Do buyers usually make them refundable if a game purchase doesn't work out for whatever reason?

I think it would depend on the size of the deposit...

I someone committed to a purchase, then backed-out,
I would expect to keep some kind of "fee" for my hassles.

If I had to pick a number out of hat,
I'd say 10% of the purchase price, up to $50, is probably fair as a NON-refundable deposit.

(...of course that is at the seller discretion... )

As long as the terms are clear BEFORE any money changes hands.

..but that's just me,
I'm sure many others will have other opinions...  

Steph

yes - unless stated as non returnable a deposit is returnable

Quoted from donnie

yes - unless stated as non returnable a deposit is returnable

I don't agree with that.  The deposit is simply a down payment to secure the purchase, is it not ?  If it is completely refundable, then it offers no protection to the seller whatsoever.  The seller holds the item for you, tells everyone else the item is sold, then you back out and take back your deposit ?  Where does that leave the seller ?

A deposit is a commitment to purchase.  In any contract "consideration" is exchanged between parties. Namely, the seller offers consideration in the form of a product or service. They are then reserving said product or in the case of a service, time and resources required to perform that service.  The buyer is offering consideration in the form of payment. Usually both parties enter into an agreement where the deposit paid and any applicable terms or conditions are pre-agreed upon. In a written contract the deposit may be deemed as partially refundable or non refundable if the purchaser chooses to terminate the transaction as per contract. Further there may be similar penalties imposed for the seller. As it is the seller that usually provides purchase documents, the terms contained within the contract will be designed to protect the seller's interest more so than the buyer's. This is especially the case when an individual is purchasing from a company that uses a formatted contract such as a furniture store, appliance dealer or seller of any large ticket goods or service.

If this is a private sale, I highly suggest you discuss the refundability of the deposit beforehand and both parties sign a paper describing this agreement in plain terms. A copy should be dated and preferably witnessed, and both parties should retain a copy. In some businesses there is a restocking fee charged to the buyer if the product is not accepted and paid in full by a pre-determined time. This is commonly anywhere from 10% to 25% of the purchase amount.

I suggest that to protect one's self, try and leave as reasonably small a deposit as is acceptable by both parties. This way, if need be you can walk away. Also, this will leave the seller with equal if not greater reason to want to complete the transaction versus keeping a hefty deposit for no goods or service provided.

Im just saying it needs stated - pretty sure a verbal or written contract would need non refundable stated to keep the money.

its easy to say "non refundable" or which part of the deposit is non refundable.

I think I read a member (perhaps even sparky  had mentioned something similar about some deposits he had taken - if  my memory is working I recall something to the effect that he felt he SHOULD repay a deposit to a buyer who was pulling out of a build/sale because it was never mentioned that  it was non refundable -  they felt it was the honest thing to do.  I think its probably the legal thing as well.

Quoted from mrniceguy

I don't agree with that.  The deposit is simply a down payment to secure the purchase, is it not ?  If it is completely refundable, then it offers no protection to the seller whatsoever.  The seller holds the item for you, tells everyone else the item is sold, then you back out and take back your deposit ?  Where does that leave the seller ?

My understanding (and I stand or sit to be corrected), in contract law fair value has to change hands both ways for a contract to be valid.  So a person has to receive something of value for a purchase contract to be binding, so in theory a deposit can be expected to be returned if no goods are received.  

So lets say you make a deposit and the seller doesn't deliver.  You get your deposit back.  Let's say you make a deposit, but inspect the goods and they are inadequate or not the value you expected, you can cancel the deal and expect your deposit back.

If you pay a deposit to have someone build something for you, and it is of worthwhile value (you just want to get out of the deal), the maker should have the right to sell the item and then keep back any loss they might have incurred from your deposit.  They can't profit from your misfortune, however.

That's not to say, however, if you have agreed to a penalty, in writing, to forfeit a deposit, it couldn't be considered legal.  Also, if you cause someone financial hardship by renegging on a deal in process, you can potentially be liable for the losses incurred.

But that's jsut my personal layman's paralegal from the side-lines opinion on what I know about contract law in Canada, which is diddly squat, so take it for what its worth.

If I unexpectedly reneg on a deal, I almost always offer some sort of compensation.

I guess I'm lucky I've never run up against it, but I've always assumed in this forum that a deposit was to hold a game and that I was essentially paying for the privilege of pre-owning the game without having paid for it in full.  That privilege has to cost something, which is why the only deposits I've ever paid or taken are small, amounts like $100 which basically says, "if I back out, here is $100 to offset the other lost sales you have had on my account."    

