Can you returned opened computer components to Circuit City?

[jamesrwright]

Can you returned opened computer components to circuit city?
I got a video card tonight. My other one bit the dust. I am hesitant to try to open it because I am not 100% sure the problem isn't on my system i.e. slot, etc. If I only have to pay a restocking fee, I will take the chance to see if it is the card..
Anyone have any insights?

 

[tomwaddle]

Here's a novel idea. CALL CIRCUIT CITY
And if you're that afraid to call them, call another store that you won't return the product to....

 

[DJ_Jumbles]

Short answer: Yes, you can.
Short funny story: A friend once bought a x800xt online and didnt work too well, so he went into circuit city, bought a x1900xt and liked it. So where's this going?
Well, he took the x800 and put it into the x1900 box and returned it. The girl behind the counter didnt even know what the hell a video card was, so she didnt care. He told them that it was the wrong bus and she just looked at him. Well, she refunded the money back to his credit card and that's that.... free upgrade.
All Circuit City or Best Buy or whoever does is take the product, call the manufacturer and if they have enough of them to return, they return them to the factory. Most times, stores dont want to eat all that shipping cost, and they dont have a mass amount of defective cards, so they just eat the credit that the manufacturers give to them while throwing the cards in the trash.

 

[sailer]

I've returned an open box to Circuit City without problem. They won't take opened software, but opened hardware is fine.

DJ_Jumbles: that sounds like a way to get a new card for free, but if someone's smart enough to open the box and look, its a way to end up arrested for fraud. In some states, it comes under a law called "Defraud of an Innkeeper" and can cost up to 5-10 years in prison.