Amazon Offers A Refund But Shipping Costs Lead To A $1,050 Dilemma And Two Free Cribs

Heather Hall

2 weeks ago

When it comes to online shopping, getting the best deals can sometimes come with unexpected twists.

But what happens when a big-ticket item you’ve already purchased suddenly goes on sale for much less?

In today’s story, one couple tries to take advantage of a price drop, only to be faced with Amazon’s convoluted return policy and astronomical shipping fees.

Here’s what happened.

When shipping costs more than the item itself

In 2019, my wife and I welcomed our first child into the world, and as a baby shower gift, my father, who lives on the other side of the country, wanted to buy us a crib.

Obviously, the easiest way to do this was to order from Amazon, so that is what he did.

The total came out to something like $ 650+ free shipping.

Now, my wife and I were the ones to select which crib we wanted, and my father had no issue with the price.

My dad ordered it from his account and shipped it to my address.

The crib went on sale a few days later.

So the crib shows up, they drop it at the base of our driveway, and we have about 15 steps up to our front door.

That box is HEAVY(probably handy at 500 lbs), and it’s just me and my pregnant wife, so… me, but we get it in, spend a day building it, and go on with our lives.

But as Ads do what Ads do, my phone was bombarded with ads for Cribs, including the one my father just bought us less than two weeks ago.

Surprise, surprise, it’s gone on sale for $430.

So I contacted Amazon, let them know what was going on, and asked if they had a 30-day price guarantee.

I figured there was no reason to tell my dad he could have saved $220 if he wasn’t able to get the money back.

Amazon told them to order a new crib and then do a return when the new one comes.

Now, because it was over $200, they couldn’t just issue a refund, but they said that we could return the crib and order a new one.

Unfortunately, we’ve already built the crib and can’t return it.

They told us to order a new one and, when that crib comes in, return the old one to get a refund.

I made sure to ask about return shipping, and they said that would be covered as the item has “free shipping.”

I saved the transcript of our conversation.

So that’s what we start to do.

The new crib came in, but this time it was left out in the rain.

I contacted my dad, and he placed a new order.

We waited for the box to arrive.

Similar situation, heavy box was left at the edge of my driveway, but this time, the weather was pretty crappy, and the box got ruined.

I took photos of it sitting at the curb and then moved it inside.

I let my dad know, and he contacted Amazon.

He then got an e-mail providing the return address and instructions on how to return it, including a blank “Affix postage here” spot on the label.

Customer support was apologetic and let them keep both cribs.

Back to talking to Amazon support, and they’re “very sorry” and look into it.

Apparently, shipping on this crib is like $350, and I’m sitting there with 2 cribs, and proof that Amazon said they’ll cover the return shipping (so like $1,050 in shipping)…all for what amounts to a $430 crib…so they told us to keep it, and refunded the original purchase of $650.

My sister lived a few hours from me, and her and her husband were looking at starting to try for kids, so she got herself a crib as a baby shower gift from my dad too.

All the trouble ended up being worth it in the end.

Let’s see what the folks over at Reddit have to say about online shopping and return policies.

Apparently, Amazon is not always that lenient.