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Be wary of Amazon Marketplace Sellers selling as "New"

The Hot Pepper

Founder
Admin
When you buy from the amazon marketplace, and you are trying to save $20 instead of buying directly thru amazon or a reputable seller on amazon, be wary.
 
I'l just give you one example:
 
Bought a Kohler faucet for pretty cheap marked as NEW.
 
On the Kohler site it says this faucet model was made exclusively for Costco. So I wondered how these sellers had it.
 
I called Kohler and they will not warranty a faucet bought from the marketplace unless it is from 2 of their authorized dealers. There were about ten and none were them (because it's only at Costco!).
 
I contacted the dealer and asked if it was open box. He replied "some are open box yes." Hmm okay so I asked again, and asked if MINE was. His reply this time was "All of them are open box." LOL! Okayyyy. I canceled it in time and reported the seller. What this means is, you are getting a faucet that was returned to Costco, and resold as NEW. And who knows if the person opened it, used it, or even returned it broken.
 
I can tell you the reason this happens. Amazon only has a few selling conditions. You can sell as NEW, or USED and list the used condition. These sellers don't like using the word used when it's open box. So beware.
 
I happily bought one at HD (different model) and registered the warranty, and even used a coupon, so all's well ends well.
 
This exact thing happened to us this summer, except at a Lowes box store.

Wife bought a Moen bathroom faucet last May, one of a set of 3 (I remodelled 3 bathrooms this year), I got to the last faucet two weeks ago: opened the box and a pile of plumbers putty smeared junk fell out. No paperwork, nothin.

I called Lowes corporate, they said to take it back and pitch a fit. It is not their policy to restock returned items "uninspected"...

...yeah right. Moen was even more helpful (*sarc*)

Check the packaging, folks. Can't trust anyone these days.
 
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