Just three days after Christmas, many of you are playing with your new tech toys. Santa delivered plenty of iPods, netbooks and big screen TVs. In the post-Christmas return to normality, you may be cleaning up. Considering throwing out the boxes from your new toys? Don’t!<\/p>\n

Keep those boxes and all packaging, at least for a few weeks. You may need them.<\/p>\n

If the device is defective, most good retailers will allow you to return the product for a full refund, providing you have the packaging and the receipt of sale. After a certain time period, often 30 days, you would be required to deal directly with the manufacturer, but in that initial period a retailer return is the simplest method.<\/p>\n

Likewise, if you find that the product just doesn’t meet your needs, many retailers allow a return if the item is in resaleable condition. That means that all original packaging must be intact, along with all manuals, warranty certificates and other inserts.<\/p>\n

I returned my first LCD television after two days, as I was not satisfied with the picture or the sound quality. I had no problem returning it, as I repackaged it exactly as it was when new. In fact, the store manager, after examining it to decide whether to allow the return, asked me if I had even used the TV at all. Apparently my repacking was good.<\/p>\n

It can be useful to retain packaging for even longer. If the item requires warranty service, you many need to ship it to the manufacturer and usually the best protection against transit damage is the original packaging.<\/p>\n

If you decide to upgrade to some newer model in a year, you may want to sell your older device. I’ve found that advertising a used product as “like new, in original box” often yields a quicker sale and better price.<\/p>\n

Enjoy the toys that Santa brought. Keep the boxes, for a little while at least, just in case.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Just three days after Christmas, many of you are playing with your new tech toys. Santa delivered plenty of iPods, netbooks and big screen TVs. In the post-Christmas return to normality, you may be cleaning up. Considering throwing out the boxes from your new toys? Don’t! Keep those boxes and all packaging, at least for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":134,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n