Question about the quality of the products that Argos sell

mrliffey

Hi, I'm just wondering if any else has experienced problems with items bought in Argos. For me, it's gotten to the stage where I'm wondering if they are actually selling items bought on the cheap from suppliers which are not of merchantable quality.
Recently I bought a toaster which was damaged. When I opened the packaging it was obvious that this wasn't a return just recycled by Argos but it was packaged as per shipping from the manufacturer. Today I just opened a dart board set. The dart board cabinet was damaged some of the bristles on the board were also damaged as if it was a fault during the manufacturing process and to top it all off the number 8 was missing off the board.
Over the last couple of years or so I've bought numerous electrical items which fail after only a couple of weeks so I reckon they must be buying cast-offs from manufacturers and passing them off as new and covering their arses by asking you to take out insurance on your purchase.

foggy_lad

The quality can be suspect when several items are damaged but i would say that is more to do with the logistics of running such a large operation there is a large amount of damages which are passed onto consumers as much as possible as not everyone will complain so at least some of the damaged stock is being shifted!

Also the insurance on electrical items is really only for two years as these items are already covered by your statutory rights for the 1st twelve months.

javaboy

I agree with Foggy Lad here. Argos is too big a company to deliberately seek out damaged goods from suppliers. They are a huge volume seller so naturally the logistics of such a big operation means the attention to detail drops.

FWIW I can't personally recall ever getting anything faulty from Argos.

foggy_lad

i would suspect that argos pricing is not as consumer friendly as it should be!

they have so many "sale" items which have been on sale in previous catalogues at a lower price but are the same price as in the current catalogue. customers are being practically connned into thinking an item is on sale when it is not.

also many many items appear in their sale booklets which are nowhere to be found in store or in the original catalogue or even online!

dont get me all wrong on this please i have nothing against argos and have bought many items in there all of which barring one pesky vacumn cleaner were just as described but two of those items were described as being on sale when there had been NO reduction to the price displayed in the previous month

sunny2004

foggy_lad wrote: »

i would suspect that argos pricing is not as consumer friendly as it should be!

they have so many "sale" items which have been on sale in previous catalogues at a lower price but are the same price as in the current catalogue. customers are being practically connned into thinking an item is on sale when it is not.

also many many items appear in their sale booklets which are nowhere to be found in store or in the original catalogue or even online!

+1

Rebel021

sunny2004 wrote: »

+1

+2

Doctor DooM

mrliffey wrote: »

Hi, I'm just wondering if any else has experienced problems with items bought in Argos. For me, it's gotten to the stage where I'm wondering if they are actually selling items bought on the cheap from suppliers which are not of merchantable quality.
Recently I bought a toaster which was damaged. When I opened the packaging it was obvious that this wasn't a return just recycled by Argos but it was packaged as per shipping from the manufacturer. Today I just opened a dart board set. The dart board cabinet was damaged some of the bristles on the board were also damaged as if it was a fault during the manufacturing process and to top it all off the number 8 was missing off the board.
Over the last couple of years or so I've bought numerous electrical items which fail after only a couple of weeks so I reckon they must be buying cast-offs from manufacturers and passing them off as new and covering their arses by asking you to take out insurance on your purchase.

Nope.

If goods fail within the first year this incurs a cost to the reseller as they are the one you deal with.

It'd make no sense for a bulk seller for argos to do so.

I wont go into the logistics of it here, but quality control is a huge cost to manufacturers. Unless they wanted to quadruple the cost of their goods, they must accept a certain amount of faulty goods going to sale.

Things break. Cest la vie. Especially when they are mass produced electrical goods. This is why the reseller has to offer a remedy if an issue occurs within the first year.

The proof in the pudding is how the reseller reacts when you return the goods.

Clytus

Knowingly selling a faulty product or service is incredibly damaging to a retailer. Id have no idea why a company like Argos would do so intenionally.

A full product recall is enough to close some businesses...I was once told that a product recall from lets say Dunnes Stores or Tesco could cost up to €500,000.

foggy_lad

SDooM wrote: »

Nope.

If goods fail within the first year this incurs a cost to the reseller as they are the one you deal with.

It'd make no sense for a bulk seller for argos to do so.

I wont go into the logistics of it here, but quality control is a huge cost to manufacturers. Unless they wanted to quadruple the cost of their goods, they must accept a certain amount of faulty goods going to sale.

