Consumer products that are not good should not be on the shelves

Apr 02, 2010 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

A number of persons told me that they would buy electronic items that are put on special sales from a particular store only to find that when they reach home, the stuff was never in working order. They just weren’t good.
Apparently since the items are part of warehouse sale, they cannot be tested. You have to buy them as they are; in the sealed packet. One person told me that two cordless phones he took home never worked. Another gentleman told me the electric iron never functioned.
I was asked by a well known insurance official to attend an advertised sale. He complained to me about the problem. He asked me to do the investigation. The difficulty I had with that was that I was not going to use my own money to buy cordless phones, electric irons and flashlights just to highlight this aspect of the retail trade. He agreed that he would finance the purchase of two cordless phones.
They had original faults and were not working. After this experience, I believe I stumbled on a situation that needed to be brought to the attention of the public
In Guyana, commercial stores that hold special sales tell customers that such goods are not returnable. Actually that is illegal. All goods can be returned once they have manufacturer’s faults. Stores in Guyana are getting away with cruel exploitation by such misinformation. The sad dimension of this is that people accept that statement and do not return the faulty purchases. They also believe that they are in the wrong and that the owners will not offer them an alternative choice or give a refund.
The victims in all these situations are poor people. The wealthy classes will not rush to a warehouse sale to buy an electric iron or a cordless phone.
It is dishonest to advertise a sale and pass off dead products on consumers. There are many types of genuine sales in the commercial world. One of the biggest of its kind is the Boxing Day sale in North America. This is a phenomenal occurrence in the retail business. On that day, everything in the store is literally reduced to half price. The net takes in all designer items. If a Gucci handbag is beyond your reach at $10,000 Canadian. You will get it for $5,000. This is not a place to take your children. They can be trampled. The Boxing Day sale in North America is not for the faint-hearted. A few years back in one of the States in the USA, some people got trampled to death as the doors opened.
Another genuine form of sale takes place when seasons change in cold climates. When summer comes, high-top boots go on sale. When winter arrives, there are fantastic bargains on summer clothes. When summer comes back then is the time to buy your winter coats because they go cheaply.
Another type of attractive sale is in the electronic world. Laptops, I-pods and similar products are constantly being changed to accommodate new features. You will find then that old products go on sale. But one thing is for sure – you are buying good stuff. If you can live with the old model then that is a choice you have but the items are workable and they last long.
In this country, when you hear that a sale is on, be careful. Plenty faulty products are offered to you at an attractive price but you lose terribly because you are not buying things that can work. You are robbed or you just throw away your money. This is not right and one way that the Ministry of Consumer Affairs can help is by educating the public on the law.
First, all goods are returnable, even if they were bought when the store had a sale. Consumers must go back and insist that they want an exchange.
Secondly, do not buy any electronic item on sale that cannot be tested. If it is a warehouse sale, the owners will tell you that they don’t have the facilities for testing. Then do not yield to temptation because of the low price. That is a stupid thing to do. Let them show you that the item functions. As I wrote above, such deception hurts the poor badly.
Think of a poor labourer that wants a cordless phone and sees a bargain at $3,000. Then he finds out it doesn’t work. Three thousand dollars is a lot of money for someone who takes home $16,000 monthly as a cashier. The poor always get hurt the most in life.

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Consumer products that are not good should not be on the shelves

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