BFG Support will not honor step-up!!!

S

sweets

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
194
Well I purchased a 9800 GX2 from ebay brand new, wrapped in plastic and unregistered. I have been trying to register the product for about 4-5 weeks via email. All I ever recieved was vague comments from their registration support to provide a seller reciept and they do not accept ebay or paypal reciepts. Finally I called BFG tech support because that is the only support phone line they have, and they basically told me the product must be purchased from a reseller. So now I'm stuck with a $500-$600 card that I can't step-up.

How is the consumer supposed to know that even though the product is new and was never registered that it has to be purchased from a retailer??? :rolleyes:

The tech guy, Max, was basically like "Gee sorry, that's just our policy." While I'm sitting there trying to explain the illogic of there "policy" and that it is highly unlikely that I will purchase BFG products in the future as now my plans for step-up are squashed and I'm stuck with a very expensive product.

Think about how many brand new hardware items are bought and sold on ebay from those who are not actual certified resellers!! I would think that BFG will find out soon that they are alienating and destroying future business from those who have purchased items similarly and cannot even get the product registered for proper support and step-up. I just don't get it. Not to mention, I would still be paying the difference in price which would be profit to BFG.
 
I wasn't aware BFG had a step up program. . .
 
sweets, Same thing would happend with EVGA (I think).

Colt___45, They started with their 9800GX2 line.
 
yeah not BFG's fault the rule makes perfect since. If you knew you wanted to step up should have gotten it new, since you didn't be happy with your card or sell it NOW before it becomes worthless.
 
So your blaming a company for your failure to actually read their terms on their website before making a purchase? This has been in place and not just step up. Some companies won't honor your normal warranties if you bought your card on ebay and such, same for cd roms etc, etc, etc. Because Ebay is a second hand market, its not controlled, or channeled through companies. The only way you can get a real receipt is if its a company that conduces normal operations and also sells on ebay, i.e SVC.com, etc.

Please don't slander a company because you can't read or didn't bother to research, there are plenty of reason all of us don't just buy cards for lower prices on ebay.. I wholly am sympathetic with you, and understand your frustration, but its not BFG's fault. I suggest you put it up for sale now, asap, and try to get the most of it.
 
Take a look at the step-up terms and conditions. http://www.bfgtech.com/tradetcs.aspx

Someone please point out where purchasing a brand new card that is unregistered from ebay is not allowed or something to that effect. Below is the only thing even mentioned about using a "verifiable receipt."
BFG graphics cards attained through promotion, giveaway, or other similar events are not eligible, since a verifiable receipt or invoice from the original seller must accompany all eligible graphics cards.
A "verifiable receipt" to me would mean a receipt from ebay or paypal, which I have both. Plus it says "verifiable receipt" OR "invoice from the original seller." OR indicates that one or the other could be provided.

And no, it doesn't make sense. If the product has not been registered and is brand new, indicates the product should be allowed to be registered and have full warranty and step-up.
 
Wow. Maybe most of you should read the step up terms and conditions for yourself before retaliating.
 
No company has ever supported ebay purchases. There are too many unscrupulous dealings going on there. This has been the case for warranties and RMA requests for years. What stone did you crawl out from under?

This seems quite obvious and expected to me...:confused:
 
Not BFG's fault at all. Its your fault. Read the policy next time.
 
sweets said:
Wow. Maybe most of you should read the step up terms and conditions for yourself before retaliating.
Click to expand...


Really.........

Here's what it says on that page. I bolded the part you need to notice.

Graphics cards being returned for exchange in the BFG Trade Up Program must be returned in clean, “like new”, fully working condition, with all packaging, CDs, manuals, and accessories with a copy of the original receipt or invoice from the authorized seller.Returned cards must not have been modified in any way, including overclocking and changing the fan. Any third party games or software originally included in the box are not required to be returned.
 
Well I suppose it would be obvious to someone who has previously experienced a step-up or has somehow learned that ebay purchases are not accepted. But that is not the case with all consumers including myself. Fact of the matter is, I read the terms and conditions before I made my purchase, and they do not clearly state which purchases are allowed and which are not. After looking at them again it appears BFG left the terms and conditions open for interpretation.
 
The text is misleading. But the language preventing it is there. Though it is buried. I had a hard time finding it at first.
 
