CompUSA sells an empty Canon A630 box for $269, won't issue refund

CompUSA has been trying to turn itself around for a while now -- it closed a ton of stores earlier this year and has generally been pretty aggressive in trying to cut costs. No matter how bad things get, though, sometimes a company's gotta bite the bullet and do the right thing by its customers, and it looks like the $269 CompUSA is holding back from Texas consultant Terry Heaton might end up costing it a lot more than it anticipated. Seems as though Terry purchased what he thought was a Canon A630 from one of the stores CompUSA was closing back in March, but when his step-daughter opened the box a few weeks ago, it was empty. Assuming he'd get a refund, Terry drove to the nearest CompUSA, where he was told that all liquidation sales were handled by a third party and not CompUSA, and that he would have to contact CompUSA's attorneys to secure a refund. Undaunted, Terry then wrote a letter to CompUSA's CEO, whose "Executive Care" assistant replied and said that Terry should have been more careful to inspect the box when he purchased the camera, and that the prominent ALL SALES ARE FINAL signs around the store and on the receipt weren't just for show. That's pretty callous, if you ask us -- while we're always extra-careful when we buy clearance items, we can't imagine CompUSA (or its liquidators) knowingly marked an empty box with a $269 price tag, and we can't imagine seeing that price and thinking the box might be empty. So come on, CompUSA -- let's see some customer friggin service, okay?

[Via LostRemote, thanks, James]

Update: Heaton got his cash back! Well, in the form of a gift certificate, which kind of sucks, but still, we're glad for him.

[MaX PL and the 360 r4pe Tr4iN @ Jun 5th 2007 4:15PM]

and what, he couldnt feel the fact that the box was empty when he walked out of the store?

[Jonathan Loor @ Jun 5th 2007 4:15PM]

Now you don't have to wonder why they had to close so many stores.

[DJBro @ Jun 5th 2007 4:16PM]

the canon a630 cameras aren't that light... he seriously walked out of the store with an empty box and didn't feel that a camera was inside?

[ScOObyDoo @ Jun 5th 2007 4:16PM]

CUSTOMER SERVICE? From CompUSA? Why do you think they are going out of business in the first place?

I'm amazed they didn't close all their stores.

[James Rainey @ Jun 5th 2007 6:27PM]

Lesson here: Buyer Beware! What an idiot for buying something at close-out and assuming it was in the box. how old is this guy?

Shame on him, this isn't the fault of the store.. and no court would ever back him up. After working in retail for 15+ years I have to side with CompUSA.

They have always been very fair when I've needed their help.

[David L. @ Jun 5th 2007 4:20PM]

I was in 2 of the CompUSA that were closing in California (one in Oxnard, one in Burbank). There were a lot of opened boxes, that kinda tells me everyone else but this guy checked what's inside. I even saw people who were purchasing the cell phones from behind the counter checking what's inside as well. As much as I feel empathy for this guy, CompUSA did have big signs that said all sales are final (and not to mention you are buying from a liquidation store), he should've been more careful

[James Ollier @ Jun 5th 2007 4:22PM]

Thieving bastards

[Hastings @ Jun 5th 2007 4:23PM]

Actually, contrary to what everybody is saying here, you probably wouldn't notice that the box had no camera in it. I've been selling Canon cameras for years now, and their packaging has always been suspect. The boxes have no seals at all, just a cardboard tab you pull out, there is normally a very thick manual (about 1" thick), CD's, batteries, TV cables, and USB cables. There have been times where I have sold similar cameras and thinking the box was full (but knowing better), I checked the box before handing it over to a customer only to discover a missing camera.

The camera itself does not weigh that much at all, especially without it's 4AA's in place.

[Rob @ Jun 5th 2007 4:27PM]

If you read the article, the guy bought a bunch of stuff. He probably didn't inspect every little item and just walked out the door with bags in hand.

I used to work for CompUSA, they're a bunch of crooks.

