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Hi,
I've got a bit of NIB stuff with me right now and I'm just wondering whether or not GW allows me to trade them in for other things or just get a striaghtup refund.
I've heard people got swaps but never refunds.

Could anyone confirm this?

If its in 'resellable' condition, yeah they offer you store credit (w/out) a receipt, and will give you a refund if you have the receipt. They are bound by certain trading/consumer regulations.

However, no cellophane = no dice...

ok so if it is in its plastic wrapper and stuff I can still swap it then right?

Ok, good~

That seems to be flawed: couldn't I go to, say, the US, get someone to buy me up a lot of GW stuff then go to Australia or NZ and get store credit?

Again, for the second time in less than 24 hours, it seemed a lot cleverer in my head.

Sure, if you think airfare and potential cargo charges or shipping would make it worth while...

As I said, it sounded a lot smarter in my head. Please don't think I'm trolling.

japehlio wrote:If its in 'resellable' condition, yeah they offer you store credit (w/out) a receipt, and will give you a refund if you have the receipt. They are bound by certain trading/consumer regulations.

However, no cellophane = no dice...

Actually, I don't believe they are bound by consumer protection laws to offer refunds for items just because you don't want it. If it's faulty, they are bound by regulation to give a refund, if it was incorrectly advertised, they are bound by regulation to give a refund, I don't think any country has regulations that state if the consumer simply wants a refund because they don't want a product anymore the store has to give it, if a store does that, it's entirely store policy and not regulation.

SoloFalcon1138 wrote:Sure, if you think airfare and potential cargo charges or shipping would make it worth while...

Well, you don't need to buy an airfare. You just need to get them to ship the models in such a way as they remain sealed in their packaging and undamaged by the journey. People regularly import things and it's far cheaper than buying them in that country.

However, I think boxes are regionally boxed, perhaps even regionally barcoded. I could have sworn I saw something about "blah blah blah Australia" on a box I bought in Oz.

EDIT: Of course, obviously if all you get is store credit it doesn't do you much good, because the credit would be for more money but at the crappy Australian/NZ prices, lol.

AllSeeingSkink wrote:

japehlio wrote:If its in 'resellable' condition, yeah they offer you store credit (w/out) a receipt, and will give you a refund if you have the receipt. They are bound by certain trading/consumer regulations.

However, no cellophane = no dice...

Actually, I don't believe they are bound by consumer protection laws to offer refunds for items just because you don't want it. If it's faulty, they are bound by regulation to give a refund, if it was incorrectly advertised, they are bound by regulation to give a refund, I don't think any country has regulations that state if the consumer simply wants a refund because they don't want a product anymore the store has to give it, if a store does that, it's entirely store policy and not regulation.

SoloFalcon1138 wrote:Sure, if you think airfare and potential cargo charges or shipping would make it worth while...

Well, you don't need to buy an airfare. You just need to get them to ship the models in such a way as they remain sealed in their packaging and undamaged by the journey. People regularly import things and it's far cheaper than buying them in that country.

However, I think boxes are regionally boxed, perhaps even regionally barcoded. I could have sworn I saw something about "blah blah blah Australia" on a box I bought in Oz.

EDIT: Of course, obviously if all you get is store credit it doesn't do you much good, because the credit would be for more money but at the crappy Australian/NZ prices, lol.

The laws regarding returns are going to vary by country and in the US it varies state by state. Some states you have no rights and others you actually have a pretty liberal return policy. GW has always had excellent customer service so I would be surprised if they refused a return with a receipt and in an unopened package.

I've only ever got a refund once, and that was when I was returning the Planetstrike Craters that were of a quality far below what we should expect from GW (this was long before Finecost).

Other times it was just swaps.

AllSeeingSkink wrote:

However, I think boxes are regionally boxed, perhaps even regionally barcoded. I could have sworn I saw something about "blah blah blah Australia" on a box I bought in Oz.

Some stuff is packaged locally. Not sure how much, since I don't really buy the local stock.

 scipio.au wrote:
Some stuff is packaged locally. Not sure how much, since I don't really buy the local stock.

So that's why we pay twice what the US pays!

Special Limited edition wrapping?

Citadel FineWrap.

They should stock rolls of it behind the counter. I just somehow got the image of Glad wrap with little skull pictures on it.

 n0t_u wrote:
They should stock rolls of it behind the counter. I just somehow got the image of Glad wrap with little skull pictures on it.

Don't forget dead Cadians too.

