RMA something that you broke yourself...

[Chai]

Today, I was browsing around other forums. I saw something worth discussing. Like the title suggests, does RMA-ing hardware you broke yourself a wise thing to do? It's ethically wrong, but would you do it when it happens to you, especially when the hardware you broke is an expensive Radeon 9700 Pro?

Personally, it happens to me before, but not as expensive as a Radeon 9700 Pro. Actually I've done it many times. Most of the time, it was accidental. I chipped the core of a Celeron 566 when I try to mount waterblock on it. I sent for RMA, and got back a Celeron 633. Is it wise to do that?

Here's another example, but in a different scenario. My old 300W PSU blew up for no apparent reason when I switched it on. The failure also blew almost everything in my system, which includes a P3 750, Abit SA6-R, Hercules Kyro2, 2 HDDs, Liteon CDRW drive, SB Live!, NIC. It was a big disaster for me, especially the lost of my HDD. I sent most of the parts for RMA even though it's not the manufacturers fault. So is this ethically correct?

Some even consider this as theft, exactly like what Winona Ryder did . So what's your opinion?

[peaz]

While I do agree in a sense that it's not so ethically correct to do such a thing. However, I have to admit that I've done such a thing in the past. While most of my PC related RMA cases are genuine, once I RMA a mobo that went dead thanks to TNB's irregular power supply which surged most of the hardware. Almost similar to Chai's case, but not that extreme.

There was also another time when I got a replacement that I "didn't deserve". I once brought my printer to HP for a repair. The tech support there told me that the colour catridge was spoilt and made the printer not working. However, they went some step further to check my balck catridge which I've just refilled with a 3rd party ink. They said the ink head was 'not so good' already and weighed the catridge to see if I qualify for a replacement (thinking that it was a new one!!!). Well, i got a new Black Ink catridge for the cost of an Ink refill.... talk about good service.

In my opinion anyway, i think as the whole, the electronic industry is aware of this matter and they just replace them anyway. Why? maybe just to get a good reputation with the customers?

take me for example, My 'case' with HP made me quite a HP supporter!

However, I think we should not on spoil hardwares on purpose just because it's within warranty period. If it's accidental, well, I guess it's ok. Ethically better.

Well, just my two cents.

[Chai]

Actually, our cases are not that bad.

Here's some example of really unethical atcs. Overclocking is becoming a big trend. Many people will do really crazy things to overclock them. Water cooling (not as crazy as it used to), phase change cooling (Vapochill), LN2, peltier cooling, crazy insulation, voltage mod. Using these sort of modification is extremely risky. One wrong step and something might go wrong, like destroying the hardware.

Video card seems to be the popular 'victim'. Some people ripped off the core, RAM when removing the heatsink. Some failed when voltage modding is attempted. Radeon 9700 Pro has a shim to prevent chipping the core, and that shim actually prevents from making good contact. A few people actually destroyed the card while removing the shim. Should this people send these broken hardware for RMA because it was entirely their fault? These people might do anything to RMA, like using glue to stick back the core, RAM as if nothing has happened.

[Adrian Wong]

Actually, RMAs do not cost the dealer anything. That's why most of them readily take the damaged hardware back. All they do is send it back to the distributer who forwards it to the manufacturer. The manufacturer then tests it to find out what went wrong with it.

In any case, you'll get a replacement which can be either new or refurbished. With hard disks, quite often, you will get refurbished replacements. Not too sure about the other hardware.

But the point I'm trying to make is RMAing hardware does not necessary mean you are getting new stuff. Of course, even refurbished hardware is better than dead hardware!

Back to the ethics question... Sending back hardware you have damaged yourself isn't ethical. If you feel your heart pounding when you make your pitch to your dealer, chances are pretty good it's telling you that you are not doing "the right thing". Heheh...

But manufacturers are not stupid either. Each piece of hardware comes with a certain premium that goes towards their projected RMA cost. If their RMA cost increases, they will simply increase the price to match the increase. So, what all this means is... we are actually funding our own RMAs!

If there's an increase in spurious RMA claims due to self-inflicted damage, the manufacturer will be forced to increase the price. Although that hurts their competitiveness, it also hurts us because our hardware will cost more. And when hardware costs more, we are more likely to falsify RMAs when we damage the hardware ourselves. As you can see, it can turn into a vicious cycle.

We can't really blame anyone who sends back hardware for RMA even if the damage was self-inflicted. I, myself, know how heartbreaking it can be when you damage your own hardware. One wrong move and it's over. Your hard disk's gone to meet The Big Hard Disk In The Sky.

If I'm loaded, yes, I wouldn't mind buying a replacement. But if I'm a poor college student who has to try to overclock and tweak my system just because I cannot afford better, well, it makes sense to send anything that's broken back for RMA. Sometimes, you just got to do what you gotta do.

Another point to chronic RMAers, sending back damaged hardware does have the positive effect of recycling them, instead of just disposing of them. When you send hardware back for RMA, the manufacturer will find out what went wrong with it and then try to fix it. If it's economically viable to repair it, they will do just that and then ship it out as a replacement. Now, that's definitely a LOT better than people throwing their hardware away just because they fried it.

In conclusion... we can argue a lot about the ethics but we have to remember... at the end of the day, we reap what we sow.