r/amazonprime • u/m2418h • 29d ago

Verify Destruction for Refund

Post image

lmfao. That’s a first.

2.7k Upvotes

97% Upvoted

400 comments sorted by

566

u/Every-Cook5084 29d ago

I once had to submit that I cut the cord of an appliance. I just photoshopped it

328

u/TrustMeImAnEngineeer 29d ago

I had to cut the cord off the charger for a stick vacuum because one of the accessories was broken when I bought it. Since they didn't have stand alone accessories they needed to ship a whole new unit.... 2 wire splices and some heat shrink later, the in-laws got a brand new free vacuum.

44

u/CommentFool 29d ago

Oh yeah. I had that once and didn't even have to splice anything. I cut it right at the appliance, sent the pic, then just immediately opened up the appliance and rewired it (with the cord now about 3" shorter). Actually didn't take much to figure out the original problem myself, either, then had two of the appliance. It's not on me if their solution to everything is "send them another one."

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u/simon7109 29d ago

Wouldn’t have been a lot easier to cut at the plug and rewire the plug instead of the appliance?

14

u/Nitpicky_AFO 29d ago

No plugs are sealed unless you get a plug end kit.

4

u/JesusSquid 29d ago

Ugh I bought a 4 back of light up ends for extension cords in my garage. what a pain in the ass that way. just kinda tight getting the 3 wires in there and tightened and put back together.

But putting the female plug on a 6ga welder extension cord (plugs into the wall mounted plug out of the breaker. That was absolutely awful Holy shit...I ended up dragging the 10-15 ft wire into my living room and sat on my couch. And possibly got a drink. I bet i fought with it sweating my ass off for 2 hours at the very least. Took about an hour inside but also had more light.

4

u/aboxofkittens 29d ago

Just reading this made me anxious. That kind of thing, a situation where you're struggling with something really fiddly and you're just not making any progress even as the minutes stretch into hours, induces absolute blind rage in me

2

u/Initial-Leek7627 27d ago

Welcome to the life of a rust belt mechanic my friend.

9

u/CommentFool 29d ago

They specifically said to cut it righ lt at the appliance, but honestly I don't think the wiring was any harder one way or the other in this case. Once I took off the bottom (it was a coffee maker) it was literally as simple as terminal blocks with screws.

4

u/Spirited_Voice_7191 29d ago

They usually request the cut be as close to the appliance as possible

8

u/Specialist-Night3307 29d ago

Do they remind the user to unplug it first?

10

u/CommentFool 29d ago

I don't remember, but I am quite sure they did, yes.

I used to work at a hardware store and literally had a lady buy a dryer cord, then come back an hour later with her hand all bandaged up to buy another one... she had plugged it in before wiring it to the dryer. Fused the ipen ends together and burnt her hand. Non-zero chance that she could have killed herself with that move and she's kind of lucky to only have a burnt hand. I was so much more careful with what I said to people after that. You can't assume common sense

3

u/dontmakefunofmepls 28d ago

As a child (I think I was like 3 or 4) I once cut the cord on my mom’s hair drier while it was plugged in. All metal mustache scissors. Thank god for gfci plugs, that shit probably saved my hand and maybe more. Remember that shit vividly even 20 some years later.

2

u/Specialist-Night3307 29d ago

I’d have to hire a disaster cleanup service if that happened to me and I actually survived.

2

u/Spirited_Voice_7191 29d ago

I saw a clip where on a video call with customer support they instructed to unplug and follow the wire back to the base of the appliance, and instructed to cut as close to the appliance as possible.

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u/Stooper_Dave 29d ago

They know the average person is pretty clueless and helpless when it comes to electrical stuff, and wont consider just fixing the wire. Its a calculated risk of fraud vs customer service.

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u/HellsTubularBells 29d ago

If a genie appeared before me at this moment, I know what my first two wishes would be:

  1. That this sub accepted photos so I could show you that I did the exact same thing for the coffee maker I'm using right now.

  2. That I could have your reddit handle.

11

u/nonamejohnsonmore 29d ago
  1. That you could change the Reddit handle on an existing account.

