No answers, I’m afraid, just questions… How much would the re-stocking fee be? How much could you sell the Neo for? How would those two amounts compare? Would the difference be worth it for the enjoyment of getting to listen to the Neo (or the satisfaction of scratching the itch of curiosity)?
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Amazon is a little nebulous on that, but up to 50%. So, possibly $350. Possibly $0. Their (Amazon’s) customer service has not been helpful.
Could probably resell it for $650. Still, there is a time and effort component there, shipping and fees, as well as my personal dislike (read: absolute hatred) for dealing with people who want to haggle, nitpick, and generally make buying/selling something 50 times harder than it has to be.
Worth it? Not really, especially this time of year.
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If it was a FBA product you can return within 30 days for a full refund, no questions asked. Opened, unopened, does not matter. Sometimes you have to for return shipping but usually Amazon will supply a label anyways.
As far as restocking fees go for Amazon if it was sold by a merchant their return policies have to be laid out. They can only charge you a 50% restocking fee if there are missing items from the box or you’ve obviously damaged it.
You also have the power to open an A-Z claim, leave negative feedback, etc…
Normally I don’t advocate for any of that but if you’re being told a 50% restocking fee for something just for opening it, that’s definitely the route I would go.
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This was the best advice I’ve read on this forum. And it was very funny. 
@ProfFalkin, I’d just try it and go from there.
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Sounds like returning it for the full refund would be the way to go, then, especially to avoid all the potential hassle.
This won’t help you, sorry, but I once had an idea for loaner tours. My thought was that you could limit the number of trusted participants - to 20, say - and have each of them pay a twentieth of the item’s cost as a condition of joining the tour. Then, at the end of the tour, you could hold a giveaway among the participants and someone would get to keep the item. Even if the item were to get a little dinged up in the course of the tour, the new owner would still get it for a twentieth of its original price. And those who didn’t win it would have paid the same 5% re-stocking fee charged by Schiit, for example. Admittedly, I’ve not given this proper thought.
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I like the idea of that and on paper it sounds great. You’d be surprised at the amount of chargebacks / paypal cases get raised with that stuff though when people don’t end up winning in the end.
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Ugh, yeah, that would ruin it quickly. I realize the operative word in my thoughts above is “trusted.” Other problems would be that for 20 participants, you’d be looking at 30-40 weeks for a loaner tour during which time a lot could go wrong…
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Open it my friend. Or you’ll always be wondering “What If?”
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Very understandable.
If you list it for sale, add a note: “This is NOT an OBO listing. Don’t bother sending me any low-ball offers, and don’t expect any reply if you do. If I end up lowering the price, you’ll see that.”
And then respond only to offers to buy at your offering price, or if people raise any legit “condition questions” that weren’t covered by the wording in your description of the product. And the best way to address the later would be to edit the listing to add info, or post a follow-up note if the edit-window is past. Basically, one question makes it an FAQ addendum, so you don’t have to spend more time re-answering that specific question.
But in this case, if you’ve lost your enthusiasm for reviewing the product, and you don’t see it as a potential add to your personal collection … then send it back unopened. That’s the easiest and quickest way to just move on.
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What did you end up doing? Like you, I only like buying something if I intend to keep it, and would only return it if it turns out that it isn’t for me. Particularly in this economic climate, where I’m impacting someone’s livelihood. Although if Amazon is the seller, I wouldn’t feel so bad about it.
If you haven’t opened it, maybe an option is to return it unopened, and ask @SebastienChiu if he can arrange for a loaner tour of the Neo for forum members to review.
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You would be amazed at the number of people who ignore that anyway, or are just completely incapable of reading.
I usually just ignore those people right off the bat. They’re doing me a favor really. It’s a clear indication that I shouldn’t sell them anything, if they’re that stupid or oblivious. I hate to sound so snide, but it’s true.
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I ended up processing a return through Amazon. Box unopened, product unused. First, I did send them an email asking what the return policy was. The response was short and lacking detail, unfortunately, and they didn’t specifically say there would be no restocking fee. Their reply:
Hello,
We honor the same 30-day policy.
Cheers
Tiffany
I’m going to raise hell if there is. There is no policy stated on the listing, I can’t get a definitive answer from them, so all I can do is hope, I suppose.
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If the listing doesn’t say “Sold and Fulfilled by Amazon” then the return policy is set by the seller. In this case looking at the listing it says:
| Ships from | iFi audioiFi audio |
|---|---|
| Sold bySold by | iFi audioiFi audio |
If you click the iFi Audio link it takes you to their “seller profile” page. There you can click on the “Returns & Refunds” tab for their policy. In this case the policy says “Please refer to the Amazon.com policy”. So it appears that they honor the Amazon policy which would give you a full refund if returned within the 30 days.
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Yep. I had read that. Thank you.
Maybe it’s just me, but if a customer emailed you asking for information on a return policy, wouldn’t you either link them that or explain the policy using more than 6 words?
Am I being irrational there with those expectations?
Too much effort?
Anyway. Doesn’t matter.
You’re being reasonable. Consider you a non repeat customer.
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You’re being rational.
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It’s known and accepted within these industries that there will be a certain percentage of returns based on people trying products and it not living up to their expectations. Many businesses in the eCom sector have this built-into their business model and do not even charge restocking fees anymore unless the product is altered or damaged in some way. (Headphones.com anyone?)
I work for a large apparel company and we know up front that people will buy different sizes of he same style just to return the product that doesn’t fit. Same here.
For the buyer it is caveat emptor…
The net costs of returns are likely lower than the merchandise that walks out the door of a retail store. Costco has door checkers for a reason. Many stores have metal detectors/beepers for a reason. Online is the new reality for clothing, and returns must be part of many/most business models. Best Buy kind of followed Apple into the ‘vendor showroom’ model – it works for mainstream electronics I think. Niche hobby audio…???
Ridiculous lowballs are a reality, but there’s also good money to be made through salesmanship. Many nibblers who won’t commit just want to be persuaded. A good salesperson can rob you blind and you’ll come away happy… I’ve sometimes posted stuff I’d otherwise throw away on Ebay, and indeed make real money off it.
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In my business, pretty much all I can sell is service. The US financial industry is very highly regulated, and prices are generally set, either by the company (Insurance or broker-dealer), or by mutual fund companies. New regulations encourage fiduciary relationships, and robo-advisors cover the bottom of the pool. The days of the Wolf of Wall Street are long gone. (Although there are always spaces that can harbor a determined shyster, just not in the mainstream).
Fortunately, I’ve always tried to excel at service, no matter what I do. But it’s true, a good salesman can make you want to do business with them. There is a magic appeal that some seem to have. When I lose a prospect or client to a good salesman, I always wonder what I could have done better.
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Oh, I’m not ruling out iFi for future purchases, but I’ll be going to Taron for the purchase instead of Amazon, that’s for sure.
Mistakes were made. That’s on me
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