Warranty Returns

[Simmy]

Just a quickie. I purchased a Seagate Freeagent external hard drive for a customer a few weeks ago. The USB port is damaged and therefore prevents the drive from being used, so I need to get it exchanged under warranty. I've done this several times in the past and everytime I have paid the postage and packaging fee to send the parts off for replacement.

Do you charge the postage cost onto your customers or do you take the hit yourselves? I'm beginning to think I should charge them.

 

[Cetamega]

I just eat the cost. I think this one of the reasons why I am justified in charging a mark up on my items. If I am going to charge more for it than I paid for it. I feel like I have to add some sort of value. And that comes from the customer being able to easily receive a replacement part from me, with out having to box it up themselves or pay to have it shipped. If I have another item in stock I will give them a new one and wait for the warranty replacement myself.

Plus I just hate having to pay to get something repaired that is under warranty.

 

[MrUnknown]

I'm with Cetamega. Just charge a markup and eat the costs. In my experience you rarely ever have to RMA something anyway, so you still profit off the sale of the item. It also makes you look better to the customer because to them, you were the seller and they did their work on returning it to them.

I do, however, have a limit on how long I will do this for them. After my personal warranty runs out, then I will handle the RMA for them, but they have to pay the shipping.