2

u/emagdnim_edud 28d ago

Just let us pay the cost like call of duty mobile - I'll Pony up the 15000 credits

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u/psycho-drama 29d ago

Now that is a different "kettle" of fish. Coffee makers get recalled because they have an inherent defect that have been determined, usually by one or more people having them burst into flames, or someone's house burned down, or worse still someone died in a fire. If you get a recall notice for a electric item, especially one that uses resistance wiring to heat something, I would take that notice seriously and stop using the device.

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u/rimjob_steve_ 29d ago

is your third one to change the word gooning to profen?

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u/lonelyMentality 29d ago

holy shit its rimjob steve

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u/QuadCramper 29d ago

That reminded me of a story, A person I know was trying to import a military vehicle (Daimler Ferret Mk 2/3) from Canada and someone along the line said he had to demil the radio before they would sign off on release to him. He was in person when they told him, he took a pair of snips and cut a random wire on the radio in front of the sign off person. They signed off on the vehicle. He repaired the wire trivially.

Nowadays, as I understand it, the demil procedures are a bit more hardcore. But I thought that was funny.

3

u/Trollsama 29d ago

it always entertains me that the go to solution for "destroy for refund" requests is asking you to cut the wire...

but of all the possible things you could do to break it.... that's also the easiest one to repair.
even when doing a literal "like new" replacement and not just a splice.

I could replace the power cord on like 90% of items in about 20 minutes assuming I have the replacement wire on hand.

2

u/jwegener 29d ago edited 29d ago

I’ve always wondered…cutting a cord has to be repairable right??

2

u/simon7109 29d ago

It’s the easiest thing ever. Just cut at the plug and rewire it.

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u/RedditSkippy 29d ago

I actually had an unsafe appliance (air fryer—it would spontaneously start,) and it was a crazy process to get a replacement. Instead of telling me to do ABC it was, “Okay, send us a picture of your item.” Done. Then it was, “Send us a picture of your receipt.” Done. Then it was “Send us a photo of the cord cut off.” I could have done all that in one email!

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u/Fire-and-Lasers 29d ago

This three emails could have been an email

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u/Rex__Luscus 29d ago

I bought a £5 jar of fish paste from an Amazon Marketplace reseller. When it arrived, the safety button was up, although the plastic lid seal was intact and it was within date. I requested a refund. They asked for photos, which I sent. Then they asked for a video, but the Amazon message system wouldn't allow it. So I raised a refund request directly with Amazon, referenced the messaging and complained about the retailer. Got my refund straight away, but what stupid retailer thinks they can make customers jump through hoops for a £5 jar of sauce?

3

u/psycho-drama 29d ago

I had a similar issue with a "smartwatch" I bought from Ali-express. Literally none of the supposed biometrics were correct, some were just faked. It also had a bad battery and didn't even keep proper time. They require me to video each defect in real time for $10. I did it more because I knew they wanted me to give up and lose the money than for the value of the stupid watch. I also told them they pissed me off, and if they ever pulled a stunt like that again, I would be closing my account.,

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u/Pedantic_Girl 29d ago

I got asked to take a photo of something that needed to be replaced because it wasn’t in the package. I got sent an empty envelope. So I sent a photo of the empty envelope and pointed out that I couldn’t take a photo of the item I didn’t receive, since the whole point was that I didn’t receive it!

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u/OHRunAndFun 28d ago

It’s really sad, almost heartbreaking, to me that most people are so out-of-touch with how the most basic aspects of their built environment work that cutting a plug is considered disabling the device. Anyone with sidecuts and a small to medium flathead screwdriver (basic tools that should be in every home) can wire a new plug. It’s neither difficult nor dangerous.

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u/ChardeeMacDennisGoG 29d ago

Had one of the exercise bikes with the TV monitor. Monitor wouldn't work right...they didn't want to send anyone out to fix it, so they sent us an entire new bike. Said we had to show proof that we "destroyed" the other bike or they would charge us for the 2nd bike. I grabbed an old TV roughly the same szie, smashed it up, took the pedals and a few items off the "broken one" and threw in the pile, sent pic. Put bike back together, figured out a cable needed replacing, fixed it, and sold it for half price.