I guess it needs to be verbalized or written, but personally, if someone offers me a deposit to hold a machine and they insist that it be refundable, then there will be no deal.  A refundable deposit is absolutely worthless in my opiinion if that is the case.  

Quoted Text

I guess it needs to be verbalized or written, but personally, if someone offers me a deposit to hold a machine and they insist that it be refundable, then there will be no deal.  A refundable deposit is absolutely worthless in my opiinion if that is the case.

    

Agreed...as a seller I have nothing to protect me from losing out on other potential sales. Also agreed that the deposit shouldn't be any greater amount than I am willing to walk away from.  So if I was selling a $3000. machine and someone offered me $20 to hold it I'd still probably not agree. I still want to know I have some guarantee from the buyer or at least some compensation otherwise.

No offence Wayne, but your philosophy would kill an average proprietorship unless the margins were absolutely phenomenal.  I am self employed in sales, and I would be somewhat devastated if a major deal renegged and had nothing to lose in doing so. It might be no sweat for the buyer to cancel, whereas I might have relied on completing their transaction in order to cover my nut. I had that basic scenario occur a while back where I had put a fair amount of time into a contratct but the buyer's resources were so much greater than mine that I had to let them off the hook versus  possibly losing a legal battle. The purchaser didn't sweat whatsoever, she was the purchaser for a municipality, whereas I had spent time and effort and had some professional services done for this client only to return her full deposit months later because she hadnt done her homework in the first place and had no business making the purchase.

Quoted from mrniceguy

I guess I'm lucky I've never run up against it, but I've always assumed in this forum that a deposit was to hold a game and that I was essentially paying for the privilege of pre-owning the game without having paid for it in full.  That privilege has to cost something, which is why the only deposits I've ever paid or taken are small, amounts like $100 which basically says, "if I back out, here is $100 to offset the other lost sales you have had on my account."    

I guess it needs to be verbalized or written, but personally, if someone offers me a deposit to hold a machine and they insist that it be refundable, then there will be no deal.  A refundable deposit is absolutely worthless in my opiinion if that is the case.  

Agreed ! If i hand out a deposit , it ' s because i want the game . Only did so once so far and with a $300.00 deposit , i would ' ve been a fool to back out ...

I think were all in agreement - however it should be stated as non refundable to avoid problems...no?

Actually, I'm going to defer to wbradley on this one.  Once a deposit is made, it is assumed that a contract is in progress and valid.  Therefore, if the buyer or the seller renegs, either party is entitled to go to court to compel the other to complete the contract and/or receive damages for any loss incurred in the process.

So, if you make a deposit, so long as you are not being swindled, then you must complete the contract.  The seller may accept a mutally agreed form of compensation for allowing the buyer to reneg (i.e. it's another contract they've just made to "not buy" the item).  Usually that compensation is pre-stated, it's the deposit the buyer made in the first place.

If the buyer is reneging because they feel they are being swindled, then they can go to an arbitrator or court to try to prove that the value they would receive is not what they agreed to when making the deposit.  In that case they might be entitled to their deposit back (if the court agrees).  They would be entitled to their deposit back if the seller doesn't deliver the goods as and when promised as well.

There is the possiblity that a valid "mistake" was made by either or both parties.  In that case (and a "mistake" is a moving target at court), there is potential for the refund to be returned.

What I am uncertain about, however, is in the absence of a written or verbal agreement to the contrary, is whether, if the seller then subsequently sells the goods at the same price or better and does not incur a loss, whether the original buyer who reneged is entitled to their deposit back or not.  On the outside of it, if the seller hasn't incurred a loss, then it seems fair that the original buyer shouldn't be penalized for stupidity or the seller make a profit on the original buyer's misfortune. (But that's the Solomon in me thinking.)

So I think, if you have paid or even offered a deposit, then you must be willing to forfeit it if you want to walk away from the deal (unless of course the seller is a nice guy (ahem softy) like Sparky.)

Sorry about my misleading statement earlier.

WTF is the point of a deposit if it's refundable? It's no better than waving a wad of cash.

As a seller, if someone gives me a $100 deposit on a $1k machine, I'll turn down other buyers because I will expect the first guy won't want to lose his first $100.