Things break. Cest la vie. Especially when they are mass produced electrical goods. This is why the reseller has to offer a remedy if an issue occurs within the first year.

The proof in the pudding is how the reseller reacts when you return the goods.

things do break but my point is not who bears the cost but that there is no point paying large amounts for a 3 year warranty when the 1st year is already well covered by sale of goods act and consumers statutory rights.

and also i am sure that the reseller has in most cases got the ability to return faulty goods to the manufacturer? if not then this should be the case!

Doctor DooM

foggy_lad wrote: »

things do break but my point is not who bears the cost but that there is no point paying large amounts for a 3 year warranty when the 1st year is already well covered by sale of goods act and consumers statutory rights.

and also i am sure that the reseller has in most cases got the ability to return faulty goods to the manufacturer? if not then this should be the case!

I never take extended warranties, and TBH I would never recommend anyone too. they're a waste of time- but that doesn't have anything to do with a conspiracy theory that a company is buying seconds! I just genuinely doubt thats true.

Yes the reseller returns the goods to the manufacturer. But the reseller still incurs man hours, shipping, lost sales and customer confidence, etc.

Believe me if quality from a supplier falls below the percieved quality threshold of the buyer he will demand recompense or cease using the supplier.

Sam Vimes

javaboy wrote: »

I agree with Foggy Lad here. Argos is too big a company to deliberately seek out damaged goods from suppliers. They are a huge volume seller so naturally the logistics of such a big operation means the attention to detail drops.

FWIW I can't personally recall ever getting anything faulty from Argos.

i don't think you fully agree with foggy lad. you're saying that attention to detail drops. he's saying that they notice the stuff is damaged but sell it anyway because they're hoping that some of the customers won't bother complaining and they'll get away with it

good old foggy

Sam Vimes

foggy_lad wrote: »

Also the insurance on electrical items is really only for two years as these items are already covered by your statutory rights for the 1st twelve months.

you're not really understanding insurance here. what you're describing is an extended warranty. insurance covers things that aren't normally covered by a warranty, such as liquid damage.

to understand the difference, try going into a shop with your laptop with water pouring out of it and say "but i only bought it last week. what about the warranty!!!??!?!" and see what they say

javaboy

Sam Vimes wrote: »

i don't think you fully agree with foggy lad. you're saying that attention to detail drops. he's saying that they notice the stuff is damaged but sell it anyway because they're hoping that some of them won't bother complaining and they'll get away with it

good old foggy

Fair enough. I doubt there are many specific cases though of Argos knowing a particular item is broken/faulty and still selling it. I'd say it's more a case that they know statistically that there are some broken items being sold and they believe it is more cost effective to let the customer do the final QC.

It's basically the Ford Pinto effect but with slightly less chance of explosions/death.

Doctor DooM

javaboy wrote: »

Fair enough. I doubt there are many specific cases though of Argos knowing a particular item is broken/faulty and still selling it. I'd say it's more a case that they know statistically that there are some broken items being sold and they believe it is more cost effective to let the customer do the final QC.

It's basically the Ford Pinto effect but with slightly less chance of explosions/death.

As mentioned above, QC is not argos (the reseller's) responsibility, its the manufacturer.

axer

SDooM wrote: »

As mentioned above, QC is not argos (the reseller's) responsibility, its the manufacturer.

Well it is and it isn't. At the end of the day it is always the seller that is responsible for the quality of items sold thus it is in their interest to sell goods of merchantable quality.

I always thought Argos were pretty good with replacing/refunding items that fail.

Also the seller is responsible even past the first year of purchase. They are responsible for product failures for the length of time it is reasonable to expect the goods to last *if* they are used as intended. There is no 12 month limit in the Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act 1980.

Extra insurance is handy in some instances when feesible and when it can be foreseen that damage could happen that is not covered by statutory rights. Just remember if you claim from an extended warranty then you can *never* claim off of the seller with regards that item again.

OP: It is possible that their checks on the manufacturers have gone down but they will pay for this if people assert their rights and get the goods replaced or refunded. This is costly for a business which would hopefully show up the problem. I very much doubt that they are buying cast offs but maybe are not checking these companies out as well as they should be when it comes to quality.

parsi

Perhaps the OP received an item which was already returned by someone under their 14-day exchange policy and which was only superficially checked before being accepted by Argos ?

