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I would march it back to the store in that situation. They are getting away with this shit because the return rates are low. Bumping up the return rate isn't

I would march it back to the store in that situation. They are getting away with this shit because the return rates are low. Bumping up the return rate isn't something you can count on others to do; if you don't return it, you're part of the problem.

ssl-3 8d ago
The cost of returning the thing to the store can be high. The packaging can be precarious; what was once stapled cardboard is now taped, what was once a neat and rigid rectangle is now kind of floppy and misshapen and getting worse every time it moves. Besides, they're big things that can be challenging to move around. Doing it solo is mostly a non-starter. But sure: Eventually, it gets wheeled back in through the same front door of the store that it came out of just a few hours before. Now the real fun starts: They don't want it back. They hem and haw. Other associates arrive to reinforce the ultimately firm standpoint of "No." You point at the return policy on the wall. You read the relevant passages aloud, word by word. You tell them, over and over again, that you're here to return merchandise. Some smart-sounding person shows up, gives everything an appraisal, and explains "Sir, it even says DO NOT RETURN TO STORE right here on the box!" It's not clear who got loud first, but it's quite obviously the case that things are definitely loud now. Finally, the store manager appears. He just needs this fucking circus to end. He asks no questions, issues the refund without hesitation, and everyone walks away pissed off. --- I mean, I guess that's resolution. But what often happens instead is this: The TV is unpacked. It's mounted on the wall or arranged just-so on whatever furniture is involved, requiring sometimes-tricky bits of assembly the whole way through. There's excited anticipation in the air about the new widget and how much better it is going to be than the old widget. Finally, you switch it on and discover that it can't proceed without a network login. This raises a series of red flags that you find impossible to ignore. So you go out back to cool off for a few minutes, think about life's decisions, and Google ways to get this 2026 build of this TV that nobody online ever mentions the specific model number of to work offline without any connection. And the missus knows how these things can go. So while that's happening, she signs the thing into the network and gets it set up with an account "just to see how it really works." Now the TV is connected and it's never going back to the store. The end.
- kazinator 8d ago
  Mounting on the wall is just four screws to the TV, with a standard bolt pattern that fits any modern TV. Whatever accomodations were made will work exactly the same with any TV of approximately the same size.
  - ssl-3 8d ago
    Yeah, that sounds great. It does not match reality. It's trivial to find modern televisions that don't follow VESA's mounting hole patterns.
    - kazinator 8d ago
      Since the mounting hardware you already have from your previous TV does follow VESA, you would be returning the new one for that reason. Unless, you know, it was amazing, like completely dumb with no registration step, and offering great picture quality. That might be worth drilling some new holes in the mounting plate, or whatever it takes to make it work.
      - kazinator 7d ago
        When I say returning, of course I mean not buying in the first place! "Does it have a standard bolt pattern compatible with my intended mount" is one of the first things you check for in the technical specs, long before you order something or go pick it up. If your mount is strictly 100x100, you can't have a larger TV on it that has a 200x100 or 200x200.
      - ssl-3 8d ago
        You win. Whatever game you're playing, you're the victor. Congratulations!
- account42 7d ago
  Are you speaking from experience or are you letting your fantasy run wild before even trying?

ssl-3 8d ago

The cost of returning the thing to the store can be high. The packaging can be precarious; what was once stapled cardboard is now taped, what was once a neat and rigid rectangle is now kind of floppy and misshapen and getting worse every time it moves. Besides, they're big things that can be challenging to move around. Doing it solo is mostly a non-starter. But sure: Eventually, it gets wheeled back in through the same front door of the store that it came out of just a few hours before. Now the real fun starts: They don't want it back. They hem and haw. Other associates arrive to reinforce the ultimately firm standpoint of "No." You point at the return policy on the wall. You read the relevant passages aloud, word by word. You tell them, over and over again, that you're here to return merchandise. Some smart-sounding person shows up, gives everything an appraisal, and explains "Sir, it even says DO NOT RETURN TO STORE right here on the box!" It's not clear who got loud first, but it's quite obviously the case that things are definitely loud now. Finally, the store manager appears. He just needs this fucking circus to end. He asks no questions, issues the refund without hesitation, and everyone walks away pissed off. --- I mean, I guess that's resolution. But what often happens instead is this: The TV is unpacked. It's mounted on the wall or arranged just-so on whatever furniture is involved, requiring sometimes-tricky bits of assembly the whole way through. There's excited anticipation in the air about the new widget and how much better it is going to be than the old widget. Finally, you switch it on and discover that it can't proceed without a network login. This raises a series of red flags that you find impossible to ignore. So you go out back to cool off for a few minutes, think about life's decisions, and Google ways to get this 2026 build of this TV that nobody online ever mentions the specific model number of to work offline without any connection. And the missus knows how these things can go. So while that's happening, she signs the thing into the network and gets it set up with an account "just to see how it really works." Now the TV is connected and it's never going back to the store. The end.

kazinator 8d ago
Mounting on the wall is just four screws to the TV, with a standard bolt pattern that fits any modern TV. Whatever accomodations were made will work exactly the same with any TV of approximately the same size.
- ssl-3 8d ago
  Yeah, that sounds great. It does not match reality. It's trivial to find modern televisions that don't follow VESA's mounting hole patterns.
  - kazinator 8d ago
    Since the mounting hardware you already have from your previous TV does follow VESA, you would be returning the new one for that reason. Unless, you know, it was amazing, like completely dumb with no registration step, and offering great picture quality. That might be worth drilling some new holes in the mounting plate, or whatever it takes to make it work.
    - kazinator 7d ago
      When I say returning, of course I mean not buying in the first place! "Does it have a standard bolt pattern compatible with my intended mount" is one of the first things you check for in the technical specs, long before you order something or go pick it up. If your mount is strictly 100x100, you can't have a larger TV on it that has a 200x100 or 200x200.
    - ssl-3 8d ago
      You win. Whatever game you're playing, you're the victor. Congratulations!
account42 7d ago
Are you speaking from experience or are you letting your fantasy run wild before even trying?