Vacuum Cleaners Discussions

Carmine D.

Carmine D.

Hi Venson:

It's not money laundering.  It's desperate times and lots of free time on hand to nickel and dime the big box retailers.  Smart scam.  Vacuum consumers always have a demand for new attachments.  But this scam is too small to bother to track, and prosecute.  But big enough if done in volume to make a day, week, and/or month of mad money [for gambling on the slots and horses and sports].

Carmine D.

I wouldn't be surprised if it was those vacs that Carmine has gifted. 

Hi HARDSELL:

I wouldn't be a bit surprised if closer inspections of the insides of the cartons didn't show that more than the 2 and/or 3 attachments are missing.  Bags, filters.....................the attachments are the excuse for the scammer to cover the refunds/returns.   I'd bet on it.  The vacuum returns appear to be still packed up just like brand new save the missing attachments.  Usually the returns are inspected by customer service clerks, and only on rare occasions.  They really don't know what to look at and look for and take the scammers' words.

Not long ago we posted here about the tie downs added to new vacuum cartons to ensure the cartons are not opened and tampered with before sale.  Scammers now have a work around.  Seemingly legitimate purchases, which allow pilferages of the vacuums' parts unbeknownst to the retailers, and then returned for full refunds. 

Carmine D.

How about that?  Or a $20 filter?  Or a $45 filter?  Or a $80 low rise floor tool?  Resell on line for all profit.  Save time and effort.  And if you're inclined to go to the store anyway, you've got nothing to lose.

Carmine D.

In this most recent LV retailers' scam, there is no record of the customers because cash is tendered for the purchased and returned for the refund.  Retailers, like the one I mentioned, who was hit by the same customer 3 times, will have to devise a method to track these scammers and put an end to the nickel and dime-ing.  In good times, big box retailers write it off as an operating expense.  Not worth the bother.  In bad times, they crack down.

Carmine D.

Hi Venson:

Last year, a couple was apprehended for this and a slot machine scam.  The slot machines accept cash and at any point a player can cash out and get a paper voucher for the cash which is redeemable at a kiosk for cash.  Using counterfeit bills, the couple traded in the funny money for the real thing.  They would have gotten away with the ploy too.  Except, they used their player cards in the slot machines.  The casinos had all their personal information, deployed the local authorities and napped them at their home.  They were not too bright.

Carmine D.

I must say some people are very creative,

CRIME WOULDNT PAY IF THE GOVERNMENT RAN IT, how untrue of a statement has that become.

Regards

MOLE

A poster with a dyson explained on a site awhile back his problem with BEST BUY and his solution.  He bought a DC07 new and after a month it had no suction.  He goes back to BB but no one there could get it to work properly!  He would have to leave the DC07 which BB would send off to dyson for repair.  Estimated time of about 2 weeks to get back.  He said this was unacceptable because he couldn't be without a vacuum.  His dear Wife would be livid.  BB wouldn't budge.  He eyes a new DC14 while he's there, which just came in, and he puts an offer on the table:  May I return the defective DC07, add the difference in price, and buy a new DC14.  BB said H-E-double hockey sticks no.  He counteroffers:  OK, let's do this instead:  I'll buy a new DC14 now for full price and then I'll return my defective DC07 for a full refund.  In that context, BB agreed to take the bad DC07 back immediately and he paid the difference and left with a DC14.  Likely his defective DC07 became a dyson refurb.  I thought the gent gave BB an opportunity to make good before he resorted to more hard nosed tactics.

Carmine D.

Welcome back.

With more retailers using "roving" employees who work at different store locations, the same occurs.  Retailers have to ask customers with returns for refunds of a prescribed threshold amount to complete a form either in hard or soft copy.  No confidential information but certainly name and address/zip code.  The refund information [item, date and amount] can be warehoused on line for tracking and audit purposes.  This serves as a deterrent to those so inclined to scam the retailer.    Of course, customers can make up information and circumvent the reliability of the refund form.  But this can be eliminated by asking for a driver's license or form of ID to verify the name on the form. 

Tough times call for tough actions.

Carmine D.

Carmine D. 

Hello retardturtle1:

I rec'd it, thank you.  A bit of ancient history before your time here:  A regular poster, no longer here, and I had a running debate on retailers.  Two in particular at the time were neck and neck on stock price:  Best Buy and Wal*Mart.  Tho, not a Wal*Mart shopper/buyer, I liked the future prospects from a financial news perspective: future sales, profit and stock price.  Why?  The USA was at the tippy top end of an unsustainable bubble shored up by bloated housing prices, greedy banks and run-a-muck deregulated investment firms.  A very bad mix for financial stability.  It all had to burst.  When it did, I opined that Wal*Mart, the oft ridiculed budget basement non-union China sourced vendors conglomerate, had to clean up.  It did and it has.  Sadly, some few people equate respect for financial success in bad times as admiration/support for the company.  Very different things.  One can admire and praise its success w/o liking and supporting it. 

Carmine D.

Hi retardturtle1:

The bad, unlimited expansion at the expense of smaller businesses, stores and historical preservation [battle fields in Virginia] comes with some good not just for the US but for the world:  jobs for persons who otherwise would be unemployed, increased standard of living for underdeveloped countries and societies, and budget prices for American families and households on spending plans.  Of note, many of the W*M execs and even industry analysts are saying that US consumers who traded down in the current recession [bypassed shopping at the high end/upscale retailers for W*M] will likely change their shopping habits.  Instead of reverting to their old buying and shopping preferences once the economy improves, they will stay as long-time shoppers at W*M.  Not a pleasant thought for the US retail industry.

Carmine D.

Interesting question and many local county and city officials have to deal with.  I lived in Prince William County Virginia for many years. It was a suburb of and bedroom community for Washington DC that expanded by leaps and bounds in the 80's, 90's and 2000's.  Locals and nature preservationists were concerned as the pristine landscape was torn down for new homes and businesses.  Then many of these structures were vacated and shuttered.  Right after the tech bubble burst and before the housing bubble burst, local PWC leaders passed ordinances to limit the square footage of new big box retail stores.  Worked well and forced many businesses to lease, buy, and occupy smaller already shuttered buildings rather than build new larger ones.  Here in North Las Vegas which is part of Clark County, the community leaders could have learned a valuable lesson from the Prince William elder statesmen/women.  Homes and businesses look like ghost towns.  Lost tax revenues, jobs, and spending.  Expansion was too fast too soon. 

Carmine D.

Hi retardturtle1:

In recent years, before the 2008 recession, W*M conducted studies and surveys to learn how many items customers shop for in one store visit and how long they want to spend shopping.  Also, how long its customers say is a reasonable time to cash out and leave.  W*M also wanted and tried to convince all its products vendors to use bar codes on all the cartons so merchandise can be tracked from vendor to the warehouse to the W*M store and then to the final sale.  These are all issues that are pertinent and relevant to its customers and shoppers store experiences and exact inventory control throughout the product shipping and sales cycle. 

Carmine D.