[renode @ Jun 6th 2007 6:40AM]

A630 specifications
Weight (inc. batteries) 315 g (11.1 oz)

so you're telling me that nearly 1 pound of product was missing and these people didn't notice when they picked up the box? Ok, fine, I'll let you have that one, despite there's no fucking way that would happen to me personally... However, how did they not notice the batteries, manual, cable and other materials rattling around inside, giving one the impression that there is either no product or no packing material?

[Michael Geary @ Jun 6th 2007 9:24PM]

Hastings is right. Just last night I happened to pick up my old Canon A80 box that still had the manuals and accessories in it, and I thought, "What? Is the camera in here?" It wasn't--the camera was sitting in my daughter's room. But the box felt plenty full and heavy.

[RJB @ Feb 19th 2008 9:29AM]

I bought a printer at CompUSA, shrink-wrapped and new looking...when I opened the box at home, there was no ink. Clearly, they take returns and rewrap them, then put them out as new...without inspecting the product or even the contents of the box.

[JeffNLA @ Jun 5th 2007 4:27PM]

CompUSA have ALWAYS been total creeps. I remember vividly 10 years ago. They tried fingerprinting EVERYONE who paid with a check. I went to buy floppy disks - and they asked for my fingerprint.

I gave them the middle finger and NEVER went back.

PS
In case you think I'm full of it - here is the article - dated 1997
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3092/is_n10_v36/ai_19439754

[JeffNLA @ Jun 5th 2007 4:44PM]

Wonk City you moron - this was 10 years ago. It was a company check.

[Satman @ Jun 6th 2007 8:57AM]

reminds me of the Incredible Universe store (Radio Shack's [failed} experiment in big-box retailing). Went in and bought 2 laser discs, and they heat-sealed the bag! I mean, I understand shrink (shoplifting) and all, but really....

Hmmmm....whatever happened to them =-)

[Dr. Benway @ Jun 5th 2007 4:51PM]

I'm with Hastings. I think everyone is being far too callous here. The guy bought a camera, made a mistake that any of us could have done and the company is acting like dicks. It's not as if the camera wasn't what he wanted after all--the store effectively conned him with an empty box. Surely that's plain illegal.

So my question is, which of the remaining CompUSA stores shall we burn down to make the company realize what dicks they're being.

["Bob" @ Jun 6th 2007 12:27AM]

"So my question is, which of the remaining CompUSA stores shall we burn down to make the company realize what dicks they're being."

Both of them....

[unkn @ Jun 5th 2007 4:29PM]

It's the guys fault. That's it. He should have checked before purchasing, I always do when buying from a liquidation sale.

[Chris @ Jun 5th 2007 4:28PM]

they are right though, they sold all that stuff to the liquidator. he did not buy it from compusa even though it bought it at a building with the compusa logo on it. the liquidator needs to do the right thing here, not compusa.

[Akshat @ Jun 5th 2007 4:28PM]

Those of you who are skeptical that he walked outta the store with an empty box and didn't realise it need to read the article/blog posting. He purchased stuff worth $3500, so I'm guessing he was carrying a lot and therefore didn't notice it.

[Robert Cable @ Jun 5th 2007 4:29PM]

I never liked CompUSA before. I certainly won't give them my business now.

[Simon @ Jun 5th 2007 4:32PM]

Seems like this guy is trying to steal a camera (or maybe the "step daughter"). He didn't feel the box was empty???? He needs his step-daughter to open the box????? He took a few weeks to open the box??????? I smell a rat.

I bought a red porsche 2years ago I've had the car for 2 years and been really happy, however the other day a friend told me my the car was actually silver, I had never noticed until then .......... Porsche refuses to give me a brand new red one. Im going to see my lawyers.....................

[Jesse S @ Jun 5th 2007 4:41PM]

Ellipsis use three periods.

[zoara @ Jun 6th 2007 5:55AM]

Simon, you'd be a lot less suspicious if you actually read the linked article, you know. Generally it's accepted that when you buy a gift for someone you won't see for a few weeks, that it will be a few weeks before the box is opened and the recipient is the one that opens the box.

Or does Santa Claus unwrap all your gifts for you before you get them?

