Returns

No, they can't legally resell returns as "A" stock. If someone makes a habit of buying and returning gear, it's very expensive for these retailers -- they can and should blacklist such customers (who always act surprised and like they've been wronged lol). Those guys make everything more expensive for guys like me who either know what we want before we purchase, or hit the secondary markets when we want to "play around". 

@mulveling I 100% agree with you but i'm not sure I haven't gotten returns when buying new.   I have never gotten something that didn't work so I have never complained but sometimes they seem to be resealed.  Of course the factory might have realized they left the useless little warranty certificate out or something like that.

Jerry

whew....run on sentence.

What are you asking?

You were shipped a used item. Hopefully you paid a "used" price.

I returned a pair of speakers to Cruchfield and later noticed a pair come up on their open box area, I assume these were the ones I returned. I think they are one of the more reputable dealers out there.  My experiences with Amazon however . . . I've received items that were obviously returns and where never noted as such.

Thanks mulveling, and that makes sense since I know they sell "open box' stuff at a discount.

It wasn't a run-on sentence, but neither was it a question, so it didn't require a question mark.

I’ve dealt with Music Direct and purchased lots of expensive gear. When I return an item it then pops up as open box, which is reduced in price. Their return policy equally applies to a $100 item, or a $12000 cartridge. I found a sales rep that is very knowledgeable and has proven to be an invaluable resource. So, nothing but positive things to say regarding MD. If you look on my virtual system, power conditioner, all cables, turntable and cartridge were through MD. Many times I upgraded and returned items. My Ethernet cable was a return and I purchased it as open box. Hard to believe that such a high end item was returned, but it was and it made a real difference in my system. All of the power and interconnects were purchased as lesser cables and refunded as I traded up.  I purchased my DAC directly from the manufacturer and both the phono preamp and streamer from @blisshifi . Again, nothing but praise for Juan at blisshifi.

So buy it, return it, then buy it again at the reduced "open box" price?

@carlsbad2 that would be highly questionable and I would think MD would be wise to this practice. Now this why there are restocking fees incurred by some retailers to discourage unscrupulous activities as you sited. Though I did think the same thing.

@recklesskelly I would hope so.  And I think restocking fees are a reasonable thing.  

👍👍

Uh, yeah, of course you're sometimes getting someone's returned item. What other option does the dealer have when a mint condition item is returned in like new condition. There's no "law" prohibiting them from re-selling it. If it's damaged, scratched, the box is so beat up that its obvious that it was previously used then the dealer may have to sell it as "B" stock or similar at a discount. When I was in the audio business 30 years ago items that were returned it "like new" condition were re-packed meticulously and put back in inventory. 

The answer is Yes Yes Yes. They wouldn't be able to extend to you free returns if they didn't sell returns as new in the darn box.

No, Music Direct would advertise it as an “open box” or “customer return.” I have purchased these items from them and I can attest that they are great bargains, and you’d never know that they have been opened. Music Direct is a very reputable audio dealer. 

All depends on the company and how they treat their reputation. A quality company will always list as open box and list the condition. My worst case was an online buy from Best Buy. I paid for new went and picked up from store. When I opened the box it was beyond obvious it was a return, no instructions or paperwork and it was very dirty. I took back to store and asked for my money back. They asked no questions and just honored my request.

I've dealt with Crutchfield several times and have always been very satisfied. I think it is a good company. Look at their "Open Box" and "Scratch and Dent" specials. They're pretty transparent.

Good luck.

Many recent dealings with Nate at MD the past 12 months. Solid, knowledgeable audio salesman. MD quickly responded on a few expensive items  I had second thoughts about basically no questions asked. Provided full refund in 5 days. 

Noticed all items were placed on there used/open box items at a discounted price. 
Highly recommended dealer, made the audio journey a lot more enjoyable. 

I've had numerous dealings with both Music Direct and Crutchfield over the years. I have nothing but praise for both companies.

Everything I purchased from them worked perfectly, was packaged and shipped exactly as expected, and I was able to confer with knowledgeable staff about each purchase beforehand.

As a matter of fact, the most expensive component I purchased from either was the LG C8 77" OLED television purchased from Crutchfield in 2018. That is a huge TV in a huge box, but it arrived in perfect condition and has worked flawlessly since day-1.

I'm a fan of both companies..

I did not mind buying open box or B-stock gears as long as they are in mint condition from the retailor until the most recent purchase. I bought a B-stock S400 Mk ii from Buchardt. Cosmetically it looks like new. One or two pieces of minor accessories were missing but that did not bother me. However, after throwing in at least 150 hours of burn-in, I still felt the bass region is lacking some weight and sometime I heard distortions from treble that I did not hear from my other speakers. I start communicating with Buchardt and the service manager, Daniel, who is very knowledgeable, caring and efficient professional advises S400 Mk ii is a neutral sounding speaker so the bass is not boosted as most of the bookshelfs, they are supposed to be placed a bit closer to the front wall, etc. These are all truthful advices but the aforementioned issues were still outstanding. He is further suspecting one of the treble driver is bad so I did a one-at-a-time listening and found out one of the speaer has issue. Buchardt arranged the return and I repurchase a brand-new pair of S400 Mk ii. Problem is solved. What a wonderful pair of speakers like so many reviewers / users appraise and attest.

My point is you never know what the previous buyer does to the gears. The manufacture will most likely only perform visual inspection when they get the stock returned. Although I had many success buying used equipments, one time snake bite experience like this will make me think twice from now on in buying delicate equipments. In my case, I was saving only 150 euros but the time I invest is enormous. Not worth it.

Crutchfield And Music Direct are very good company to deal with.

I never purchase used gears from Crutchfield before but only a pair of brand new speakers one time.  You will think what bad experience you could possibly get from buying a brand new set of speakers?  Well, here was the story.  I found out the speakers were labeled LEFT and RIGHT because of the off-center positioned treble driver.  However, the serial numbers were not sequential which might later affect the resell value.  So I called back and the salesman named Steve (Steven?) answered the phone.  After hearing out my complaint, he actually treatened me that I can not sell the speakers otherwise I will be banned forever from making any other purchase from Crutchfield.  First of all, I do not intend to resell the speakers, rather I was saying IF I want to resell them many years later, non-sequential serial number will hurt the resell value.  What kind of customer service is that?  I ended up with keeping the speakers because I like them and do not want to bother with the return.  But I was threatened and humiliated and I chose to do nothing.

One of the reasons I asked is certain products like say the McIntosh MC152 for example never has an open box for sale that Ive seen and I'd say that some have mostly likely been returned?

@basket random While some retailers may choose to resell returned products as "in box" or "refurbished", not all returned items will necessarily be resold. like New. Many retailers have specific policies in place to ensure that returned products are properly inspected, tested, and refurbished (if needed) before being resold to customers.

I bought a bluesound integrated amp from crutchfield. It cost me a $60 restocking fee. Free shipping back to them. They could sell it open box and still make money from the restock fee. They are good for returns, but not cheap.

I’m afraid $60 would not be making money for Crutchfield. They have to have someone process your return, refund your money, receiving processes the physical return, inspects it, it, someone puts it into inventory, then it must be advertise an open box. There are so many non-standard flow interactions they are not making money.