News Amazon and a Canadian Customer Spent Months in Dispute Over Putty-Filled GPU

[Admin]

Amazon held off issuing a refund for the putty-filled GeForce RTX 3060 Ti GPU, only relenting after a CBC TV consumer affairs reporter stepped in.

Amazon and a Canadian Customer Spent Months in Dispute Over Putty-Filled GPU : Read more

 

[PEnns]

Which proves, for the nth time, that unless you go public big time, with news outlets discussing this issue, the consumer is SOL. And that the big online retailers couldn't give a rat's butt about their customers!!

 

[blacknemesist]

Big corps sets the rules to their lower employees in support, support does exactly what the manual says to the letter, situations like this drag on and on because support does not want the heat of a superior and the customer has no way to get to someone with authority to rule these cases.
Amazon has support for Portugal in Spanish and when I made basic questions they took quite a lot of time to answer(phone support) and there was no confidence in their voice which led to me not buying a G8 off of them. If I don't know if I can return the item or not because I need to open plastic bags to try the item then I am not ordering, sorry, bought it off the only company that actually let's me try the hardware 100% and money back if I do not like it which in image and sound is understandably needed to try for yourself.

 

[YouFilthyHippo]

Which proves, for the nth time, that unless you go public big time, with news outlets discussing this issue, the consumer is SOL. And that the big online retailers couldn't give a rat's butt about their customers!!

Its not all about going public. Its also about execution: How you do it. Whenever you order a hot commodity such as PC components, film yourself opening the package. Just in case. Call the retailer, explain the situation. If they deny you, tell them you have video of you opening the package. If they still deny you, go public with the evidence, and quash out the retailer. Any monkey can pull a GPU out of a box and jam a brick in there and take a photo. You gotta film yourself opening the package, gather the evidence, then go after these clowns.

 

[ThatMouse]

There are a lot of companies out there with bad reviews and F ratings on BBB, so I don't think going public always works. I'm often surprised when Amazon refunds me no questions asked, like I'm using up my one freebie for the year.

 

[bit_user]

I assume this was probably purchased from an Amazon Marketplace Seller. You really need to look at their %-rating and the number of reviews they've gotten, and don't take your chances on a big-ticket item with anyone below like 95% and a few thousand reviews.

I guess the other possibility is that he bought it from Amazon Warehouse as an "open box" item, and the original staffer handling the return wasn't diligent enough to fully open and inspect the merchandise. I always wonder about who buys "open box" items, because the price difference usually isn't enough to justify the risk (but that presumes there's any non-open box stock available).

Another troubling aspect of this is that presumably whoever made the substitution (i.e. the real return fraudster or faithless marketplace seller) got away with it. That's just going to encourage them to try it again.

 

[newtechldtech]

I assume this was probably purchased from an Amazon Marketplace Seller. You really need to look at their %-rating and the number of reviews they've gotten, and don't take your chances on a big-ticket item with anyone below like 95% and a few thousand reviews.

I guess the other possibility is that he bought it from Amazon Warehouse as an "open box" item, and the original staffer handling the return wasn't diligent enough to fully open and inspect the merchandise. I always wonder about who buys "open box" items, because the price difference usually isn't enough to justify the risk (but that presumes there's any non-open box stock available).

Another troubling aspect of this is that presumably whoever made the substitution (i.e. the real return fraudster or faithless marketplace seller) got away with it. That's just going to encourage them to try it again.

95% is considered "low" even with thousand reviews ... 99% is the way to go.

 

[drtweak]

And this is why i always video myself opening it. I had this happened to me once at Microcenter. I bought a low end video card to add in an older dell inspiron which only had 1 video output. I got it, took it to my office, opened it, and BAM! No video card. It was only like 30 or 40 bucks but still. I went back and I wasn't sure if they would do anything about it. Luckily they refunded me. Now, anything that is not fully sealed, i check it before i buy it.

 

[umeng2002_2]

Spend thousands of dollars at a business just to be treated like a criminal... sort of like DRM.

 

[svan71]

I recently received an Odyssey Neo G7 pretending to be a G8. It was an open box purchase, but somebody actually pulled the guts out of the G8 and swapped with a G7 and then retuned the item to Amazon. I was the sucker who bought it next. Thankfully no issues with the return.

 

[outsider2k21]

Last week I purchase Asus x670e hero and Corsair HX1000w power supply from Amazon Canada and Intelcom that Amazon Canada used to delver the package just left my package at lobby instead bring it up to my unit.

Amazon Canada used fedex to delver the Samsung S22 ultra 512 which requires signature yet op to use intelcom to deliver 1200 dollars worth of computer parts.

 

[Endymio]

Which proves, for the nth time, that unless you go public big time, with news outlets discussing this issue, the consumer is SOL.

You're ignoring the fact that 97% of the time it's the customer trying to scam the reseller.

 

[watzupken]

To be objective, companies like Amazon cannot believe and reimburse every claim like this unless you can prove otherwise. Some are genuine cases, but I am pretty sure there are scammers as well. It is also possible that the delivery person may have swapped it out. So it is very hard to pinpoint who is at fault. This is an inherent problem with online shopping where you cannot check before paying.

