Should it stay or should it go?

Ok, my first laptop arrived today. And my first question arose before I got it in the door. When I picked the box up off the porch, surpise... it felt and sounded like the laptop was thrown in the box loose. When I opened the box, it was incased in styrofoam but the company who will go nameless (starts with a D), packed it in materials designed for another larger product. So the laptop was flopping around in there like a fish out of water during transit, and I don't imagine the shipper handled it with kid gloves. I hear laptops are fragile so this makes me wonder if I should even start with it. Would you keep it? Or would you return it?

I read the following today. Would you say this is true? Or overstated?

""Treat your laptop like the fragile, delicate and expensive machine that it is. Inside that nice plastic shell (which isn’t very thick) lies delicate hardware. All it takes is some bumps here and there to add up, creating microscopic cracks inside the circuitry. Miniscule damage is cumulative. Think of every little poke, prod, bend and bump as adding up slowly into a part failure."

 

Well, first off, welcome to MajorGeeks!

UPS's shipping standards tell you to pack it to take a 3' fall. If you feel it was not packed to withstand that, you might want to send it back. Does it work, are there any cracks or damage to the unit? If it was bought new, it should have at least a 1 year warranty. I would evaluate it on the condition of the unit and my need for it.

If you are really uncomfortable with it, send it back! You might want to pack it a little better so they can't say return shipping damaged it! Box it up tight, and then get a box that is 3" larger on all 6 sides, and 'float' the smaller box in peanuts and it should be fine for the return trip.

 

As Fred said if you are unhappy send it back, and welcome to MG

 

Thanks guys, Actually I haven't even taken out of the plastic wrap to see what kind of condtion it's in. After reading the companies return policies I was reluctant to do so. One thing they wrote, "Any product returned without prior authorization, the customer will not receive credit for the product, and we will not ship the product back to you." They keep your computer & your cash! Now that's harsh! I don't want to give them any excuse to not accept a return. I have a one yr. warranty, didn't spring for an extended warranty. I never have. The worst thing I've ever encountered was a faulty start switch, and it was easier to fix it myself. Thanks for the great packing tips! I am leaning towards sending it back.

 

Most companies have that policy. You need to contact them and get a RMA so their receiving department knows what to do with the PC when they get it.

Kinda like taking something back to the store and showing them your receipt.