It's no different than deposits you make when renting something. You pay the deposit just in case you break what you rent, and therefore costs the owner. If you break your word and don't by the pin you put the deposit down for, you pay for the inconvenience and missed opportunity of the buyer.

Don't pay a deposit if:
1) You don't trust the pin seller
2) You're not sure if you will go through with the agreed transaction

In both cases, you may lose your deposit.

a deposit acts as a show of willingness to proceed - not a time waster with no cash - serious.

if it was obvious that a deposit is never refundable there would be no thread asking for info  

Also, it's this part that I mis-stated:

"Let's say you make a deposit, but inspect the goods and they are inadequate or not the value you expected, you can cancel the deal and expect your deposit back."  

If you don't have a written agreement stating otherwise, you'd have to get an arbitrator or judge to agere with you that what you received (or refused to accept) wasn't worth what was agreed in contract.  That happens all the time in Small Claims court.

@wbradley: With regard to a buyer backing out of a service or sales contract, I too own my corporation.  Would you ever take on a contract or start any work without having a written agreement that there was a penalty for early cancellation??  I never have, my contracts satate a penalty of 20% of the entire contract on top of any expenses incurred (and usually the deposit is 20% of the contract or more).  In fact I sometimes charge up front for consultations and often for proposal preparation (nature of my business).  About the only time I've lost money is either working too hard for my clients, under quoting, or having well established clients on credit go bankrupt (which has happened to me twice with largish sums outstanding).  

Now,  one time I came up against the tough nut.  I had a contract with the Criminal Lawyers Association doing $50k+ Conference seminars.  My direct contact had us running each way producing videos and upping and upping the bill beyond the original quotation, and purchasing extra third party services.  We believed the association intended to pay for the overages, so I wasn't keeping up with my sign-backs of additions to the contract (big mistake) - but I trusted them having worked for years with them.  But then the recession hit (not this one, the big one before) and when it came time for them to pay the bill I got this big song and dance about how their lawyer members weren't paying their bills, they were hurting, blah, blah, blah... they didn't formally sign for the overages..blah, blah, blah... so they burned a bridge and I was out almost $20k.  

But what was I going to do, sue Eddie Greenspan?  

Quoted from dos.reboot

Do buyers usually make them refundable if a game purchase doesn't work out for whatever reason?

Going back to the original question....

...in practice, around here anyways... usually we are dealing with known entities when taking deposits or making deals.  Sometimes one deal hinges on another or a series of deals. You already know and trust (or distrust) the person, so I would imagine you'd get a "pass" the first time around if you made a mistake.  I've asked for a "pass" and given a "pass" in pinball deals.  It stings a little, but it's how we all normally get along.

However, do expect to be "black balled" if you make a habit of it or back-out of a "done deal", regardless of whether you get a deposit back or not.  Even if you don't hear it, it's being said in the background. I've backed out and forfeited my deposit before, even when the seller was nice enough to offer me the deposit back - it just seems like the right thing to do to compensate the seller for trusting you.

There are a minority of people who have "agreed" to a deal in principal, or agreed to take/give a deposit, and then backed out when a sweeter deal has come up, or they have played one member against the other, or tried to hedge their bets by playing the pea under shell game to get a better deal (what we'll call sneaky "auctioning").  There are those that over-represent what they are selling. All those people get a reputation pretty fast.  You can still do deals with them, you just have to know how to hold 'em, and know when to fold.

Now, among friends, we sometimes make pledges but reneg on them.  Sometimes we compensate one way or another, often the people you are dealing with here are just too nice for words.  

But strictly speaking, once you say or write "it's a done deal" - and then you go back on your word, or try to change the terms of the deal, or make it conditional....  Then look out, you could be liable (morally, if not monetarily) for breaking a contract unless you both agree to back down.

If your ears are burning....  

This is one discussion I will not elaborate on because it will get ugly. I am still hurting financially, and I even don't want to go back to Toronto anymore .

Quoted from donnie

... he felt he SHOULD repay a deposit to a buyer who was pulling out of a build/sale because it was never mentioned that  it was non refundable...

Wrong. It was specified.

sorry sparky I got it mixed up -  but the point is you felt you should/did mention to the buyer that it was non refundable.  

the point is unless a deposit is stated as non refundable then it is refundable.

Perhaps some sellers fear scaring off buyers by using the words NON REFUNDABLE?  It wont - but it will set the deal out clearly.