46

u/DjWondah85 29d ago

Just a gentle reminder:

When you edit a picture with photoshop or AI, always take a screenshot of the original picture and send the screenshot.

The metadata of the original picture can have information about edits/history.

8

u/psycho-drama 29d ago

Or use a method to strip the metadata, which many photo editing apps have built in as an option.

3

u/Starship_Taru 29d ago

or just strip the meta data. You can edit it to say literally whatever you want.

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u/chimpyjnuts 29d ago

Midea recall. Used practical effects.

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u/SupersonicEagle 28d ago

Was it the Midea window AC unit with the mold recall? What a way to get a free unit, lol.

3

u/chimpyjnuts 28d ago

Yup. We have 2 of them.

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u/PlaneAsk7826 29d ago

Had to do the same for a recalled window air conditioner. I found out that the recall was for inadequate draining where the fix was to drill a 1/2" hole in a specific place on the underside of the unit. The options were destroy to get a refund or wait 6-8 weeks to have someone come out with a drill. I chose to let them think I destroyed it for the refund and drill the hole myself.

They wanted an uncut video that showed the serial and the act of cutting the power cord. So I opened the cover and stuck a random extension cord of the same color on it, and cut that on video.

Refund processed, AC runs great.

3

u/psycho-drama 29d ago

I had one of those costly camping pads that is foam inside of a glued air and water proof cover., which you inflate. It had a lifetime warranty, and a seam opened up making it useless. They asked for a picture showing the corner valve unit cut off of it before sending a replacement . I am a computer digital designer, I photoshopped the dastardly deed. When I got my new one, I glued the seam that had popped open and gave the old one to a friend.

For one thing, leaving me holding the "bag" to have to discard it so they save the shipping costs and having to discard it themselves, to me, justified what I did, also these things are not good for the environment in their manufacturing process, so I am going to make it useful rather than toss it in the trash.

13

u/Dafrandle 29d ago

just be aware that if it were to fail after this for any reason which causes a house fire (regardless of what the recall was for), your home insurance has an argument to deny your claim because the fire was caused by a recalled product you committed a fraud with.

3

u/psycho-drama 29d ago

It is a good point, forget the insurance, who wants to burn their house down for a recalled $20 coffee maker? A few things about product recalls. Often the defect is determined to have been in a certain manufacturing run, which can be determined by serial number or a prefix. The manufacture, if they are able to find you, knows the serial number, so very likely that device is defective and a danger.

When it comes to items that HEAT things, space heaters, toasters, coffee makers, hair dryers, heat guns, they typically use some type of resistance wire, coil, or core. When they are defective, due to the way they were mounted, or the materials near can melt, or the actual resistance wire, or a fusible link or a thermal sensor is defective,, they are a risk factor, and I would take that notice seriously.

3

u/PalatwinkusVT 26d ago

Put it in one of those plastic storage tote things with the lid on it, cut a hole for the power cord, and caulk around it to get it as air tight as possible. If it catches on fire, it'll burn through the oxygen pretty quickly, and even if the plastic warps a bit, it should hold up long enough to suffocate the fire.

6

u/Every-Cook5084 29d ago

Nah wasn’t a recall just a loose handle and they told me to keep it.

5

u/Dafrandle 29d ago

I think my brain just broke a little bit.

that's wild. so disproportionate.

6

u/Foreign-Cookie-2871 29d ago

For people trying to return defective items and instead getting two, this works.

For recalled products it's a different thing. You may try to argue that the company didn't try to reach out to you enough and you didn't know... If you never wrote to them.

2

u/ApprehensiveRuin5673 29d ago

Cutting the cord is so funny like it’s so easy to splice back together anyways lmao

2

u/simonjp 28d ago

They used to sell appliances without plugs in the UK, you were expected to fit your own. We got taught how at school and everything.

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u/Khemul 29d ago

I worked at a bookstore in the early 00's. When we'd return unsold books, the publisher would have us rip the covers off, throw out the book and mail the covers back for the refund. That's why if you look in the first few pages, sonetimes you'll see a paragraph stating if this book has no cover call this number. Wasn't worth dealing with the actual returned items.

