Should i RMA this board?

[razer121]

Right i bought this board from scan brand new, Somthing i noticd when i opened it was that there was not celephane seal on it, OK this just means it has been opened right? well thats what i thought untill i noticed this!



















Now anyone else notice the residue marks all over my "brand new" msi board? ive not switched it on, i noticed this after fitting my cpu in, i then pulled it and reboxed it back up, im not about to be the one who pays for the thing to be sent back to be replaced so going to be having a sturn chat with scan on monday. To point out the residue is sticky so i was scared to wire it up and switch it on! what if it shorts it in some way? what if it damages my components?

So thoughts? my other msi board doesnt have this! i've not noticed it on any other boards. thanks!

[blueball]

Personally I would send it back. Hard to tell but from the pictures it looks as if there is marks around the screw holes suggesting that it has been mounted into something at some point.

[DDY]

I’ve never received a new motherboard that was wrapped in cellophane (carton or the board); all the boards I’ve gone through came in cardboard boxes occasionally with a bit of tape to keep the lid down. Your motherboard is a bit messy but nothing I haven’t seen on an unused motherboard before, the sticky bits are from manufacturing, looks like flux residue to me.

I think you’re over-reacting, there isn't anything that screams out “used motherboard” to me; I wouldn’t bother returning it myself.

[razer121]

Well it's not that im over reacting im just unsure what the hell it is and have yet to come across anouther board like it.

""edit""
BTW the whole back is covered in it.

[DDY]

Well it's not that im over reacting

I got the feeling that you were over-reacting, apologies.

..the whole back is covered in it

It's cosmetic, there is alot of the stuff I admit but again I've seen it before.

...marks around the screw holes suggesting that it has been mounted into something at some point.

What marks? The marks I would associate with use are indents or flattening of the small pads of solder or circuit board around the mounting holes; I can’t see any evidence of that.

EDIT: Those marks around the heatsink mounting holes also appear to be flux residue.

[razer121]

No problem

Anyway, the thing that bothers me is that it is really sticky to the point that i had to wash my hands after handling the board. Also take note of the fingerprint on the "OC" button, this board has been used before from looking at it, which has made me wonder if something else (fizzy drink?) or something has been spilt onto the board dried up and been returned to scan to then be sent to me.

I only think this because of the fingerprint and the large amount of it....are you 100% sure? is there a way i can clean it off?

[DDY]

It doesn’t look like spilt fizzy drink to me, I have some ginger beer on my keyboard as I type and it doesn't look like that. You can buy a can of flux remover or PCB cleaner to get rid of the residue.

As for the fingerprints on the buttons - are they really fingerprints? I can’t tell from the picture but since the rest of the board is messy with what looks like flux residue everywhere; I wouldn’t surprised if some of it ended up on the surface of the button.

EDIT: I had a closer look at the button, I noticed it's not an SMD component so it would have been placed by hand and if it is a finger print; it's likely to be from a factory worker 6,000 miles away.

EDIT 2: Tour of a motherboard factory - on the next new pages you can get an idea of how a large amount of flux has been left on the motherboard.

[razer121]

i know this might sound stupid...but do you know where i can get some PCB cleaner from? what sort of shop....ta!

[GoNz0]

scan are well known for selling open box goods as new, return it and get another, looks used to me.

[razer121]

I knew that but now you have made me in two minds about it im not sure if i should return it or not!

[GoNz0]

why has it been returned, why have you paid full price for 2nd hand goods...

[razer121]

True, but how am i supposed to prove this is a second hand board? this is something i can only imagine i will have to argu?

[GoNz0]

not within 7 days, you can DSR it BUT point out its also open box 2nd hand goods and you are returning it under the DSR as unused.

[Kumagoro]

I too have received a mobo that I think had been used before. It looked clean enough but
there was a smidge of thermal paste on the socket so had obviously been used before.

[Saracen]

If this were me, my first step would simply be to contact the supplier and express my concerns. Where I went next would depend on what they had to say, and whether I was satisfied with their explanation. Any given supplier, without reference to who it is, might want to wash their hands of it, or they might just replace it at their cost. Or something in-between.

If I were not happy with the explanation, then I'd certainly cancel under the DSR.

But if I did, I'd end up paying the costs of shipping the board back to them unless I could justify why I was cancelling for some other reason (like SoGA rights, defects in product, etc) and that would certainly include being sold used item as new. However .... I'm not sure I'd be convinced from what I've seen that that board actually is used.

So, who pays to ship it back to the supplier will depend on whether it's used or not, whether the supplier accepts or disputes that, and if they do, whether it can be proven or not.

So here's an entirely hypothetical possible response from Scan :-

- you have your conversation and aren't satisfied, so ....
- you cancel under the DSR. Scan refund your purchase price and outbound shipping, but ....
- refuse to reimburse the cost of shipping the board back because they maintain it is not used but brand new, factory condition.

Now what do you do?

You want your shipping costs back, and they refuse. So about your only option is small claims court.

First question .... is it worth that for a few quid in shipping costs?
Second question .... are you sure you're right about it being used?
Third question .... if you take it to court, can you prove it to the court?

So at a practical level, the first thing is to talk to Scan and see what they say. It may well all get resolved amicably and to your satisfaction, either by explanation or action. If it doesn't, DSR it. And then, if you have a dispute about return postage, you have to decide how far to take it.

My personal view? The return shipping is not worth the hassle of a fight for the monetary value, but if you're absolutely sure it's used product, then it might well be worth it for the principle of not being screwed over. But that all depends on how sure you are that it's used.

[razer121]

Well, at first i was 100% this was a second hand product, then DDY chimed in and pointed out the flux, but other responded with RMA'in the board, it all added to my view on it, i'm thinking (i know bad) already about resell value and the life of this board, very intent on using it for anouther year then just selling it on, but the condition would bother any buyer IMO, it's very sticky and the amounts seem abit OTT for just flux, but again the links DDY provided say this could well be normal. Still though i always remember each new board i've bought having a seal sticker on the box or being wrapped in cellophane....the main thing bothering me is if i put my components into this board and it doesn't work and worse for worse damages something of mine.

So taking that into account what would others do? is this worth the hassle/risk? im just so unsure, i've always thought scan to be reliable but all of a sudden my faith has been crumbled