Topic: Warranty replacement/refurbishment/disappointment
Howdy all,
I was going to email customer support on this, but I was curious to know if anyone else has experienced anything similar.
I'd initially ordered a a pair of chumby ones only to find that both had the exact same manufacturing defect (a strong backlight bleed in the lower right corner of the display). Customer support was very helpful and quick to issue an RMA, and off went the chumbys to be replaced.
I received my two replacement units yesterday as expected, but was very disappointed to discover they were both obviously refurbished, as one has a dent in the front plastic, and the other has a small but noticeable scratch on the screen (the kind that looks like a speck of dust but won't come off and can be felt with a fingernail). The scratched screen has a strangely pitted surface as well, as if a stylus had been repeatedly jabbed against it at random. The dented unit in contrast has a fine, smooth screen.
I realize the chumby warranty states that replacements may be new or refurbished, but I was expecting new units based on correspondence from chumby support ("the sooner we receive the defective unit, the sooner you will receive your new chumby"). I purchased two brand new chumbys originally, and would have preferred to wait for those specific units to be repaired rather than receive two obviously used ones in exchange.
Has anybody else been unhappy with the result of warranty replacement? Is this a valid issue to press? I've purchased a few refurbished electronics in the past, and usually the only noticeable difference is the packaging. I was thinking about getting a chumby8 for the kitchen, but now I just don't know if it's worth taking a chance on.