Sold a used surface Pro?

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tardtasticx

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#147271 14-Jun-2014 10:10

So today I got a Surface Pro 128GB from Harvey Norman,
It was sold as a Demo unit, he said it'd been on the display for a couple of weeks when I asked him. The device looked fine and he said it had a normal warranty so I thought okay cool, and got it.

During the sale, the store manager (I forget his name) came over to pressure me more into buying the extended warranty that I already declined. He asked why, I said I don't think its worth it for the price. He asked how much i would pay, I said $20, first thing that came to my head. He said that was absurd, so I said "well so is the price you're wanting, I'm not buying it, end of story." I was so close to walking out, he was not letting it go.

Anyway, I get home to play with my new toy, and I turn it on. When black screens show up, there is light shining on it in some places, just like when you press down on an LCD screen. So obviously this hasn't been treated right in its lifetime.

Eventually it finished booting, and I realised it'd been setup already, thinking it was a demo unit that'd be why. But nope, it was a user account for someone called Gavin, and was assigned to a company Domain.

So why should I do? I got told theres none in Auckland left and I really hate waiting for things lol so thats why I got up early to get it today. The store won't do anything until I bring it in.

Also, what are your experiences with their staff up selling products? I know its their job but when someone politely says no, you shouldn't press it further. He even tried to sell me software like office and anti-virus, and I told him I have all the software I need already. He starting talking some BS about a bad virus coming over from the US right now affecting these computers, and that I should really update my anti-virus anyway. What a joke.

-Sam

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#1065401 14-Jun-2014 10:39

Contoso? ;)

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Dynamic

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#1065414 14-Jun-2014 11:28

Unfortunately this just reinforces for me that retail salespeople cannot be trusted.

How much off standard price did you get?

If you are curious about it's real age, consider checking it's warranty status: http://www.microsoft.com/surface/en-nz/support/check-warranty

“Don't believe anything you read on the net. Except this. Well, including this, I suppose.” Douglas Adams

robjg63

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#1065421 14-Jun-2014 11:42

http://www.microsoft.com/surface/en-nz/support/warranty-service-and-recovery/restore-refresh-or-reset-surface-pro

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freitasm

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#1065426 14-Jun-2014 11:47

Obviously liars will be liars, for a piece of silver. Wouldn't return to that store to buy anything ever again.

However if you don't want to go and return it then it's your choice - don't complain later if other faults appear.

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tardtasticx

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#1065457 14-Jun-2014 12:23

Update:

I did find those links posted here by Dynamic, and robjg63 but decided against wiping it so the store could see there was another user account on there.

I did check the warranty however, this is what it showed:

So since tech support is already expired, it's at least 6 months old. How much tech support does it originally have? I see the hardware warranty only has a few months left on it too. I'll deffinately be forwarding this to head office. This is probably the biggest lie I've been told by a sales agent ever (is that even legal?).

I've taken it back though, they've ordered one from Christchurch which has the last stock apparently. I paid $869 for it, which seems to be the cheapest considering no other stores have it in stock (JB sold out too). Everywhere else only sells the stupidly priced Surface Pro 2.

One thing that did come out of it though, the manager did apologise for the pressuring tactics he used when I got it. He said there's a new baby at home but he knows he shouldn't bring that stress to work. Atleast he owned up to it, I doubt he saw this post too lol so he obviously realised it himself.

Like the others have said, definitely wont be going here again. I didn't know Harvey Norman was so bad though.

mattwnz

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#1065462 14-Jun-2014 12:25

Just get your money back

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Dynamic

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#1065467 14-Jun-2014 12:27

Wow that is *really* dodgy selling a 9 month old secondhand product as 'a couple of week demo'. IMHO you should spit tacks about that. I was guessing it might be 6-8 weeks old when I suggested you check the warranty!

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#1065573 14-Jun-2014 15:09

Moral of the story, never trust what a sales rep says. They use a sales pitch. Did he tell you he has one at home too and it's fantastic?

Edited hopeless Swype word swap

insane

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#1065620 14-Jun-2014 16:24

joker97: Moral of the story, never trust what a sales rep says. They use a sales pitch. Did he tell you he has one at home too and it's fantastic?

Edited hopeless Swype word swap

That's why when you first engage a floor sales person you should start off with a similar product, but not the one you actually intend on buying. I did it for fridge at HN and by the time I got him to talk about the fridge I really wanted, he was having to backtrack on how great the first ones he showed me were. I called him out on the spot and left.

In the OP's instance, he should just get the money back and move on. Nothing good can come on this.

alasta

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#1065622 14-Jun-2014 16:29

I phoned my local Harvey Norman a few weeks ago to check if they had stock of a particular iPad model and was told yes, they did. I went in, waited for at least half an hour to be served, and was then told that the one unit they had in stock was not in a sealed box but they were "pretty sure it hasn't been used". I walked away and ordered one direct from Apple instead.