Gee thanks Frek77. How about a list of the authorized resellers?

Are we supposed to go searching for those too? Maybe there listed somewhere on the site, but really, why are we supposed to piece together tidbits of information to get a clear understanding of what is acceptable and what is not?
 
A random person or company on ebay isn't an authorized seller period unless like I mentioned above its a real large company, such as SVC, etc behind it. We aren't out to get you, but in your frustration you used very harsh words, that could cost BFG business if some scrub doesn't also read what happened. If there was anything wrong, we most likely would help you rally to get what you need.

But instead of crying over spilt milk, sell that card now, before that 280 launches.

Or try to return the card on ebay.

Ninja: http://www.bfgtech.com/wheretobuy.aspx

Enjoy!
 
i always thought of Ebay as used/grey market. You pretty much take a gamble wether its a used or new in box item. I never expect any type of warranty or support if I get something from there.
 
See where it says "authorized"? Private sellers on eBay aren't "authorized" -- thus, they do not honor the warranty or step-up. Simple at that.
 
sweets said:
Take a look at the step-up terms and conditions. http://www.bfgtech.com/tradetcs.aspx

Someone please point out where purchasing a brand new card that is unregistered from ebay is not allowed or something to that effect. Below is the only thing even mentioned about using a "verifiable receipt."
BFG graphics cards attained through promotion, giveaway, or other similar events are not eligible, since a verifiable receipt or invoice from the original seller must accompany all eligible graphics cards.
A "verifiable receipt" to me would mean a receipt from ebay or paypal, which I have both. Plus it says "verifiable receipt" OR "invoice from the original seller." OR indicates that one or the other could be provided.

And no, it doesn't make sense. If the product has not been registered and is brand new, indicates the product should be allowed to be registered and have full warranty and step-up.
Click to expand...

"The BFG Trade Up Program is for individual customers only, and is not available to resellers, distributors, auctioneers, or any other commercial entities set up to sell or resell graphics cards to individuals or businesses." Since you purchased your card through an auctioneer instead of a retailer it has you falling under this rule in my opinion.
 
IdiotCow said:
He's right, nowhere in the terms and conditions language does it exclude private sales. It also does not specifically state that only cards purchased from authorized resellers will be accepted. According to the terms posted, there is nothing to indicate that an unopened card that has not been registered would not qualify - regardless of where it was purchased.

There are retailers (newegg) which use PayPal as a payment method - If I purchase a card through them, and use paypal, am I going to have the same problem? I doubt it.
Click to expand...
It has nothing to do with Paypal, it has to do with where it's purchased from. Since you purchased the card from Newegg, there would be no problem.

I kind of side with the OP as I wouldn't have known about eBay sellers not being authorized if I hadn't read about it in other threads here. It does make sense though.

sweets, you should still be able to sell the card on eBay if you want to. While that wouldn't work out quite as well as a step-up, it still gets you some extra money towards a new card.
 
KrylonArt said:
"The BFG Trade Up Program is for individual customers only, and is not available to resellers, distributors, auctioneers, or any other commercial entities set up to sell or resell graphics cards to individuals or businesses." Since you purchased your card through an auctioneer instead of a retailer it has you falling under this rule in my opinion.
Click to expand...

Yup, it's there, on the link you posted sweets.
 
How could BFG possibly tell whether something was purchased used or new from an eBay or (especially) a paypal receipt? At best all you have is the word of someone that is not an authorized reseller, which = nothing.
 
Shame on you for making this thread when it was in fact your fault for not reading properly. EVGA is the same way with step up as well.
 
i thought everyone knows that most companies don't honor warranty/ step-up of a product that was purchase from ebay..
 
Sucks man.......

But this isnt on BFG. Its on you... :(:(

In The End "You saved a few bucks going through Ebay Now you dont get step up" seems like you got what you paid for no?:confused:
 
I thought this was common knowledge.....3 or 4 times a year this comes up with one company or another..
the bottom line is eBay is not an AUTHORIZED seller.... and thats it.
 
I agree, this thread should go bye bye as it's negative tone towards BFG, when it was totally user error for not even glimpsing over the Terms & Conditions.

I agree with brsyg228, but I guess there are some people still behind the power curve.