 

[d0x360]

And this is why i always video myself opening it. I had this happened to me once at Microcenter. I bought a low end video card to add in an older dell inspiron which only had 1 video output. I got it, took it to my office, opened it, and BAM! No video card. It was only like 30 or 40 bucks but still. I went back and I wasn't sure if they would do anything about it. Luckily they refunded me. Now, anything that is not fully sealed, i check it before i buy it.

I do the same with any expensive item and anything electronics related. It gets delivered which my camera picks up, then I fire up my phone camera so I have video of delivery, me going outside and bringing it in all uninterrupted and then I open it check it and if at all possible test it.

I do the same anytime I sell something on eBay. Twice someone has tried to screw me over but what pisses me off is eBay will still give them their money back they just won't take it from me.

I sold a Sapphire Trix 290x once, I filmed it in the PC playing a game. Shutting everything down, removing power from the system, removing the card and putting it in an ESD bag then taping it closed then packing it up and driving to FedEx then dropping it off.

Guy started acting odd with messages the second he got got tracking info. It arrives at his house and is signed for. 2 days later he sends a msg saying he didn't get it. I reminded him I entered tracking info into ebay.

Next day he sends another message about how it doesn't work and then mentions that he took it apart... I replied that it definitely works but had something happened during shipping it was fully insured and that he had no permission to take it apart if there was an issue.

He reports it to eBay and I send them a YouTube link and ask that they read the messages. Case closed on my end.

Couple months later and nearly identical a guy says a mint condition (original everything, not a scratch on it) gameboy has a broken screen that's all scratched and the light doesn't come on. Impossible since I put it inside a cloth bag that couldn't scratch anything, I also filmed that. Sent it to eBay. Case closed.

That was the last thing I ever sold. I didn't want to deal with the hassle. Both left negative feedback, both were removed.

Always protect yourself as much as possible. Hell I bought 2 pixel 7 pros at best buy last week and I asked the guy at the register to open the boxes for me because once I bought a sealed new phone only to find an old phone inside.

 

[bit_user]

I do the same with any expensive item and anything electronics related.

Be sure to take a pic of the serial number. Include it in your listing, with a well-placed watermark so that nobody else can steal it for their listing.

He reports it to eBay and I send them a YouTube link and ask that they read the messages. Case closed on my end.

Ebay routinely screws over sellers, and there's nothing you can do about it. They know they have a lock on the online auction market.

Couple months later and nearly identical a guy says a mint condition (original everything, not a scratch on it) gameboy has a broken screen that's all scratched and the light doesn't come on. Impossible since I put it inside a cloth bag that couldn't scratch anything,

I bought a Blu-ray player and an AV Receiver on Ebay and a hi fi site called Audiogon. In both cases, I asked the seller to tape a piece of plastic cling-wrap to the display area, which seemed to work like I hoped and prevent it from getting scuffed. The adhesive plastic film they apply at the factory would be ideal, but this worked well enough.

Hell I bought 2 pixel 7 pros at best buy last week and I asked the guy at the register to open the boxes for me because once I bought a sealed new phone only to find an old phone inside.

Wow. I take it the box didn't have tamper-evident seals? Or maybe they managed to remove the evident residue with some solvent or something.

 

[YouFilthyHippo]

I do the same with any expensive item and anything electronics related. It gets delivered which my camera picks up, then I fire up my phone camera so I have video of delivery, me going outside and bringing it in all uninterrupted and then I open it check it and if at all possible test it.

I do the same anytime I sell something on eBay. Twice someone has tried to screw me over but what pisses me off is eBay will still give them their money back they just won't take it from me.

I sold a Sapphire Trix 290x once, I filmed it in the PC playing a game. Shutting everything down, removing power from the system, removing the card and putting it in an ESD bag then taping it closed then packing it up and driving to FedEx then dropping it off.

Guy started acting odd with messages the second he got got tracking info. It arrives at his house and is signed for. 2 days later he sends a msg saying he didn't get it. I reminded him I entered tracking info into ebay.

Next day he sends another message about how it doesn't work and then mentions that he took it apart... I replied that it definitely works but had something happened during shipping it was fully insured and that he had no permission to take it apart if there was an issue.

He reports it to eBay and I send them a YouTube link and ask that they read the messages. Case closed on my end.

Couple months later and nearly identical a guy says a mint condition (original everything, not a scratch on it) gameboy has a broken screen that's all scratched and the light doesn't come on. Impossible since I put it inside a cloth bag that couldn't scratch anything, I also filmed that. Sent it to eBay. Case closed.

That was the last thing I ever sold. I didn't want to deal with the hassle. Both left negative feedback, both were removed.

Always protect yourself as much as possible. Hell I bought 2 pixel 7 pros at best buy last week and I asked the guy at the register to open the boxes for me because once I bought a sealed new phone only to find an old phone inside.

