A question for the Toys R Us employees

[Mr Hero]

I tried to find the best board to post this in, so please have this moved to a more appropriate spot if possible.

My brother had bought his son a telescope from TRU. My brother was not satisfied with the telescope, so he took it back.

The TRU employee told him he could only exchange it for the same item since it's considered electronics. My brother was so How is this even considered electronics? Telescopes were around long before electricity. Galileo anyone?

My question for you TRU employees is this. Is that actual store policy, or was it just some dumbass at the CS counter who just didn't know what they were talking about?

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Depends on whether or not that telescope was sold out of the electronics department.

At my store, when we had telescopes as Christmas gift-y items, they were always considered Electronics. Of course, they probably had motors or some other electronic thingamabob in them.

[Chromatix]

Telescopes are optics, plain and simple. Indeed, the telescope is one of the three major instruments for which Optics were invented (the microscope and the sextant are the others, though they may have come later).

But what's the only other thing with advanced optics? Cameras. Which, these days, are very much electronics. Cameras and telescopes tend to be sold in the same place, simply because they are both optics.

[PepperElf]

i'd say have him question that... but do it quickly

i heard they might be going out of business
at least the store where mom lives may be... but if i'm wrong feel free to correct me

[malmalthekiller]

They sell them out of electronics most of the time.

But at my store, certain electronics must be returned within a certain amount of time, which is much sooner than regular returns.

However, something like that would most likely be the regular 90-day return policy, so I don't see why they can't be returned.

[Mr Hero]

The telescope definitely falls within 90 days since it was a gift for Christmas. I still think the employee had his head up his butt. I thought the policy regarding no refunds on electronics only applied to software. What was my brother going to do? Burn a copy of the telescope?

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Again, it depends on what the store considers to be electronics.

If possible, try again when there's a different employee working the returns counter.

If the "spirit of the policy" is to keep people from burning copies of video games, computer software, DVDs, CDs, etc, then I don't see why a telescope should be subject to the same rules, but then again I haven't been in a Toys R' Us lately to see what they have for electronic items.

[wagegoth]

This is the time to ask for a manager. He should go back to see if a different employee might help him, but if they don't, he should ask for a manager. The SKU or receipt code might be electronics, but if it's a plain telescope without a motor or anything similar I would make the case that it's not actually an electronic item.