Quoted from donnie

the point is unless a deposit is stated as non refundable then it is refundable.

After doing some common law googling, I'm not so sure that is true.  By default I think a deposit constitutes agreement to purchase (and receipt thereof is an agreement by the seller to sell), so in theory you are obligated to complete the purchase (so refund doesn't enter into it) unless there's other mutally agreed terms.  

I'm no lawyer (and didn't seek counsel on this) but here's a case example (applicable to house purchases) :

"A deposit is generally only released in very limited circumstances: (1) a mutual release by the parties, (2) performance and completion of the agreement of purchase and sale, (3) a term or condition concerning the deposit in the actual agreement of purchase and sale or (4) court action leading to a judgment." "The common law position is that if the agreement is silent and the purchaser defaults, the deposit, by it very nature is forfeited to the vendor. See Salavatore et al, Agreement of Purchase and Sale (Toronto: Butterworths, 1996) at p. 61."  http://dynamiclawyers.com/lega.....ale/deposit-default/

In a real estate deal, if you back out of a purchase after a deposit, except where conditions (like a succesful house inspection) are required to close, you forfeit the deposit to compensate the seller for the potential losses incurred by having the house off the market.  You are paying for the priviledge to not have the house sold from underneath you to a higher bidder. The seller could attempt to change the terms by compensating you to cancel the sale and return your deposit plus compensation, but you have the right to press that the sale go through under the original conditions. Just as they have the right to press you to complete the purchase (in fact, if they choose, they could take you to court to try to force the sale to completion rather than take your deposit if there are no terms to the contrary).

Even if the seller tries to give you back your deposit, and the buyer wants the deal to go through, the buyer could take the seller to court to recover the goods and finish payment (if that's still possible), or sue for damages incurred by early termination of the contract (say you intended to sell the item for a profit and the seller subsequently found out they could make a larger profit elsewhere).

In Sparky's case, I don't blame him for being bitter.  "Anally intruded" seems to be the "catch phrase of the week."  

I'm not a lawyer, but I play one on the internet.

To answer the original question, I would say 50%, depends on who you deal with and the nature of the cancellation.

The real value to this thread is to understand that for the money that you are dealing with ($100), once you give it to a person FOR WHATEVER REASON, you cannot expect it to be given back.  Sure, you may be legally entitled to it, but can you really get it back and 'break even'?  No.

Common sense prevails, can't afford to lose a $100?  Don't give it to anyone.

Sometimes you can just get outguned.

The moral of the story, verbal written or otherwise mAke sure you discuss contingencies when leaving a deposit. And try to deal with reputable people!

For me its simple, a deposite is not refundable if its the buyer who break the contract.

Quoted from bilbaomtl

For me its simple, a deposite is not refundable if its the buyer who break the contract.

It works both ways, if the seller breaks the contract, I believe that the return of the deposit (or an attmept to) does not prevent the buyer from taking you to court to complete the sale, or to receive damages due to termination of the contract.  So either way, seller or buyer, be sure to state up front and acknowledge what the terms of the deposit are.  Otherwise assume that you both need to go through with the contract regardless.

Of course people are free to mutually agree to renegotiate contracts.  So if you want to return the deposit and the buyer accepts it back instead of going ahead with the purchase, or the buyer wants their deposit back and you decide to give it to them, then so be it.

if its so obvious a deposit is not refundable why the fear of stating it as such?

Quoted from donnie

if its so obvious a deposit is not refundable why the fear of stating it as such?

Because it's not as common knowledge as you might think (I really had no idea until I started googling around), AND local or special interest customs may indicate otherwise. And because when you put a deposit on a bottle, you expect to get your dime back when you return it.  SO we tend to start thinking of deposits as "refundable".  

Bottom line, a deposit paid by you on a pinball machine is your guarantee to the seller that he isn't holding the machine just for the hell of it. After all, your deposit is at stake. Any other understanding is pretty naive.

I might return someone's deposit under certain circumstances but would NEVER feel OBLIGATED to do so as there is no moral code that strictly favours purchasers.

I HOPE Judge Judy doesn't need to get involved is stuff like this, especially within our community.

I prefer to buy and sell from people I have a good feeling about. Thank goodness I will never be forced to take the word of someone who is dodgy, except for my first two machines which were purchased together from the infamous Kijiji scammer from Hamilton who we shall allow to remain anonymous. If he views this forum, he probably likes the negative attention he has received.

but the problem is the grey area - is the machine as stated in the advert? - if a buyer wants to quibble over some inconsistency in the advert then they have that right and THAT is when the nature of the deposit needs to be clear.