AllSeeingSkink wrote:

japehlio wrote:If its in 'resellable' condition, yeah they offer you store credit (w/out) a receipt, and will give you a refund if you have the receipt. They are bound by certain trading/consumer regulations.

However, no cellophane = no dice...

Actually, I don't believe they are bound by consumer protection laws to offer refunds for items just because you don't want it. If it's faulty, they are bound by regulation to give a refund, if it was incorrectly advertised, they are bound by regulation to give a refund, I don't think any country has regulations that state if the consumer simply wants a refund because they don't want a product anymore the store has to give it, if a store does that, it's entirely store policy and not regulation.

Actually, in the UK you have a 14 day grace period, if you buy something but then decided that you no longer wanted it then as long as it is still resellable and you can prove you bought it in the last 14 days then they have to offer a refund. At least thats how it works for "distance selling" (i.e. telephone and internet) I don't see why it would be different in a store.

Actually, in the UK you have a 14 day grace period, if you buy something but then decided that you no longer wanted it then as long as it is still resellable and you can prove you bought it in the last 14 days then they have to offer a refund. At least thats how it works for "distance selling" (i.e. telephone and internet) I don't see why it would be different in a store.

It does only apply to goods bought at distance. Reasoning behind is that in a shop you can phyiscally assess the goods prior to buying them - something you cannot do when buying online.

Some shops might offer a return under certain circumnstances but that is entirely up to the shop.

It usually doesn't work for store sold products because you have a chance to personally inspect them, whereas with distance selling you can't.

EDIT: ninja'ed, must refresh more often.

Ah, fair enough - I finally see why the law exists as it always seems a little odd to me.

I made a list of stuff at Christmas so family and friends knew what to get me, and I got one too many boxes of Wood Elf Glade Guard. They changed them without a problem when I explained that I didn't have the receipt. They offered me a refund, too, but I wanted other stuff from the store, so I guess it changes on a staffer by staffer basis?

I spent some years on the service desk of major retailer and lots of people assumed they had the right to return something they'd changed their mind on, quoting various lengths of time they 'legally had'. But it definitely does only relate to goods bought over phone or internet in the UK.

Most stores will allow something though, as long as the customer seems genuine.

 ExNoctemNacimur wrote:
That seems to be flawed: couldn't I go to, say, the US, get someone to buy me up a lot of GW stuff then go to Australia or NZ and get store credit?

Again, for the second time in less than 24 hours, it seemed a lot cleverer in my head.

Legally for you to return things, you have to have a receipt. (at least in the US)

Many stores, to make the customer happy will allow you to 'exhcange' it for another item or store credit if the item is sealed and the whims of the person working exchange. Exchange fraud does happen, but usually not to a high enough level to catch it.

Realistically you should return the item to where you bought it. Sticking another retailer with extra stock which they didn't sell you while you think it is harmless is unfair.

Here was a situation which happened a few years ago:

Transformers are sold at price points which are supported by Hasbro. usually the toys change, the price points stay the same. Most stores hold the inventory based upon price point, not individual figure.

Target had a massive sale (to clear stock before the new transformers movie) where you could get like 2 for 1 of the 10$ price point. Of course, all they had were pegwarmers, the items no one wanted. A bunch of people within the online community figured out you could buy the figures from Target for basically a 50% discount, then walk across the street to Wal-Mart and use their liberal exchange policy to exchange those 10 'toaster transformer' no one wants for 100$ worth of Toys you want. People got 100$ of toys for 50$ and walmart got saddled with piles of inventory.

Wal-mart normally exchanges anything simply to keep the line moving and keep people happy. People began getting cocky buying up the target figures with the expectation they could use it like a 'bank' and return them whenever something they wanted came out. It actually got bad enough that Walmart and a few other retailers had to explicitly make a policy in regards to this scam. All of a sudden, if you tried to return toys to Walmart, you needed a reciept. Even for new, 'in box' stuff. There was an actual official memo about it.

Target also changed the policy that any figures without a receipt would be exchanged at the SALE price so people couldn't buy them for 5$, wait a month and return them at full price. They actually changed the inventory in their system to distinguish which figures being returned would have been part of that sale.

No one got charged with fraud, but a few people got close and reported stories of walking quickly out of the store when phonecalls were happening. Others saw the memo of the walmart employees in regards to transformers.

I think your best bet is to be honest and let them know you didn't buy it there but it is NIB and you want an exchange. If they won't let you, then return it to where you bought it.

