Best Buy Store Purchase

[rmiller0811]

This is a cautionary tale since I've already accepted a solution to my problem, but even the solution was, in hindsight, not the best conceivable outcome.

I purchased a Netgear Orbi AX11000 mesh system, an expensive purchase at $1,499 before taxes. I initially listed it for store pickup but changed it to free shipping for quicker receipt of my purchase. When it arrived, it was readily apparent that the item had been opened previously. There was no cellophane wrapping or security tape to indicate an unopened box. Once I opened the box, I found the router and three satellites with no plastic covers over them, and the covers were nowhere in the box. When I opened the accessories box, I found the included Ethernet cable and two of the three power adapters were untied and the cables were strewn about loosely in the box. The cable ties were nowhere to be found.

After setting up the system using the QR code on the router, it loaded into my Netgear registered products list as purchased on April 2, 2022. I made the purchase on April 11, 2022. I don't know if this is an indication of anything, but it suggests that it might have been loaded into their database previously. 

When I contacted customer service via chat, I reported the problem and requested a resolution. I didn't want to send it back because I needed the network and everything seemed to be functioning properly, so they offered me an 8% discount on my purchase price. In my ignorance, and since I didn't have any other options, I accepted the solution. Later, when doing research on open box items, which is essentially what I ended up purchasing, the typical discount was around 20%. Needless to say, I felt like I had been low-balled.

I am a long-time and frequent Best Buy customer, and I've been generally happy with their prices and support. I am sharing this experience because I want others to know what to ask for in a similar situation, and I'm hoping that someone in the Best Buy supply chain will be held accountable for shipping an opened and potentially used item to a customer.

[Ruben-BBY Social Media Specialist]

Hello,  

Thank you for joining us here on the forums. I understand your frustrations with how your product was received. Pricing with our Open Boxed product is generally dependent on a few factors which can result normally in between a 10% - 20% off discount. However, this does not apply to all our product categories such as routers for this case as we typically do not sell open-boxed networking devices. Needless to say, I am concerned about the condition your order arrived in and I would normally urge people to return the item to the store and exchange it for a replacement in cases like this. If you would like to talk more about this, feel free to privately message me with your full name, phone number and email address.