This is why I won't sell on eBay or through PayPal, because of buyer protection. "Oh you won't go through a platform with buyer protection!!!! RED FLAG!!!!! YOURE TRYING TO SCAM ME!!!!!!".

Sigh, nope. I only accept payment in a form that can not be charged back or taken back from me in any way shape or form, for this very reason. eBay protects their buyers, and in turn, scammers. I will have none of that. You want to sell me a card? You send me the card, I test it. Then once I am satisfied that it works, I send the money. Likewise, you buy a card from me, you send the money first, then I send the card. No, it's not a 2 way street, because of stories like yours, I'm leaving nothing to chance. We do it this way, or we don't do it at all. End of sentence.

This is the only sure-fire way to protect yourself. If the buyer/seller walks away, let them. It's just not worth the risk

 

[bit_user]

Sigh, nope. I only accept payment in a form that can not be charged back or taken back from me in any way shape or form, for this very reason. eBay protects their buyers, and in turn, scammers. I will have none of that. You want to sell me a card? You send me the card, I test it. Then once I am satisfied that it works, I send the money. Likewise, you buy a card from me, you send the money first, then I send the card. No, it's not a 2 way street, because of stories like yours, I'm leaving nothing to chance. We do it this way, or we don't do it at all. End of sentence.

A couple decades ago, I bought a used hi fi preamp online. I asked the seller to use an online escrow service that existed precisely for this sort of thing... not sure if they're still around, but I doubt it. Anyway, he obliged and I used a DAC/ADC + some audio analysis software to test the linearity of the preamp to within what the ADC could measure. Then, I sent the money. I forget how much their overhead was, but I think like 2-5% or so. I'm not sure many sellers would agree to that, these days.

I also remotely bought a used car from an enthusiasts forum, about a decade ago. I had the seller take it to an independent mechanic, to do a pre-purchase inspection. It also helped that the car was under warranty, so he just had to check for things like collision and flood damage. One thing I got burnt by: the car didn't have as much warranty as the seller claimed. It was okay, since I didn't want to buy an extended warranty and there were no warranty-covered repairs which fell in the gap, but if I'd known I could've probably talked the seller down by a little bit more. What I would recommend doing is getting the VIN and calling a dealership to ask them how much warranty it has remaining - they can look up this information and will usually tell you.

 

[Elusive Ruse]

Well look at the bright side, he bought the components back in June when prices were still high, now he can buy a much better GPU for $700.

 

[Vanderlindemedia]

I chase online scammers, and i'm actually suprised how easy it is to scam through such programs or large websites.

 

[gdmaclew]

Last week I purchase Asus x670e hero and Corsair HX1000w power supply from Amazon Canada and Intelcom that Amazon Canada used to delver the package just left my package at lobby instead bring it up to my unit.

Amazon Canada used fedex to delver the Samsung S22 ultra 512 which requires signature yet op to use intelcom to deliver 1200 dollars worth of computer parts.

IntelCom is awful.
Believe it or not they once delivered an empty blue shipping envelope to my front door while we were sitting in the back yard, in full view of the driver.
Good thing we have security cameras. I sent Intelcom the video and the president called me and profusely apologized. Amazon sent me another item free AFTER I told them I had the video.
They often just toss items onto the front stoop rather than climb the 6 steps and gently placing them.

 

[PEnns]

You're ignoring the fact that 97% of the time it's the customer trying to scam the reseller.

As if 97% of Amazon sellers are not selling 100% of the time knockoff junk and claiming they're genuine! Plus the Amazon returns that are sold as new.

 

[malbadon]

I actually had the exact same issue at the start of the year but in reverse. I bought some ram for my build then decided I wanted 16gb sticks instead so returned it. When I returned it I got that same "incorrect item returned, item has been destroyed, return correct item" message. It took me weeks of calls, getting flipped from one customer service drone to another, all of whom were incapable of actual intellectual thought before I finally hit paydirt with one who actually took some incentive and investigated things. 5 minutes of him digging found where something had been marked wrong and he had it corrected and my refund issued. It was....frustrating.

 

[bit_user]

before I finally hit paydirt with one who actually took some incentive and investigated things. 5 minutes of him digging found where something had been marked wrong and he had it corrected and my refund issued.

Reminds me of mail-in rebates. Years ago, I had a couple of them rejected, even though I followed the instructions exactly. On one occasion, I decided I was to file a complaint with the rebate provider and it worked!

It made me suspicious they were rejecting some perfectly valid ones, just because "why not?". Maybe they had a quota of rejections to meet.

 

[GenericUser]

It made me suspicious they were rejecting some perfectly valid ones, just because "why not?". Maybe they had a quota of rejections to meet.

I'm cynical and would assume it was simply a business tactic. Not everyone is going to fight every rejected rebate, so every rejected rebate that goes uncontested is money that the company saves.

 

[ohio_buckeye]

Since eBay now puts the funds into a bank account it works out that I have an account with a bank separate from my primary bank and have a small savings account there to. Note to self, move the funds to the savings so eBay can’t pull it.

On a side note I did sell a cpu and the person after two days didn’t pay. I wish people wouldn’t bid unless they have money in hand.