Legally for you to return things, you have to have a receipt. (at least in the US)

Receipt or proof of purchase? In the UK a "proof of purchase" is required to get a refund/replacement for faulty goods. I assume this "proof of purchase" requirement is the same in the US. A receipt is not the same as a "proof of purchase" although many people do think that they are. If I can prove I purchased the from the store (for example by using the CCTV footage that is legally available to me under the Data Protection Act in the UK) then I do not need a receipt and in fact the receipt does not prove I purchased it, just that something was purchased by somebody.

Koppo wrote:

Legally for you to return things, you have to have a receipt. (at least in the US)

Receipt or proof of purchase? In the UK a "proof of purchase" is required to get a refund/replacement for faulty goods. I assume this "proof of purchase" requirement is the same in the US. A receipt is not the same as a "proof of purchase" although many people do think that they are. If I can prove I purchased the from the store (for example by using the CCTV footage that is legally available to me under the Data Protection Act in the UK) then I do not need a receipt and in fact the receipt does not prove I purchased it, just that something was purchased by somebody.

HA! Good luck with that one. Claiming to be on video purchasing the item and it is on the store to provide the footage will go over well. Expect to spend thousands of dollars of legal fees to get that one executed.

Not in the UK, you don't. I believe he's right that under that privacy regulation he mentions they actually have to provide you with that footage at reasonable cost (a few tenners at most, I'd say...).
Also, it's a clear-cut right he has and the UK mostly goes by a loser-pays system so no, they'd be nuts to not cooperate with that...

The worst approach with any return is to be adversarial. Instead, it better to outline the situation and ask what they can do for you. If you don't like the answer, you can assertively say "Instead, could you ..." People are far fare more likely to do something when asked than when demanded of.

Most good stores are happy to exchange products for items of a similar value.(Store credit.) If items are in a a condition to be re sold.(BNIB.)
As some times 'gifts' may not be exactly what you wanted...

 H.B.M.C. wrote:
I've only ever got a refund once, and that was when I was returning the Planetstrike Craters that were of a quality far below what we should expect from GW (this was long before Finecost).

Other times it was just swaps.

You didn't like the Planetscape craters?!?! I loved those things!

nkelsch wrote:


HA! Good luck with that one. Claiming to be on video purchasing the item and it is on the store to provide the footage will go over well. Expect to spend thousands of dollars of legal fees to get that one executed.

Koppo wrote:
for example by using the CCTV footage that is legally available to me under the Data Protection Act in the UK

http://www.ico.gov.uk/for_the_public/topic_specific_guides/cctv.aspx wrote:You have the right to see CCTV images of you and to ask for a copy of them. The organisation must provide them within 40 calendar days of your request, and you may be asked to pay a fee of up to £10 (this is the maximum charge, set by Parliament).

http://www.ico.gov.uk/for_the_public/topic_specific_guides/cctv.aspx

So that would be £10, max.

Koppo wrote:

nkelsch wrote:


HA! Good luck with that one. Claiming to be on video purchasing the item and it is on the store to provide the footage will go over well. Expect to spend thousands of dollars of legal fees to get that one executed.

Koppo wrote:
for example by using the CCTV footage that is legally available to me under the Data Protection Act in the UK

http://www.ico.gov.uk/for_the_public/topic_specific_guides/cctv.aspx wrote:You have the right to see CCTV images of you and to ask for a copy of them. The organisation must provide them within 40 calendar days of your request, and you may be asked to pay a fee of up to £10 (this is the maximum charge, set by Parliament).

http://www.ico.gov.uk/for_the_public/topic_specific_guides/cctv.aspx

So that would be £10, max.

And what is the retention policy required? Who evens ays they have copies of the footage going back to the date you require? Usually for things like this, if you have an established retention policy and the request is outside that retention rate, then you are out of luck.

"How long can an organisation retain CCTV images?

Organisations should have a retention policy. They should only keep the images for as long as necessary to meet the purpose of recording them.
"

also:

"If, however, other people are identifiable in the CCTV pictures, then the images would be considered personal information and it is likely they would be exempt from the Freedom of Information Act"

Oh so if they only need them for 24 hours to check the day's shoplifting, then you are again, SOL if you try to come in and try to use it as a proof of purchase as they can say 'outside retention policy, footage doesn't exist.'

So again, it is going to do you almost no good in providing evidence as a proof of purchase in most situations, and even if you are on video, I don't think that even proves proof of purchase. It can imply it, but without super detailed resolution and sound, it may be hard to even determine what you are purchasing or you assume the camera records the checkout area of the store. And if anyone BUT YOU was in the store, looks like they don't have to provide you anything.

So CCTV is not a realistic 'proof of purchase' in probably most situations.