Joystiq is reporting that Microsoft will no longer provide prepaid boxes to people that suffer defective Xbox 360s, including the Red Ring of Death plague. The new policy went into effect on May 26 "in an effort to expedite the repair process." Customers will be able to receive an e-label that they can slap onto whatever box they use themselves.
They'll still cover the cost of shipping; you just have to find your own box to use. It's really annoying that we'll have to go out and spend our own money now for a box. Sure, they don't cost much, but it's the principle of the matter. We shouldn't even have to be going through this in the first place had the console actually been designed properly.
Pro tip: If you don't want to spend cash on a box, go to a major department store like Best Buy and ask if they have any spare boxes in the back. They're going to throw the box away anyway so you might as well use it to save some money. Plus, you'll be recycling and that's always a good thing!
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Contest:
5:00 AM on 06.09.2009
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The cool part is now you don't have to wait for that box anymore. The annoying part is now you need a box
And a printer with ink.
if so, you better pack those consoles tighter than a nuns coin purse - or else Microsoft can do the whole "Well you're responsible for the safety of the contests during travel" thing.
As long as they're still covering the cost of postage, then the 'get your own box' idea is not exactly a ball-breaker.
I had to read this a couple times to make sure you weren't be facetious. Plainly, I think it's a stupid thing to bitch about. Oh no, where to find a box! Oh, and while we're on it, let's take a jab at Microsoft for something they couldn't really help doing in the first place. Before the wave of 'fanboi' and 'M$ thrall' remarks come in, remember than it was nVidia who stopped making cards for the original Xbox, thus forcing Microsoft to stop producing the Xbox, and launch their 360 early, even if it had a design flaw.
The alternative to all this was having a period of time when Microsoft had absolutely no consoles on the market, which would have killed any momentum they'd gotten from the modestly successful Xbox. Given all this, I think Microsoft has been more than fair in their handling of the situation. They've paid billions to enact a three-year warranty, paying for shipping and all repairs for the problems they are aware of (Red Ring and E74). I think a tiny thing like finding your own box for shipping (WHICH THEY STILL PAY FOR) is a small concession to give in the face of their fairly unprecedented backward-bending.
HOOF!
No shit, when my PS3's BR drive died (2 years old, well out of warrantee) Sony were really apologetic, sent a courier to pick it up from my work (I keep boxes for consoles and stuff) and couriered it back with a new BR drive and even fixed the noisy fan that I stuck a note on the console about, in around 5 days.
Now that's what I'm talking about. That's just how it works when it's a rare problem, rather than such a common problem that they need to set up a special fucking system to deal with! They made/bought special boxes for fuck sake! Shit.
ignorance is bliss I guess.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA, I love spin.
"We released a console with many design flaws, we refuse to fix them. If you have a problem with it, send it to us on your own dime. It'll be quicker, K THANX BYE!"
When mine broke the second time (heh), they sent me a box to the UK, and the UPS douchebag commented that "he'd never buy one cos he's seen too many go back" (which is incidentally what another said 2 years earlier when my third gen iPod pissed itself and died). It came back in the same box and I thought to myself "I'll keep that, cos it'll be really useful when it dies next time". Can I find it now? Not a chance, so here's hoping I don't RROD anytime soon.
Mind you, haven't touched my 360 in about 2 weeks now. Damn you Fable 2 and your utter boringness!
"I'd better keep this box for next time."
Hilariously enough, the UPS guy had to pick up 4 xboxes on that one trip. Guess it was the time of year.
I enjoyed the subtle humor that the stock box was not secure enough to ship in the mail. If the issue was just that the box said Xbox on the outside, that could be remedied by wrapping the package in brown paper bags (not like UPS people would ever tell you that).
FYI - I RMA'd the first RROD of our house (2x 360s @ home) on 3/25. No word of a coffin for me, just the pre-paid labels.
Now THAT'S customer service.
@Necrozen
Its more likely that Jack thompson will get a clue than MS will permanantly fix this, especially because people still bought the thing even when the failure rate was sky high(what do I mean when, it still is) and as long as people keep buying the defective product, why bother wastin money fixing it.
"I'd better keep this box for next time."
Trouble is, SC, when you're on welfare or the dole, them boxes double up as mighty fine cabinets on which to stand your xbox, complete with stolen TV and pirate software library....
As for buying a box, doesn't anyone save shipping boxes? I've still got the box that my repaired 360 came back to me in. If I need to send it in again I'll just pull it off the shelf in the garage and reuse it. Probably an effect of our 'disposable' society.
Microsoft are so greedy but I guess I couldn't blame them since Microsoft lost $7 Billion dollars.
I would feel sorry for those who don't have a warranty.
Hope my 360 doesn't break but luckily I have a PS3.
Best of both worlds.
Lucky for me I buy most of my games on PS3 so no worries.
LOL.
And all my PS3 owning friends have had to have full console replacements when they've had issues, losing all their saves etc. One had to wait for a fucking month because Sony only make shitty PS3s now, and he wanted his shiny 60GB SKU.
When my xbox bit the RRoD, the support guy told me they'd send UPS with a box, but when UPS arrived, they only had the sticker and expected me to come up with a box, so I did.
Little confusamathingy going on here.
@ChaosTeaCup "How comes you can't use the old xbox 'box'?"
You can - but you won't get it back. They mention that in their repair readme/FAQ/whatever. So, if you want to keep your retail box, don't use it to ship back the system to the repair center.
Maybe wikipedia has a more correct answer, I dunno.