Also, since when would eBay even be able to be coined a "Seller." eBay doesn't do anything but provide the grounds for the transactions to take place.
 
Pretty common knowledge if you do your research. This is true for most products with warranty and support coverage, unless they have a process to transfer the warranty coverage and registration to a new owner.

Your only hope is if the seller was just an individual who bought it from an authorized reseller and if you can convince him to send you the original receipt (if he still has it).
 
Just sell it if you want to get a new one, you'll have to fork out the difference for the step-up anyways. Plenty of people will pay well for the card you're trying to get rid of.
 
Sorry guys. I still don't think it's user error. There was simply too much area for mis-interpretation. Terms and conditions provided by manufacturers should be easily understood by ALL people that read it without any area for mis-interpretation or lacking any important data. How about a statement that clearly indicates Ebay is not an accepted re-seller. Simple as that.

Look, perhaps my OP was abit harsh. I should have waited to calm down before I posted. And by no means am I unhappy with the BFG product or the 9800GX2 itself. It's still very, very fast and I am enjoying it.

If the moderator would like to delete, I would be happy to write another post simply giving a neutral heads-up to people to be careful when purchasing BFG items on ebay in hopes of using for a step-up.
 
sweets said:
:mad: Well I purchased a 9800 GX2 from ebay brand new, wrapped in plastic and unregistered. I have been trying to register the product for about 4-5 weeks via email. All I ever recieved was vague comments from their registration support to provide a seller reciept and they do not accept ebay or paypal reciepts. Finally I called BFG tech support because that is the only support phone line they have, and they basically told me the product must be purchased from a reseller.
Click to expand...

Lesson learned, eBay is not an official reseller! It could have been bought used, shrink-wrapped and sold as New on eBay, which is why alot of companies don't consider eBay a reliable source for a reseller.

sweets said:
So now I'm stuck with a $500-$600 card that I can't step-up.

:
Click to expand...

Yup, and it was your fault, live with it.

sweets said:
Shame on BFG!!! :mad:
Click to expand...

No, shame on you.
 
sweets said:
Look, perhaps my OP was abit harsh. I should have waited to calm down before I posted. And by no means am I unhappy with the BFG product or the 9800GX2 itself. It's still very, very fast and I am enjoying it.
.
Click to expand...

You just pwnt yourself on that one, close / lock thread.
 
I would not expect any sort of warranties or perks from the manufacturer, implied or otherwise, if I bought any electronics off of Ebay.

That's just silly to assume you would be able to step-up.
 
strikeout said:
i always thought of Ebay as used/grey market. You pretty much take a gamble wether its a used or new in box item. I never expect any type of warranty or support if I get something from there.
Click to expand...



DING DING DING DING DING!

We have a winner!
 
sweets said:
Sorry guys. I still don't think it's user error. There was simply too much area for mis-interpretation. Terms and conditions provided by manufacturers should be easily understood by ALL people that read it without any area for mis-interpretation or lacking any important data. How about a statement that clearly indicates Ebay is not an accepted re-seller. Simple as that.

Look, perhaps my OP was abit harsh. I should have waited to calm down before I posted. And by no means am I unhappy with the BFG product or the 9800GX2 itself. It's still very, very fast and I am enjoying it.

If the moderator would like to delete, I would be happy to write another post simply giving a neutral heads-up to people to be careful when purchasing BFG items on ebay in hopes of using for a step-up.
Click to expand...

I fail to see how this sentence, clearly typed on this page that you of all people linked to :
http://www.bfgtech.com/tradetcs.aspx

KrylonArt said:
"The BFG Trade Up Program is for individual customers only, and is not available to resellers, distributors, auctioneers, or any other commercial entities set up to sell or resell graphics cards to individuals or businesses."
Click to expand...

Allows for any sort of misinterpretation, except for the fact that you didn't even read it. Ebay is what? Say it with me now. An auction site, which would fall under auctioneer. That is how it clearly marks eBay as not being a reseller. Which brings us back to my other point earlier. eBay isn't selling you anything, so how in the hell can you consider them any type of a seller is beyond me.
 
i'm not sure what op don't understand, Ebay is NOT authorize reseller that's it, no step up and maybe no warranty.. did you ask BFG's cs if your card is covered with warranty since you bought it from a non authorize seller? if not i suggest you return it if you can..
 
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