Nintendo has won and doesn't need to offer refunds in EU because preloads

[ARikozuM]

3 minutes ago, Kawaii Koneko said:

But every company won't adopt those policies. They will use generous return policies to stand out among their competitors. Even now that's how it is. Wal-Mart or Amazon doesn't have to be so lax with their return policies but they do it because it's good for business. It's part of the reason they stand out above their competitors. 

 

Sure, in a case where you can only buy a product from one place, you may just have to live without that product but that is life. Nintendo can get away with this because where else are you going to go for a digital Nintendo game? But it's up to you to decide how bad you want a Nintendo product.

That doesn't mean that a minimum can't exist or for ownership of digital goods to have parity with tangible goods, especially since there isn't any material that goes to waste. If a product does not work, you cannot/should not be stuck with the loss. 

[Kawaii Koneko]

6 minutes ago, ARikozuM said:

That doesn't mean that a minimum can't exist or for ownership of digital goods to have parity with tangible goods, especially since there isn't any material that goes to waste. If a product does not work, you cannot/should not be stuck with the loss. 

Just more regulation instead of letting businesses have the right to make their own policies and then consumers choosing whether or not they can live with those policies.

[Mooshi]

Your fault for preordering. Who tf spends 60 on a game that's not even out yet? Maybe if I were still 12 and wanted to brag to my classmates, but as an adult? Nah.

[suicidalfranco]

imagine if the only way to get a refund for a borked iPhone (or any consumer electronic device) was possible only if you didn't take the phone out of the box

[Thaldor]

10 hours ago, Kawaii Koneko said:

Frankly, I'm fine with this. A company should be able to set whatever terms for their products they want. If you don't like a company's refund policy, then don't buy it. Simple as that. Don't expect the government to step in and make it so you can get a free trial.

Problem with not having government placed minimum policy is that companies are scumbags. Like with Nintendo even when there is laws that mandate refunds companies will go below that to get more profit and without those laws the refund option would be extremely rare (see how digital storefronts didn't have any kind of refunds before Valve got into trouble and was forced to make one and after that others followed because if they didn't they could face legal troubles). When even with set limits and laws companies are willingly and readily going against them to gain more profit what do you think majority of companies would do if there wasn't any minimum set? Be nice to a consumer when even now they try their best not to be?

 

Also without legally set minimum policies, what you going to do with scammers and companies that actually do harm the consumers for their profit? You cannot sue them or put any kind of legal pressure on them because they are not breaking any laws or set limits.

 

Most of the companies once the regulations and laws would be removed would go full on "rape the customer"-mode and most likely the bigger the company, the stronger they go. Just look at EA, Nintendo, Valve, Epic Games, Apple and literally any company and its history and you will see that there isn't nice guys over there and without any regulation they would do everything to milk the customers. There are some companies that are the good guys but they are the minority, very small minority.

 

Spoiler

Also voting with your wallet hardly ever works. Only case coming to my mind where it has had some effect was when CBS sued the Axanar fan production and fans were so furious that even J.J. Abrams was worried how Star Trek: Beyond would do in such environment, not to even mention then upcoming CBS Star Trek: Discovery -series and what kind of reception it gained from trekkies when announced around the lawsuit. And even then when we are talking about very tight and uniform fanbase threatening to go full boycott, the effects were very little, probably almost nothing apart from getting few huge voices supporting the fans on the case and everything was forgotten in a second. You see companies can rape the customers, curbstomp them all day, rob them, throw them in front of the bus, do basicly whatever they want and without officials stepping in, customers have no power over them, even now with laws and regulations controlling the field.

 

[dalekphalm]

On 1/26/2020 at 5:32 PM, NumLock21 said:

@Thaldor @mr moose
Right here in the US if a refund is denied, they have to give store credit for the amount that was spent. They cannot denied both. Not sure about over there.

I really don't think this is true - frankly, the US doesn't even have a guaranteed right to return beyond the 72 hour "cooling off" period. So I guess you can say there's a 72 hour guaranteed right to return, but beyond that? No.

https://consumer.findlaw.com/consumer-transactions/customer-returns-and-refund-laws-by-state.html

 

And there's definitely no right to a store credit if a company refuses a return (outside of the 72 hours - because inside that they have no choice but to give you a refund, which means same method of payment as you bought it with).

 

Now, some individual states have refund laws. California being the most obvious one, which basically guarantees a 30-day return period. But the vast majority of states have no right to return at all, beyond the Federal 72 hour cooling off period.

[NumLock21]

5 hours ago, dalekphalm said:

I really don't think this is true - frankly, the US doesn't even have a guaranteed right to return beyond the 72 hour "cooling off" period. So I guess you can say there's a 72 hour guaranteed right to return, but beyond that? No.

https://consumer.findlaw.com/consumer-transactions/customer-returns-and-refund-laws-by-state.html

 

And there's definitely no right to a store credit if a company refuses a return (outside of the 72 hours - because inside that they have no choice but to give you a refund, which means same method of payment as you bought it with).

 

Now, some individual states have refund laws. California being the most obvious one, which basically guarantees a 30-day return period. But the vast majority of states have no right to return at all, beyond the Federal 72 hour cooling off period.

Right here we had a 14 day return window, some stores offer more like 30 days. The product can be returned as long as it is in the original package and with a receipt. The store must provide a refund or store credit depending on the store's policy. 

[dalekphalm]

10 minutes ago, NumLock21 said:

Right here we had a 14 day return window, some stores offer more like 30 days. The product can be returned as long as it is in the original package and with a receipt. The store must provide a refund or store credit depending on the store's policy. 

No doubt all true. The same is here for practically all stores. 
 

But it’s not the law forcing them to give you that. 

[Arika]

I've started only buying physical carts for switch, so if i don't like a game i can always trade it in for something else

[NumLock21]

3 hours ago, dalekphalm said:

No doubt all true. The same is here for practically all stores. 
 

But it’s not the law forcing them to give you that. 

If a store we’re as bureaucratic, and follow what the law says, they will be out of business. 

[Reytime]

On 1/26/2020 at 9:05 PM, Mooshi said:

Your fault for preordering. Who tf spends 60 on a game that's not even out yet? Maybe if I were still 12 and wanted to brag to my classmates, but as an adult? Nah.

Pretty much. We used to preorder to reserve a physical copy at launch. But in the digital age this of course makes no sense. Your digital copy will be waiting regardless of preorder or not.

 

I believe I have only once preordered a game in my life. Crash Bandicoot Insane Trilogy, and that was a physical copy from Amazon. Just because it was cheap and a few days before launch.

 

I like the idea of preordering to show interest in the product though. Like with Cyberpunk and CD Projekt Red. If you truly believe in a product or company you could always show support this way. I think that's cool and I might put my 2nd ever preorder in for this one. Just because I like the idea of CD Projekt being decent people.

[RonnieOP]

On 1/26/2020 at 1:33 PM, gabrielcarvfer said:

What can be said other than never pre-order anything? 

This.

 

If someone is dumb enough to keep preordering video games in 2020 then they have no one to blame but themselves.