I find that their cheap electronics are of cheap quality (hence the price) but haven't had any problems returning items.

evil-monkey

I've never had any problems with Argos. If you bring back the stuff that's damaged straight out of the box, ie, the dart board, there should be no problem with them giving you a replacement. as regard a toaster breaking after two years (someone did mention that didn't they), I've had 300euro motherboards burn out in the same time...that's electronics for ya!! sometimes they just decide that enough is enough...regardless of who ya buy em off...

foggy_lad

Sam Vimes wrote: »

you're not really understanding insurance here. what you're describing is an extended warranty. insurance covers things that aren't normally covered by a warranty, such as liquid damage.

to understand the difference, try going into a shop with your laptop with water pouring out of it and say "but i only bought it last week. what about the warranty!!!??!?!" and see what they say

i do understand what argos are selling and it is insurance as you can return goods damaged in any way and they are covered for three years so this can bee considered insurance as it covers water damage physical damage etc your comparison shows you do not understand the product argos is selling.

Cabaal

I don't believe argos is miss-seeling, its just sear logistics of that much stock..stuff gets damnaged and their just not aware of it.

Its not a big deal with their 16 days returns thing though

I'd suggest that anyone saying argos are knowingly selling faulty goods that they back this up with proof,

NinjaTruncs

well you usually get what you pay for. I've bought things in argos and have always been happy with the quality, I bought a bedside locker for 40euro, it's a piece of ****e but what do you expect for 40 euro. saying that thought it is still in one piece two years later.

Sam Vimes

foggy_lad wrote: »

i do understand what argos are selling and it is insurance as you can return goods damaged in any way and they are covered for three years so this can bee considered insurance as it covers water damage physical damage etc your comparison shows you do not understand the product argos is selling.

this is what you said:

foggy_lad wrote:

Also the insurance on electrical items is really only for two years as these items are already covered by your statutory rights for the 1st twelve months.

so you said that the insurance is only for two years because your statutory rights covers the first 12 months. then you said that you can return the product damaged in any way and they are still covered.


your statutory rights do not cover damage regardless of how long ago you bought it so, despite what you said, the insurance is not "really only for two years" because during the first year it covers things that are not covered by the warranty. the whole point of insurance is to cover things that are not covered by the warranty. Your statutory rights are completely irrelevant when making an insurance claim because you only make an insurance claim when the warranty is void and your statutory rights to refund, repair or replacement no longer apply

your point would have been correct if you were talking about an extended warranty but you weren't. you said the insurance is really only for two years and that is incorrect.

so in conclusion, it's you who doesn't understand it

axer

Sam Vimes wrote: »

this is what you said:


so you said that the insurance is only for two years because your statutory rights covers the first 12 months. then you said that you can return the product damaged in any way and they are still covered.


your statutory rights do not cover damage regardless of how long ago you bought it so, despite what you said, the insurance is not "really only for two years" because during the first year it covers things that are not covered by the warranty. the whole point of insurance is to cover things that are not covered by the warranty so your statutory rights are completely irrelevant when making an insurance claim because you only make an insurance claim when the warranty is void and your statutory rights to refund, repair or replacement no longer apply

your point would have been correct if you were talking about an extended warranty but you weren't. you said the insurance is really only for two years and that is incorrect.

so in conclusion, it's you who doesn't understand it

Plus you are covered for more than 12 months with your statutory rights - you are covered for the length of time the goods are reasonably expected to last. The insurance/extended warranty as said before just gives extra cover for things not covered by law i.e. not correct use of goods or abuse/damage caused by the consumer. Unfortunately many people do not know the rights automatically implied on each transaction by consumer laws and believe they need insurance for manufacturing faults or faults that occur 12 months+ after purchase even though they did not abuse nor misuse the product.

Nightwish

As a former employee of theirs, I can say they dont wittingly sell faulty goods. Do you know how much it costs them to do so? You have to obviously refund/replace the product, followed by reporting the damaged stock and transport it back to the UK. There are risks with the logistics with such a large company. Some things can move/fall in transit and whereas QC does happen when stock is delivered, the staff cannot open and inspect every single item.

Btw I never tried to sell anyone the extended warranty because I personally think they are pointless but some people do want them in case of theft/accidents.