Can outdoor power equipment be returned?

What is the return period for equipment purchases?

In almost all cases the answer is 0 days, as in “equipment sales are final”.

However, sometimes exceptions can be made when:

• The equipment has not yet been paid off our floor-plan*

• The equipment is in unused condition and can still be sold as new

In circumstances where customers are uncertain if a mower will fit in their garage, or be able to navigate across a slope in their yard, we often suggest that they take the mower home and immediately make sure it will go everywhere it needs to go, before turning the blades on. Then, if it fails the test, to immediately bring it right back before it has cut any grass, is still in new condition, and before we have paid it off. 

*What does paying it off the floor-plan mean? The new mowers you see in a dealer’s showrooms are owned by the dealer, but the dealer has not paid for them yet. Manufacturers pay the interest for a middleman bank to finance the dealer’s equipment inventory. The dealer is obligated to pay for the equipment when it is sold and no longer in the dealer's possession. The middle man bank (the floor-planner) regularly audits the dealer’s physical inventory to make sure that all the inventory on the floor-plan is present at the dealership and in new condition. 

For example, when a dealer sells a 50” Toro TimeCutter Max for $3,999. The customer pays $3,999+Tax and leaves with the mower. The dealer then owes the floor-plan company $3525.14 for the cost of the mower. Then they owe the state the sales tax that was collected. Then if they took payment by card they will have a cost of about $95 in card processing fees. Assuming the mower was originally shipped to the dealer with a truckload of other mowers to receive free shipping, that leaves the dealer about $379 cash positive less the expense of handling, warehousing, assembly, retail staff, advertising, and facilities overhead. If the dealer were to take a return of that mower used a week later, then they no longer have the money that the customer paid. They would have to go into their own pocket to refund the customer, after which they would be left with a used mower in stock that could only be sold with a discount big enough to attract a buyer to buy the used mower over a new one.

Why can’t the dealer just send it back to the manufacturer? That would be very convenient if it were allowed. But also very expensive for the manufacturer, which is why they do not have a return option. Instead they provide a warranty to replace parts or to do whatever is needed to resolve any manufacturer defect. One problem they can’t fix, and are not responsible for, is when the customer has chosen to buy the wrong mower for their needs, which is why it is so important to think through the purchase, get all your questions answered, discuss your needs with the dealer, and buy the right equipment.

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