[monal @ Jun 5th 2007 4:31PM]

compusa has already made good with him
http://www.lostremote.com/2007/06/05/update-compusa-sends-heaton-a-gift-certificate/

[Ron Pendleton @ Jun 5th 2007 8:51PM]

Cmon folks. Lets be realistic. Its a claearance item. The box was surely open, it had to be in order to be missing the camera. To buy it and not check what they were getting on clearance is just plain rediculous. Combined with signs everywhere that All Sales Are Final, anyone with common sense would have checked the box. Add that to the fact that how many times do you think COMP USA hears the "Box was empty" story. I am sorry, but while I feel for the guy, he did not exercise good judgement, period. I bet he checks the next item he buys, on or off clearance.

[Court K. @ Jun 5th 2007 4:34PM]

It's called a chargeback, just call your credit card company, or let CompUSA execs know you are doing a chargeback. Chargebacks are the one thing that effectively get a companies attention, because chargebacks are used by merchant accounts to control the rate CompUSA pays for every transaction, and they love even the SMALLEST excuse to raise the rates.

Nobody is above a merchant account. Walmart had their merchant account turned off because there chargeback rate was too high and the merchant account didn't like it.

In the US you can get "blacklisted" and never be able to accept credit cards again. Banks don't care how big you are.

[randy @ Jun 5th 2007 4:33PM]

Chargeback!

[Quacktastic @ Jun 5th 2007 4:36PM]

Legally, he is entitled to a refund, irrespective of how many "all sales are final" signs they had posted all over the store (I'm an attorney). As many have acknowledged, however, the question is from whom.

[psxp @ Jun 5th 2007 4:46PM]

@Wonk City
"What kind of douche buys floppy disks with a check?"

Hey dork, back in 1997 Floppy Disks (And even Blacnk CDRs) cost a lot more than they did now, and people did not use credit/debit cards as much! Let me guess,... you were in Diapers back then?

[sanctified @ Jun 6th 2007 10:43AM]

I'd like some attention from compusa myself... I have a compusa giftcard which was given to me as a, imagine this, gift. Now that all of the compusa stores within 50+ miles of me are closed I find out that you can't use their giftcards at the online store! Nice! I tried to open a case at the online store and I have received no response after several weeks... I am more than disappointed with them...

[iloveinternet @ Jun 5th 2007 4:54PM]

Don't buy anything from CompuUSA. It will be bankrupted very soon.

[Jonathan @ Jun 5th 2007 4:56PM]

I'm sorry but the guy is either a scammer or a idiot.. probably the latter. I too bought from CompUSA during their liquidation sale and I made sure to check the contents to make sure everything was there. Like others have said, there were signs everywhere so I have little empathy for the guy.

[Ray-- @ Jun 5th 2007 4:56PM]

as a consumer you have the right to inspect anything you are purchasing... that means you can and should open the things up in the store before actually giving someone cash for the item... most people however just trust the item is in the box.... so they wait until they are home... most times this is ok... but when its not its still your fault.

[mdnetguru @ Jun 5th 2007 5:02PM]

I was at a Compusa store closing. It was very much buyer beware because everything including the furniture was being sold. There were signs everywhere "All Sales Are Final". I don't think Compusa should do anything. The guy should have been more careful when buying liquidated merchandise.

[Ozbone @ Jun 5th 2007 5:01PM]

Am I surprised ??? Hell no !
Do I shop at CompUSA ??? Hell no !
Will I ever shop at CompUSA ??? Hell no !

[David Horn @ Jun 5th 2007 5:09PM]

Surely this is actually fraud on the part of CompUSA - they advertised a camera for sale, not an empty box, and they must be obliged to honour that.

[Boynamedsue @ Jun 5th 2007 5:06PM]

I hate how compusa insists on checking your personal bag when leaving the store in SF.

I said i was a customer and i didn't want to
be searched, and didn't have to submit to a
search of my bag.

Security lady said i did.

I said loudly, But this is my personal bag, I may have left my ASS DILDO sitting on top. What right do you have to see my ASS DILDO.

i was allowed to leave the store without being searched.