Experiences like mine and yours are a timely reminder of why I avoid dealing with big box retailers.

tardtasticx

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#1065671 14-Jun-2014 18:31

alasta: I phoned my local Harvey Norman a few weeks ago to check if they had stock of a particular iPad model and was told yes, they did. I went in, waited for at least half an hour to be served, and was then told that the one unit they had in stock was not in a sealed box but they were "pretty sure it hasn't been used". I walked away and ordered one direct from Apple instead.

Experiences like mine and yours are a timely reminder of why I avoid dealing with big box retailers.

Yep had the same thing when I got my iPad 2 a few years back I think except with JB HI FI. Can't remember who I got it from in the end. Its crazy how difficult they make it for themselves lol.

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#1066039 15-Jun-2014 15:49

tardtasticx:

I've taken it back though, they've ordered one from Christchurch which has the last stock apparently. I paid $869 for it, which seems to be the cheapest considering no other stores have it in stock (JB sold out too). Everywhere else only sells the stupidly priced Surface Pro 2.

Why do call the Surface Pro 2 stupidly priced? how many other i5 4200u 4gb 64gb ssd tablets with USB3 are out there for cheaper? if you have a look at the 'similar' acer ultrabook here, it costs more: https://shop.jbhifi.co.nz/computers-laptops/ultrabooks/acer-s7-391-53334g12aws-13-3-notebook/77635

If you want a cheap windows tablet that runs the full version of windows, buy an ASUS T100 for $600. It wont have as powerful a chip as an i5, but what do you expect for that price? http://www.dicksmith.co.nz/tablets/asus-10-1-t100ta-dk003h-touch-transformer-book-dsnz-xc9233

If you're comparing it to a galaxy tab or ipad, then don't. you cant. a better comparison would be with a tablet that runs Mac OSX, not iOS.

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tardtasticx

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#1066045 15-Jun-2014 16:03

Regs:
tardtasticx:

I've taken it back though, they've ordered one from Christchurch which has the last stock apparently. I paid $869 for it, which seems to be the cheapest considering no other stores have it in stock (JB sold out too). Everywhere else only sells the stupidly priced Pro 2.

Why do call the Surface Pro 2 stupidly priced? how many other i5 4200u 4gb 64gb ssd tablets with USB3 are out there for cheaper? if you have a look at the 'similar' acer ultrabook here, it costs more: https://shop.jbhifi.co.nz/computers-laptops/ultrabooks/acer-s7-391-53334g12aws-13-3-notebook/77635

If you want a cheap windows tablet that runs the full version of windows, buy an ASUS T100 for $600. It wont have as powerful a chip as an i5, but what do you expect for that price? http://www.dicksmith.co.nz/tablets/asus-10-1-t100ta-dk003h-touch-transformer-book-dsnz-xc9233

If you're comparing it to a galaxy tab or , then don't. you cant. a better comparison would be with a tablet that runs Mac OSX, not iOS.

I'm comparing it to the original surface. Now priced at less than 900, the specs aren't crazy different for the end user other than battery life enhancements due to the upgraded CPU. I really don't think it justifies the price difference to be quite honest.

I'm not comparing it to another tablet either because none of them have the build quality of specs of the surface (that I've seen anyway, probably wrong). But considering a full fletched MacBook Air 128gb only has 1-200$ price difference to the surface pro 2 128gb, I think that's kinda dumb. Factor in their $130 touch / type cover and they're nearly the same price. MacBooks are overpriced, I still got one though. Whether or not something is overpriced is a matter of opinion I believe.

tardtasticx

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#1068498 18-Jun-2014 14:38

Update again:

Rang the store yesterday to find out if it had arrived (afternoon sometime), they said no it hadn't, it was only sent from Dunedin on Monday, but should arrive Wednesday (today). I guess chch ran out of stock then, and they didn't have couriers working the weekend perhaps. Fair enough.

Rang the store today about 1pm, still nothing. So I asked for the tracking number, it was sent with PBT. Gave PBT a ring, and shocker, someone has been telling fibs again, because it wasn't even sent until Tuesday night and has no chance of being here until tomorrow at the earliest. The manager said on Saturday that it would be sent urgently, now when you think urgent you would assume it would be overnight, since thats a service every courier company under the sun offers. But nope, just regular economy post was used.

Interested to find out where this other rep. got the info that it was sent Monday. Part of me wants to cancel this order and be done with it, but I still really want the tablet and can't find any others in Auckland for that model. How they stuff up something so simple so many times is beyond me.

billgates

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#1068502 18-Jun-2014 14:45

You should get your refund and buy this user's Surface Pro 2 which comes with 2 PSU, Arc Touch Mouse Surface edition and Type Cover 1 for $1000!. It's a really good buy. It's also 8GB RAM and 256GB SSD. Better battery life and 2 stage kickstand.

http://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=77&topicid=147346

Do whatever you want to do man.

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