Consumers who bought high-definition movie hardware during
the final weeks of HD DVD’s fight against Blu-ray Disc should have known what
they were getting into. As they say, caveat emptor – or “let the buyer beware.”
Circuit City, however, is stretching out its hands to recent
HD DVD hardware for a way out of the now dead-end format. Gizmodo
copied what it believes to be post from an internal Circuit City forum
detailing the end of HD DVD, which states that consumers may return their
hardware for store credit.
The posting reads: “We do not want to upset our valued
customers. For this special circumstance, we are happy to offer an exchange for
a Blu-ray player (customer plays any difference in purchase price) - even if it
has been several months since the customer made their HD DVD player purchase.
If the customer does not want a Blu-ray player, we can issue a gift card refund
for their original purchase price. For products purchased in the last 30 days,
handle as usual.”
While the wordage does not specify an exact time window,
most are interpreting that any HD DVD player purchase made within the last
three months are eligible for return.
Rather than try to re-sell the HD DVD players as open box
items, the internal information specifies that all hardware returns are “Return
to Vendor” and must be sent back to Toshiba. Unlike with hardware, opened HD
DVD software is not eligible for return.
Customers who feel stuck with HD DVD player purchases from Circuit
City over the holiday season will clearly appreciate the chance to return their
hardware, but those who bought a machine during recent
clearance sales may opt to keep the players for their DVD
upscaling features.