing to do would be to return it immediately since you do know now that you don’t want it and are effectively getting free use of something for which you won’t be paying and will potentially cost the retailer more money the longer you keep it.
However, you do have an agreement and you’re not violating that agreement by keeping it for 85 days. The retailer has made that agreement knowing the possible losses involved in it. So, while you may be violating the spirit of the agreement, that the time is testing it out or manufacturing defects, you haven’t done anything dishonest, so I wouldn’t classify it as unethical.
As for what you should do, I’d just ask if you’re comfortable with the idea that you know you will return it and that by keeping it another 40 days or so will potentially cost someone else a few bucks more when he tries to sell it again 40 days from now rather than trying to start to sell it now.
That all said, I would say knowing you’ll likely be moving is not an unreasonable circumstance for returning the TV unless you knew it before you bought it. Circumstances in life change, and if they change in a way that a purchase no longer makes sense during a grace period, there’s nothing wrong with taking advantage of it. For a bit more of a dramatic example, if you bought the TV and then a few weeks later lost your job, it is no longer a sensible purchase. Moving an expensive TV has cost and risk involved in it, especially when one can’t be sure there will necessarily be use for it on the other end. As such, it makes more sense when foreseeing that situation to wait and buy a TV once you have moved.
I think you’re okay - the return policy is 90 days, no other restrictions. You don’t need a reason. As far as their policy goes, the reason you return it could be “I just wanted a free TV for 85 days.”
I few years ago I bought a new flat screen TV and about a week later my house was struck by lightining, destroying almost every electrical appliance in the house from the garbage disposal to the garage door opener. I called the insurance company and they sent me a check to replace everything, except I didn’t ask them to replace the TV. I just took it back to the store and exchanged it for a new one.
You didn’t give us the return policy. If it just says returns accepted for 90 days, and the TV is in the same condition as when you bought it, sounds ok to me.
I think as long as you follow the store’s policy, you’re fine. It might be “more correct” to return it as soon as you decide it’s not for you, but it’s still “correct” as long as you abide by the rules. In fact, if you called the store and asked them, there’s a good chance they’d say “Why don’t you keep it a few weeks longer, just in case you change your mind”. After all, you might change your mind.
Or, you might accidentally trip and fall on it, breaking it and thus (presumably) making it non-returnable.
Over the holidays I worked at a computer store. We had a 15% return fee on items returned for “no reason.”
I hardly think that is fair. I mean a TV will run you at least $300 bucks. They’ll charge you $45 to return it. It takes the stock person five minutes to repackage it and he makes minimum wage.
Now two wrongs do not make a right, but sometimes two wrongs can cancel themselves out.
Ethically it’s wrong. If the OP didn’t feel wrong about it he wouldn’t have asked.
I’d return it, because with my luck it’d fall over and break and then I couldn’t return it. So I say return it because you want to do it while you still have the cosmos on your side
I think a lot of stores started doing this because people would buy huge TVs, watch the superbowl on them, and then return them. Now, as to why that policy still continues outside superbowl weekend is another matter.
I agree with Oakminster. This 90 day return period is something they offered you of their own free will. That the situation will turn out to benefit you and not them is unfortunate for them, but I don’t see any ethical breach.