[Michael_C @ Jun 5th 2007 6:33PM]

ROFLMAO - it's people like you who made my life in retail he|| (worked large dept store for 5 years) much more enjoyable. I always laughed when people responded with comments like this cause we needed something to cheer us up on a day to day basis.

[dave @ Jun 5th 2007 5:40PM]

this happened to me a long time ago at a CompUSA. I bought a DVD+RW back when they were way too expensive (300+ for a 2x). I got it home and all that was in the box was an off brand CdRom drive. I took it back and they were cool about it. Apparently it happens a lot.

[h8rain @ Jun 5th 2007 5:12PM]

Behold the power of the internet! If you really want to get your point across, the internet is the way to make a stand. 10 years ago, if you got screwed by a company, only people you told would hear the story. Now thousands can hear your complaints. Because of this companies are going to seriously need to focus on customer service, because it will only get easier to complain.

[aeo @ Jun 5th 2007 5:13PM]

Ah it's all good now. CompUSA issued him a $300 gift certificate for his $270 purchase. $30 profit for his trouble.

Betcha the certificate fine print states, "Not valid for purchase of any technology items (including but not limited to all computers, monitors, printing machines, networking, peripherals, cameras, memory, software)". LOL! :-P

[Daniel @ Jun 5th 2007 5:16PM]

A similar thing happened to me at a local compusa. There was a copy of elder scrolls 4 oblivion collector's edition on the games shelf in a hard plastic case. When the cashier opened the case I noticed that the box wasn't wrapped, but thought nothing of it because the box was in a hard plastic case. After checking out and getting into the car I decided to look in the box. Everything seemed ok except one thing...the game discs weren't there. So I went back inside the store and explained the situation. The store manager gave me a hard time at first but they did eventually give me a refund.

[Brian Beckham @ Jun 5th 2007 5:15PM]

I hate them so much...when I first started consulting, they quoted me on some machines - 20 or so. Then when the customer approved the purchase, they said they made a mistake on the quote - which I verified with the sales rep like 100 times...they wanted another $300 per machine...fired.

[Christopher Price @ Jun 5th 2007 5:25PM]

Pay with credit card, dispute the charge. It's that simple. If the card company won't reverse the charge, you sue in small claims court... tacking on nuisance and lost wages all the while.

- Christopher Price
http://www.phonenews.com

[Johnny @ Jun 5th 2007 5:25PM]

Even though it does look like he got his money back from CompUSA - only after they were rung through the internet, I still wish CompUSA a timely death. I'm not sure how they got away with staying in business for all these years. Everything I've ever looked for there was priced WAY over anyone else and the customer service is crap. It has been about ten years since I even considered going to CompUSA.

[Fred @ Jun 5th 2007 5:26PM]

How is it possible that the Canon A630 was selling for as high as $269 at a liquidation sale???

[Whackmushrooms @ Jun 5th 2007 5:33PM]

alot of times with these sales people just fall for it because of the sense of urgency created by chaos (boxes everywhere, inventory out of place) ... it can work to your advantage too .. i almost got a canon rebel xt for 300 ... i was SOOOO close! but i did get that 17" mac book for the price of a 15" though.

[John Doe @ Jun 5th 2007 11:47PM]

Its going for that price because its CompUSA. Their "discount" prices are higher then most online prices. I got a Netgear Draft N router for $10 cheaper then the cheapest online store; and that was with 40% off.

I hope to see compUSA go under soon. they bought and killed my beloved Computer City. I would love to meet the CEO of CompUSA. I'd take my dead Compaq that they repaired 5 times over a 2 year period (For a total of about 2 months in their possession.) with missing CD-cover that they claimed was never on the thing to begin with, and smash it upside the SoaB's head.

At least I have Microcenter.

[Whackmushrooms @ Jun 5th 2007 5:31PM]

i got a 17" MBP instead of the 15" MBP at this liquidation sale .. those assholes! i am not going to write a letter about it though as i understand that people especially 3rd parties make mistakes.