Can retailers force you to buy bundled game console system?

Question

recently I've just purchased a wii fit. However in order to purchase wii fit I'd have to add TWO additional accessories otherwise it won't allow me to add it to the shopping cart online. On the invoice it's showing as three separate item purchases. So my question is this now. Can I just keep the wii fit and return the other two accessories? Can the retailer refuse to take back the accessories if I do not return the wii fit along with it? Is there any legal ground for this? I mean, can retailers do whatever they want and force people to buy bundled items? I'm in California. Any help is appreciated.

Answer 1

Bundles are always a pain, but it's what the store is offering.  If you don't like it, then don't buy it.

It's basically an easy way to make money, they add extra stuff and have people buy the bundles.

You can't really do anything about it other than not buy the bundle and try shopping somewhere else.

Answer 2

They can do whatever they want, frankly.  There is no law requiring them to sell something at a certain price or in a certain fashion (except they can't do something like open up a bag of Doritos and sell the chips in smaller packages).

I bought my Wii as a bundle from Wal-Mart, and I could return all items I didn't want to the store in town.  Thus I ended up with the console and extra controllers; I returned all of the games I had to buy.  This was at a time where the Wii was impossible to find, and this worked out great for me.

I've done the same thing with the Wii Fit from Circuit City.  I'm sure I can return those other items; it's not part of the same item (like you couldn't buy a TV and then return the remote).  You will need to contact the retailer and ask about their return policy to be certain, but I've never encountered a problem with it.

Answer 3

Well thats strange...i would check them out through BBB and see if there are some complaints about them...

Answer 4

Well, the short answer is always 'Buyer beware!'. We do live in a free market economy, and it is a situation where retailers can charge whatever the market will bear.

That having been said, I'd love to know the retailer myself. You can attempt to return it, but I doubt you'll be successful. I'm just wondering how it was presented to you. If it's a chain like Gamestop, you may have cause to write the company as it may have been a few lousy employees trying to get their percentages/sales stats up. It happens, unfortunately. You can also write or call Nintendo and let them know what's happening. They may take action. Usually it would be a warning to the chain or store that if they continue s******g people, they won't get anymore product from them. There are the Better Business ppl as well.

But really, it all comes down to the fact that unless it was a) a chain store and they lied to get you to buy more, b) stolen items or c) they actually laid hands on you and physically forced you to buy the bundle, you probably aren't going to get satisfaction. The ugly truth is, if you don't want the extra items, you can always take your money elsewhere. And I think that's what you're gonna hear. Sorry.

The industry frowns on this publicly, but then kind of looks the other way in all but the very worst cases.

ps. In reference to the Walmart and Best Buy return situation, big box stores are more likely to give you your money back or at least store credit than video game retailers. The reason being that they can still sell the product, and most importantly, video games sales are only a small part of their revenue. Video games retailers can only make their money by raising their 'attach rates', or the number of higher profit items they can sell along with lower profit items, ie sell games and controllers with the system. That's where their bread and butter is. Especially on used games and accessories. They don't make money on the system, and from what I've heard they really don't make much on Wii Fit either.

Couple that with the fact that it's hard to come by, and you have higher prices or bundles.

Answer 5

As far as I know there is no way that they can force you to buy something from them. Also as long as you bought the item and you haven't opened it you should be able to send it back but you should check their return policy on that. If you just remove the two items from your cart there shouldn't be a problem. I'm not a lawyer or anything but that doesn't seem right that they could do that.