What is the point of a policy is you don't enforce it?

[tenaciousb]

Edited to add one: Most software licenses that I've bothered to read thoroughly, at least for anything I buy a hard copy of, specifically *allow* you to resell it as long as you remove it from your computer and either destroy any backup copies or pass them along to the buyer. And returning it to the store for a refund is, essentially, selling it to them for what you paid. Again, it's the customer breaking the law (if they really did make and keep a copy; many such return attempts are legitimate) and not the store.

Thats not like reselling the same thing back to the store.

If you bought a used car, even if it had 20 miles on it, you'd be significantly less then if it were brand new from the original seller. Another person would be stupid to pay full price for opened, thus used, software. Why should the store hand full price back to the customer for a software that at the very least, has to go back to the manufacturer to be repackaged.

Sometimes the manufacturer will say they will take back your product within 30 days if the customer isn't satisfied. Hey thats fine. Then they can take it to the manufacturer. I like it when customers confuse who is the store and who is the manufacturer. They're gonna have to ship it back to them on their dime, and wait 4-6 weeks for a check like everybody else.

[Dips]

Sometimes the manufacturer will say they will take back your product within 30 days if the customer isn't satisfied. Hey thats fine. Then they can take it to the manufacturer.

Exactly. Our company manufactures software and we will take it back up to 90 days; the customer is not re-imbursed for shipping and must pay to ship it back before he gets a refund. Since we have activation, it's also quite easy for the customer to verify with us that he has either removed the software or never activated it. We then retire the serial number and it becomes useless.

If the customer bought from a reseller, it's a bit more complicated, but still possible. The reseller has to contact us and we work with him. If the reseller decides to return the software to stock and resell it, we will kill the returned serial number and issue him a new one to sell electronically. If the reseller wants a credit, he pays to ship it back.

It works out pretty well for everyone this way. The only problem seems to be the suprising number of folks who try to return it after 90 days. Our record was a year and that jerk actually got some money back.

[HYHYBT]

Why should the store hand full price back to the customer for a software that at the very least, has to go back to the manufacturer to be repackaged.

They shouldn't, of course. I never said otherwise. But it's only stupid, not illegal. Certainly stores take returns that they cannot sell or get credit for, or where the customer took out the one piece they needed first. Car dealers certainly *could* let people return new cars after a week for full price, despite their now used status. They don't because it would be stupid and would fast put them out of business, not because of any law against it. For that matter, stores could, legally, issue refunds without getting the product back at all.

[Ackee]

OOh I hate this too.

My manager does this all the time.
I have found a sneaky way to cope.When they come in expecting the rules to be changed, repeat the policy. Whatever they say, look blankly and repeat the policy.
Ignore them and break eye contact, if they ask you again, wait. Think, then repeat the policy in different way. If they ask to speak to the manager. Tell them to wait. Pull them to one side wait for as long as possible before you call one.
It ruffles their feathers and if they get to speak to the manager they are no longer able to hold a manipulative frame of mind and you don't need to spend endless time reasoning with a dummy.

However, I must say you don't know what is in the box unless you open it. They should at least get a credit note and you should tell them when they buy it.