So yesterday I make the “smart” decision to purchase a set of Netgear XET1001 Powerline 85mbps network adapters to try out at home to extend our network from the office in another building to inside the house. They work perfectly, but didn’t go as far as I needed them to.

The adapters didn’t like some of the plugs in the house.. I messed around with them for an hour or so, trying different plugs and checking the line quality and connection speed between the two. Not very good in the house. I was only able to get a maximum of 11.25mbps out of them when it was plugged into the laundry room. Stumped, I decided to see how well they would work (if they did) closer together. I go out to the office and plug it into a plug across the room from the first adapter. 84.75mbps is what the screen shows. Yes, they work, but the farther away they are, the less speed you’ll get out of them.

Unsatisfied with the results, I bring them back to Walmart today. Of course.. as always, I’m greeted with a long line of other dissatisfied customers doing the same thing that I am. After what seemed like forever, it’s finally my turn. The lady asked why I was returning them and if they were defective. I explained that they work fine, but didn’t suit my needs. They didn’t go as far as I needed them to go, which is about 100ft. or so. She opens the box, checks if everything is inside, then looks at the tags on the devices. She’s studying them pretty hard.. then there it is. The look of confusion. She said that the serial numbers don’t all match. One device matches the box, one doesn’t. She says that since one doesn’t match the box, she wasn’t able to give me a refund or help me at all.

Now I’m confused as all get out.. I tell her that they were like that right out of the box. I thought that no two devices would ever have the same serial number, just as no two digital cameras, iPhones, computers or even Microsoft license keys will have the same serial number as another device or license key. Apparently I was wrong, at least by what a few Walmart employees had told me. She then sends me back to the Electronics department to have them check it out and see what they have to say. They were even more confused than the lady up front and myself combined. After several employees have a look of their own, they take it back to the Claims department. No idea what went on in there.. but several minutes later I’m greeted with the box again and they take me back up front. Eventually they just dismiss it and put it as “defective” and finally, after 30 minutes of running around the store, I get a cash refund for them and I’m on my way.

Lesson learned.. Don’t buy electronics from Walmart. Get them from Office Depot, Best Buy or some other reputable retailer. Amazon may be the best out of them all.. at least they don’t make a big deal out of a return.