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Comment by chris_wot | Hacker News Reader

I would never spend $80 on something from a vending machine! For tha amount of money, you really need to be able to properly see and even touch the thing your buying. Caveat emptor

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Does this mean you've never bought an expensive item online?

Online vendors need extra level of good customer service to reduce people's fear on buying expensive stuff, like Amazon's customer service.

Two things here, 1) I buy things online simply because of the distance selling act. I have 7 days no questions asked returns policy.

2) Amazon customer service is awesome, I experienced this first hand at xmas when my little boys 3DS wasn't charging properly, I emailed customer service to send a new charger and they just sent a whole new device and give me 28 days to return the other one.

That is what I call customer service

You lucky Brits get all the best consumer protection laws. I don't think such a thing exists in the states, and if it did, I imagine that there would be some sort of shipping loophole. ("Sorry, your device took 4 days to ship, and 3 days to ship back, you don't get a refund. Oh, and if you want your device back, please pay for shipping again.")

It is a great law if used properly. It does however stop my friend from selling beds and sofa's online from this shop because he is afraid of people taking advantage of this law. Large shops can swallow the cost but independent retailers suffer when consumers take the piss and just send stuff back. The shop can't send it back to the manufacturer and is generally stuck with a sofa that has been slightly customised in some way by the customer.

Correct.

Avoiding caveat emptor is the appeal of the Best Buy brand. The author's point is that these machines hurt the company's image by making returns a hassle.

The article made it sound like returns are virtually impossible. You can only return unopened products? What, exactly, would you see on the back of the box once you buy it that you didn't see on the front?

I recently purchased an iPod Touch from a vending machine inside a Macy's store next to my office in downtown Seattle. I knew what the product was all about, and I knew that either Macy's or Apple would make things right if something went wrong. I trust Macy's and Apple, I don't trust Best Buy very much, and will trust their vending machines even less.

That said, other than the novelty of it, there's no reason to buy electronics this way.

Was the entire experience faster than it might have otherwise been? I can see an advantage from a "not having to wait in lines" standpoint. (unless I suppose the machines become heavily trafficked).

Definitely faster than going to a crowded Apple Store, and not having to talk to a sales clerk is a clear bonus if you're an introverted misanthrope like me.

You'd generally be expected to pay for these items prior to removing their shrink-wrap coverage anyways, so there's not really any difference in that respect.

You can generally ask a manager if he would mind if you opened the product while he is there to make sure it functions for your needs. I've never had an issue with doing that.

Me neither - I normally insist on missing the business meeting I'm going to, or turning around and flying back to a city with a real Best Buy or having a courier fly out with an international power adaptor.

You need something, they are selling it, you buy it

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