In almost all cities these days you see “factory outlets” that sell a variety of goods, including clothes, shoes and even household electric and electronic goods. As far as clothes and shoes are concerned, they are mostly unsold stock, retailed at a marked down price.

However, the electronic goods come under a different category. They are mostly goods that have a few dents or scratches on the body, caused during transportation. And these are sold at a good discount and are certainly a good buy, if you do not mind a few dents here and there. And these shops sell refrigerators, washing machines, television sets and even music systems and computers.

Suppose something goes wrong with these goods, are consumers entitled to a free replacement or a refund as in the case of other goods? They certainly are, even though shops selling these goods often mislead consumers about their rights vis-à-vis goods bought at these shops.

Please remember that even if you have bought “seconds” you have a right to a fair deal and redress of your complaint. Even a product labelled as “seconds” should be of tradable quality, fit for the purpose for which it is sold and usable. Even more important, the product should fit the description or fulfil the assurances about the quality made by the dealer. Or else, the dealer would be guilty of unfair trade practice (for making a false or a misleading statement about the quality or its performance). The product will then come under the definition of a defective product (under the Consumer Protection Act) for which you, as a consumer, would be entitled to redress of your complaint.

Whenever you are buying seconds, you will certainly want to know why it is so described and what are the defects in it. The dealer, for example, shows you the dents and assures you that barring those external defects, the product is in excellent condition and will perform like any other new product of the same brand. Now, having purchased the product after the retailer pointed out the defects, you cannot obviously complain later about the dents that were shown to you.

However, if you find that the appliance suffers from any other defect or fails to perform satisfactorily, then you have every right to demand redress of your complaint. In fact, when you buy these products, you have to make sure that the retailer gives you a duly stamped and signed warranty card along with the receipt.