A buyer can pick any defect and use it as a base for complaint so the seller should be clear about the contract.

Again it all comes down to just simply state it as non refundable - however I think some sellers dont want to state it - not out of deceit - just simply they dont want to turn a buyer off.  I got no problem with clear statements and will buy with a non refundable deposit as long as their are guidlines.  

No guidlines means and if theres something wrong does NOT protect anyone especially the seller.  

BTW I bought nearly 10K worth of games from a single seller in one transaction - paid a healthy deposit with no problem - however I made clear any issues would mean he could keep his gas money and refund the rest.   He was confident in his machines.

I took all the games

no drama

but we made sure it was clear.... Im not a bad buyer just suggesting clarity is needed in ALL areas.

Quoted from wbradley

Bottom line, a deposit paid by you on a pinball machine is your guarantee to the seller that he isn't holding the machine just for the hell of it. After all, your deposit is at stake. Any other understanding is pretty naive.

I might return someone's deposit under certain circumstances but would NEVER feel OBLIGATED to do so as there is no moral code that strictly favours purchasers.

I HOPE Judge Judy doesn't need to get involved is stuff like this, especially within our community.

I prefer to buy and sell from people I have a good feeling about. Thank goodness I will never be forced to take the word of someone who is dodgy, except for my first two machines which were purchased together from the infamous Kijiji scammer from Hamilton who we shall allow to remain anonymous. If he views this forum, he probably likes the negative attention he has received.

Yes , it ' s best to buy from someone you know and can trust . In that case , the deposit becomes , to my opinion , a way for the game to be yours without expecting the deposit to be refound . There ' s some exceptions tho , like when you want a rare game no matter what and the seller specify in what state it is .

It was the case for my centaur , in Glensfall , NY . But for my farfalla , coming from Dallas and paid in full before being shipped , the seller told me it was 100% fonctionnal and it ' s not . I t ' s a drag , but i have it and won ' t complaint . Résumé ; What the heck , it ' s a pinball i ' m buying , not a Lambo ...   

Quoted from donnie

but the problem is the grey area - is the machine as stated in the advert? -

But upon further investigation, it seems to me that the onus is on the BUYER to determine the condition of the goods and contract BEFORE making the deposit and sealing the deal (UNLESS it's a condition of the deposit that inspection and satisfaction are at the buyer's discretion - which DOES happen, but it's not assumed).  

In the absence of any declaration, the law appears to me to rest on the seller's side on this one I beleive.  Unless you can prove that the seller intentionally mislead you, or there is a gross disparity in description vs. delivery condition, or the seller is late, or in some other way makes you suffer a loss, then it appears (looking at other precidents) that the Buyer is SOL.  They have to take delivery and pay the full price, or back out and risk losing the deposit as compensation.

If the Buyer feels so strongly that what they bargained for is not what they are getting, they can reason with the seller, but ultimately the seller doesn't have to return the deposit.  Only if a judge or arbitrator (if the parties agree to binding arbitration) compels them to.

The other way to back out of a pinball deal is to make a stink.  Threaten to harm the reputation of the seller.  "If you don't give me my deposit back I'll tell everyone what a schmuck you really are and you won't make any more sales in my community."  This could backfire, but I'll bet its happened more than once in our community. Hmmm...

Quoted from websherpa

But upon further investigation, it seems to me that the onus is on the BUYER to determine the condition of the goods and contract BEFORE making the deposit and sealing the deal (UNLESS it's a condition of the deposit that inspection and satisfaction are at the buyer's discretion - which DOES happen, but it's not assumed).  

So then , before paying a deposit on the game without being able to check it on location , ask for lots of pictures . Also , a youtube clip showing the pin working  details could be a good compromise ...

As the saying goes, "Caveat emptor". - buyer beware

Or "Look BEFORE you leap."

Quoted from wbradley

As the saying goes, "Caveat emptor". - buyer beware

kæ.viː.ˈɑːt ˌɛmp.tɒr

Its latin and commonly quoted by the legal profession. It means dont let people f*** you!

Im unsure why there seems a reluctance to tell buyers the fact their deposits are non refundable when clearly it is not a widely known practice.

Is there a reason to with hold this info?

clarity is better? no?

