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View Full Version : Buying tech devices without sufficient research before purchase



Rachel
11-21-15, 8:17am
I'm so mad at myself. I bought a new home router without sufficient research, just on the basis of a NYTimes article...and I can't make it work.

I'm not asking for advice. I'm just so mad at myself for not giving this more careful thought before hand. $175.00. Possibly down the drain.

Then I went and bought an ipod touch, $325. I bought it because my ipod is now 10 years old and is showing a few signs of erratic behavior. I use my ipod to help with sleep, it is an essential element of maintaining my sanity.

Why oh why did I buy this new ipod touch without looking online for reviews? Turns out that the same problem I am having with it many other people are also having.

I'm going to try to return it, but am not optimistic. $325.

Again, not asking you guys for tech advice, just a friendly word to the wise. Oh, I'm so mad at myself. I work hard for my money. ARGH!

freshstart
11-21-15, 8:44am
don't forget the extra warranty time you get with many credit cards, you may be able to get your money back that way if they won't take your return. File a claim and they do the dirty work.

Miss Cellane
11-21-15, 9:37am
If you bought the router at a store, take it back. Ask if they can show you how to make it work. If they can't, return it. Lots of stores have fairly liberal return policies if things are broken. And if you can't make it work, it's broken.

Or look online for instructions. YouTube has more info than you might think.

As for the iPod, it depends on where you bought it. Apple stores have a 14 day return limit, but places like Best Buy will take them back on their usual return policy. You should clear all your info off the iPod first, though.

JaneV2.0
11-21-15, 2:39pm
Aren't routers usually pretty cheap now? I bought a Medialink, let it sit around for a year or two, then when I installed it without a hitch wondered why I had waited so long.

I usually steep myself in reviews before buying, but occasionally that fails me (Witness the plastic-geared Whirly-Pop). Try to shop where they have a liberal return policy. YouTube is a good resource, as are tutorials on line.

Gardenarian
11-21-15, 8:27pm
Oh, don't beat yourself up to much. So much of tech is touch and feel and personal preference that you kind of need to work with something at home for a few days to really know if it's for you.

I recently made an impulse purchase - the Amazon $50 Fire tablet. Then I just found out that it will be on Black Friday sale for $34.99! I'm going to try and see if they will give me the Black Friday price (I've only had it a few days.) It would save us both the hassle of my returning it and getting a new one. I also discovered that the tablet has no voice commands (except in the Amazon shopping app.) Weird. And I had read in advance that the picture quality (both as a camera and for viewing) was not great, but didn't think I would notice - but I did! I still like the tablet, but I'd like it better at $34.99...

We usually go with Costco for any electronics/appliance purchase, as they have a very generous return policy.

freshstart
11-21-15, 9:08pm
holy moly, a Fire for $34? I still use a first gen or second gen Nook that I actually like because you can read it in the sun, I am embarrassed to say how much that cost, well, I do not remember at all what it cost, I just know not $34, lol.

I'm usually a late adopter and then prices are lower and bugs are fixed.

SteveinMN
11-21-15, 9:29pm
Aren't routers usually pretty cheap now?
Not the really good ones. I saw the price of Rachel's router and didn't blink an eye. Top-tier (consumer) routers from top-tier manufacturers start well over $100.

JaneV2.0
11-21-15, 10:11pm
Not the really good ones. I saw the price of Rachel's router and didn't blink an eye. Top-tier (consumer) routers from top-tier manufacturers start well over $100.

Mine works well enough for me; it does everything I require of it. I get a signal all over my house, I can stream and support at least a couple of devices simultaneously, and it's worked flawlessly for a couple of years. I'm not sure what a more expensive unit could do better.

Williamsmith
11-22-15, 4:44am
I'm pretty sure my router was just below $100 dollars and it has worked flawlessly. However, my daughters fiancé is a techno geek and installed it for me. It all in your support systems.........I'd take it back in a heartbeat. And start out real friendly and courteously then gradually work your way to full blown asshole if you don't get your money back. Usually somewhere before they call the police, hey will just satisfy you to get rid of you. All store policy is made to be broken under the right circumstances, you just have to be more stubborn than them. Remember to leave you Glock 27 in the car though.

Or you can forget about it, lesson learned.

freshstart
11-22-15, 7:48am
I am renting a combo modem/router from the devil Time Warner. We are a tivo family and we are not switching. Well, Time Warner blames everything then on tivo. Our internet goes from 30 whatever, down to 6, with all tivos off, so it is not the tivos. For two years they've been coming every other month to fix this. It never lasts.

my brother said their stuff is so outdated, he can't believe it works. He brought home a new router, he's coming for TGiving, I'm hoping he'll hook that up so all we need from them is a modem. My depths of hatred for Time Warner are unlimited. They also say when the internet is slow that it is because we have Macs, they only support Windows. What? A major cable company just does not support Macs across the board? Yeah, right.

anyways, my point is, would your cable company set it up for you, probably for a fee? Just before you ditch it needlessly. Or do what William said.

freshstart
11-22-15, 7:55am
as for Apple, they have always been good to me, replacing things free out of warranty, like a completely new iPhone or doing repairs for a lower price. So before giving up on the Touch, how about make a Genius Bar appt? If it's a bug in all or many of them, they probably have a solution.

Rachel
11-22-15, 8:48am
Thanks, folks. Good comments. I did some yoga, took a walk, came back to the itouch with a fresh mind and figured it out.

The router issue will be resolved, I just have to work up the energy to devote to it. I find these technology chores very antithetical to simplicity!

rodeosweetheart
11-22-15, 11:35am
Just putting in a good word for Apple--just bought a refurbished laptop and it sat in the garage for a month before I got the courage to set it up and the support people were incredible.

They also returned a mouse that I could not get to work, no questions asked, and told me just throw it away since it did not work, and the next day the money was back on my card.

I LOVE buying direct from Apple.

kib
11-22-15, 1:45pm
I have a love hate relationship with all the new electronics. NOTHING works for me the way the commercials promise it will, and it seems 90% of what I buy has a Special Issue I have to work around. I think by and large this wave of tech is the next bill of goods we're being sold, and it's my intention to stay at least four years behind the curve - by the time I learn how to make anything work really well, I'm being told all the problems I've had have been solved by the next iteration of the device. Bulls***.

ETA: is anyone watching Master of None? Aziz Ansari is skyping an audition from a coffee shop because the wifi in his apartment is so bad. So he stands up and starts shrieking about how The Virus Has Started in this Starbucks full of people ... hilarious, and a perfect storm of first world tech problems.

freshstart
11-22-15, 2:28pm
I keep forgetting to watch that, I love him.

Apple treats me like a befuddled old lady and say they are cutting me a break because I am a loyal customer. Well, I don't buy that much and what I do, I try to make last forever. I think it's more, "she is totally like my mom, clueless. I'll help her out."