Tivo arrived, but banged up. Should I keep?

[philliptiongson]

I finally got my S3 from circuit city. (It arrived the same day as the Tivo.com Tivo, which I JUST returned). The box looked a little dented on the side, but nothing too bad. When I opened up the box however, there was a slight crinkle in the back left corner of the piano black case. More alarming, however, was the fact that I could hear something loose rattling inside the case. I called CC for an exchange, and they say it will take 7-10 business days for a replacement. I shook the Tivo a little more, and lo and behold, a screw (Torx) fell out one of the vents. Sans rattling, I went ahead and plugged it in, and it boots fine. However, it seems pretty screwed up to purchase a $800 piece of equipment and for screws to fall out of it. I don't know what other damage could have happened inside the case without opening it up and potentially being unable to return the unit. No Local CCs have them in stock.

Should I wait 10 more days for the new unit? Or should I gamble that everything is OK? I am pretty sure that I will return it, but I thought I'd ask for opinions.

In any case, I called TWC NYC for installation, and they said the EARLIEST I could get a cablecard would be Oct 10 anyway... so I am not really going to be missing much...

[reh523]

Send it back..............

[Dan203]

Agreed! If it was just the box that was damaged I'd keep it. But if the unit itself actually took a hit then I'd send it back.

Dan

[TiVotion]

Agreed. For $800, make sure the thing is intact. I would accept far LESS than a screw falling out.

It'll be worth the wait.

[etsolow]

Send it back!! The shock the unit took was likely transferred to the drive inside... I wouldn't trust it!

[fergiej]

Note to self:
Do not buy electronics online from CC (I've already stopped going into the stores). No double boxing means UPS has a chance to do this.

Do any of the stores have these yet? If so, is it possible to exchange it at a store?

[Bierboy]

Note to self:
Do not buy electronics online from CC (I've already stopped going into the stores). No double boxing means UPS has a chance to do this.It's not necessarily UPS...I bought my S3 from CC online, and it was shipped FedEx Home....and arrived in perfect condition.

[NJChris]

At least in my area, UPS boxes are almost always abused and FedEx boxes are seemingly handled with more respect.

[mikebridge]

see if you can swap it at a CC brick and mortar locally?

[sonicboom]

My box from CC arrived mangled too... but the tivo itself is fine. I'm keeping mine, but I will never order from CC online again. I can't believe they didn't double box an $800 item.

In your case... I'd take it to CC and exchange it for a new one.

[philliptiongson]

OK that's settled. I am definitely sending it back. Exchanging the Tivo at a brick and mortar store was my first instinct, but according to the CC sales support person, there isn't an S3 Tivo anywhere near my zipcode in NYC. So I guess I will wait for the replacement Tivo and hope to God that it arrives before Oct 10!

Thanks...

[votsgirl]

i would just return it to the store and go ahead and order a new one from circuit city online instead of trying to do the exchange. That way you'll be able to get a new one much faster and also get a credit on your broken one right away.

[Ames]

Note to self:
Do not buy electronics online from CC (I've already stopped going into the stores). No double boxing means UPS has a chance to do this.

Do any of the stores have these yet? If so, is it possible to exchange it at a store?
I had a perfect experience with CC. They saved me from the Tivo screwup. I still don't have that S3.

[cotton168]

Good luck on your Tivo phillip.

Ames, you still have not received the S3? I was also one of the "lucky 200" but received my exactly 1 week after ordering it. At least you got it from CC and can just refuse shipment on the Tivo.com one. :)

[gastrof]

At least in my area, UPS boxes are almost always abused and FedEx boxes are seemingly handled with more respect.

On the other hand, I've had far better experiences with UPS than with FedEx.

Two different times they left boxes with computer equipment inside in REALLY bad places.

One was left sitting on the hood of my car in the driveway, in a rainstorm, with the overhang of my garage door about ten feet away.

The other was left sitting AT THE STREET, also in the middle of a rainstorm, in a one inch moving stream of water.

After the second event, I sent FedEx an e-mail describing both situations, and asked 'who they had working for them in my area...gorillas?'

Oddly, they never replied.

Yes.

FedEx.

Class act.

Use'm every time...when you want to end up with an insurance claim.

[cap]

Hmm I had a similar incident last night when my unit arrived.

The outter box was fine, the black Tivo box had a dent in the back top/side.
The only other problem though is 2 rub lines in the top of the polished tivo.
Almost took all the paint off in those areas.

The Tivo seems to work fine, but part of me is miffed it is not in pristine condition.

But after all the shipping fiasco's I don't know if I can deal with that again.
Any suggestions?

[angel35]

Hmm I had a similar incident last night when my unit arrived.

The outter box was fine, the black Tivo box had a dent in the back top/side.
The only other problem though is 2 rub lines in the top of the polished tivo.
Almost took all the paint off in those areas.

The Tivo seems to work fine, but part of me is miffed it is not in pristine condition.

But after all the shipping fiasco's I don't know if I can deal with that again.
Any suggestions?
Send it back for $800.Iwant no DENTS :(

[cap]

The tivo itself didn't have the dent, it was the black box the tivo was in (it was double boxed).

The Tivo has the 2 rubs in the paint and some swirls.
I would expect it to be perfect since it was wrapped in that cotton thing.
I really don't want to have to deal with another shipping/waiting/returning fiasco.

[Ames]

Good luck on your Tivo phillip.

Ames, you still have not received the S3? I was also one of the "lucky 200" but received my exactly 1 week after ordering it. At least you got it from CC and can just refuse shipment on the Tivo.com one. :)
As of today still no Tivo from Tivo.

[philliptiongson]

So if I return item to store and reorder, probably can't get 10% off unless I try to call in and exokain, etc. hassle. I have already been emailed by CC, saying that a return is being processed and that they will pickup old unit and send out new one. I am hopeful.

In even more anticipation, I have ordered a 750 GB drive from isquaredinc.com

1 Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 750GB Hard Drive Bare Drive - 5 YEAR WARRANTYSEAB750S7200 $333.00 $333.00

Found on pricegrabber.com, but never ordered from there before. Hopefully they are reputable. I've been reading the upgrade forums, and I hope that I can follow their instructions...

Hopefully, CC, isquaredinc, and TWC can all get it together, and arrive in the right order... As for UPS and FedEx, I think FedEx is superior for overnight shipments, but UPs is far better for ground shipments. I like that with UPS Ground shipments often arrive faster than their estimated shipping date. It may because I live in NYC, and lots of volume goes there, but UPS ground shipments from the east coast often arrive overnight...

FedEx ground, on the other hand, lost a package from New Jersey to New York. It took over 3 days, and when they finally delivered the package, we noticed that the delay was because the barcode on the package was slightly ripped. The ADDRESS was completely visible with the contact phone number right next to the ripped barcode! The driver could have called us!

Hopefully, things will work out better with the replacement... I'll post my experience with CC exchange. I was already dismayed about the 7-10 business day turnaround, btu they may surprise me.