I don't remember anyone ever saying that a deposit was refundable??  I figured it was just assumed that it wasn't.  Who would put down a deposit without intention to purchase??  

Who would buy things at Canadian Tire, "just in case" and then return them if they don't use them?

Donnie, if I remember correctly you are from the UK, correct? Perhaps certain practices hare are less customary over the pond.

I remember a friend of mine who was selling hottubs in the UK about a decade or more ago. He was astonished that business was done on a handshake and without deposits and he hadn't yet seen anyone reneg on a deal.

Also, my wife pointed out that in London, people are a lot more considerate. She travelled there many times on business and took notice that people were more civil on the tube; no pushing, gave up seats for women, etc.

In teh UK the onus is on the seller - not the buyer...however I actually thought canada was more in favour of buyers than even the UK.   I know returns are very easy here in canada for example.

Im with the original poster - hes asking cause hes wanting to know so I guess its not as well a known practise as one might think?

so if this thread does one thing it shows that NON REFUNDABLE should be listed as some people dont see that as the default...  I dont...   

I don't think the nature of deposits it that ambiguous...I think most people assume that a token deposit, such as $100, is non-refundable and that's why the terms are often not clearly stated.  It also makes me feel a little dirty to have to add "...and the deposit is to be considered non-refundable."  

I certainly don't see why in the case of any ambiguity, the deposit should automatically be considered refundable.  Why is that the default position ?  If the seller was at fault for not stating that it was non-refundable, then the buyer is equally at fault for not stating the contrary.  Perhaps it should depend on who introduced the need for a deposit into the sale.  if the seller asked for a deposit and did not clearly state the terms, then the default should be "refundable."  If the buyer willfully offered a deposit, or perhaps even insisted upon one, then the deposit should be considered non-refundable if the terms are not stated.

Maybe we need a poll ?

POLL!



Now its getting exciting!

I have to agree with those saying a deposit is non-refundable.  I do however think it should be stated (or restated) to the purchaser prior to accepting it.

Unfortunately, the type that renegs on a deal and wants the deposit back, is also the type that doesn't care what they agreed to in the first place.  I don't take deposits on things I sell any longer for that very reason.  I do business on a handshake daily, and for the most part, it works great.  But, there's always the one that has no pride or honour and who's word means nothing.  With those types, there's no remedy anyhow.

Question: What is the value of leaving a token deposit (say $100 for example, not thousands)?

If it is assumed to be refundable what does leaving the deposit accomplish?

On a pinball, unless I know nothing of an individual, I dont bother taking  deposits. And, for someone I know I dont need their $100. either. That's part of being in a hobbiest community. However if a newcomer comes along that is fairly distant and wants me to hold for several weeks (this has happened) I will take a deposit, albeit it not a big amount, as a show of faith. If that individual backs out of the deal, after I held the machine 6 or 8 weeks I would be shocked if they expected their modest deposit returned.

Ignorance isn't a defence at law. Seller's DON'T have to state that a deposit is NON REFUNDABLE, because the onus is on the Buyer to do their due diligence before a purchase and determine that, by default, without evidence to the contrary (written or verbal) I think it's now clear that deposits ARE considered non refundable.

I did find at least one definitive government reference on deposits and consumer law here:  http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/oca-bc.nsf/eng/ca02478.html

Consumer laws vary by Province, but the Federal Office of Consumer Affairs states:

"Deposits

A deposit is usually a lump sum of money required to reserve or hold a product or service. Whether it's a deposit on a vehicle, a hall rental, a grad outfit or a photographer, be sure that you want the product or service. If you change your mind, you are not, by law, entitled to get your money back. Be sure to ask what the conditions are before you put down a deposit, and only put down the minimum amount required. "

There are some differences in dealing with "businesses" vs "individuals" but in Ontario: http://www.sse.gov.on.ca/mcs/en/Pages/Buying_Merchandise_Refunds.aspx

"    * Before making a deposit, be certain you’ll want to carry through with the purchase. Not all stores will let customers change their minds after they’ve put deposits on items or arranged to purchase through layaway plans.
    * Never make a deposit or partial payment without getting a written contract and receipt acknowledging your payment. When the total to be paid after the deposit exceeds $50, the law requires that these “future performance agreements” must be in writing. If the business complies with the law, you’ve entered a contract and are responsible for paying the full amount by the agreed date."

There, let's stop going around in circles now.