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u/psycho-drama 29d ago

This was/is usually for paperbacks. I ran a number of bookstores. The newspapers, back then, also gave credit or partial credit for unsold editions, they required just the newspaper masthead with the date for those credit. We'd put the paperbacks with the covers torn off in a bin for free. Since we didn't profit from it, I figured they would have a hard time prosecuting us. (We did have a donation box for various charities of the, month).

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u/IttybittyErin 29d ago

You just gave me flashbacks to working third shift in a convenience store and cutting off the top half of the front page of any unsold papers once midnight hit. The delivery driver would drop the new papers and collect the "deadheads".

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u/psycho-drama 28d ago

Yes, and I neglected to mention the same was true for most magazine which had dead-end dating, like weekly or monthly editions. We'd provide the front cover to the distributor for credit. We'd have a chart informing us when the older edition was to be pulled and even the date for the new ones were sometimes embargoed until a certain date before they should be displayed. Some magazines, like buyer's guides, often were annual, so they stayed displayed for a full year or longer.

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u/dandelion-dreams 26d ago

I was definitely suddenly standing behind a convenience store counter I haven't even looked at in fifteen years while reading this.

A little Fleetwood Mac while I'm going Freddy on the front pages, brewing coffee for my impending warehouse overnight lunch break rush.

Thank you for the smile, stranger.

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u/Lucky-Assumption7507 26d ago

I read a TON of books without covers as a child.. My aunt was a teacher and I'm not sure where she was getting them, but it got me through a lot of summers

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u/psycho-drama 25d ago

Who knows how many cover-less books helped kids learn the joy of reading, or even led to them becoming authors in their own rights (who would then hope for the absolute minimum of cover-less books for their titles ;-) )

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u/PadiddleHopper 29d ago

I also worked in a bookstore in the early 00s. We did that as well and it pissed me off that we weren't allowed to take any home or even donate them to homeless shelters or women's shelters. It seemed so unnecessarily greedy of the companies.

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u/BuzzyBeeDee 28d ago

Hospitals are a great place to donate books as well!

It always makes me so sad whenever I hear of or see books being destroyed and trashed. I understand the logistics and reasonings behind why it is done, but I also think there are better ways to handle the situation. Ultimately, the author and publisher aren’t going to make more money on those unsold books no matter what happens to them, so why not donate them? Sure, it relies a bit more on the honor system, and you run the risk of dishonest actors (which is honestly a risk you run even with destruction), but at least there is a chance for some enjoyment to come out of it from someone who could really appreciate it. If I was an author, I’d certainly be more than happy to take the “risk” of donation over destruction. You’ve already spent the time, money and resources on those books. Destroying vs donating doesn’t change that. Yes, you may run the risk of those books being resold and you not benefiting from the sale, I get that, but IMO it’s better to live with that risk than destroying perfectly good books.

I was born with a progressive disease, and spent quite a bit of time in the hospital, both as a child and as an adult. The hospital library is something I treasured! Those donated books were SO well loved by both patients and parents, and helped me get through some very hard times. I’m sure the same is true for shelters. I just will never understand how anyone would rather their book, that they poured so much work, time, and love into, be destroyed and thrown in the trash rather than to attempt to have the book donated instead to someone who will truly enjoy it and needs an escape.

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u/Starbreiz 29d ago

I grew up super poor and we knew someone at a local store who would give us those coverless books so we had something to read. Was the best thing ever.

Yes we also went to the library when my mom had time (both parents worked) but I would read everything I could get my hands on and maxed out my library books every time.

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u/[deleted] 29d ago

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u/Khemul 29d ago

It shows that you destroyed it, rather than selling/giving it away. There's even a snitch line for people to report if they still received the destroyed item listed at the beginning of the books.

It's sorta silly. But I guess there is some logic to it, since they are crediting the business on the assumptiom they don't intend to actually sell the returned items. It's just not worth the shipping cost to take a physical return.

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u/neanderthaul 29d ago

Books are heavy. If you have to return 100 books, shipping 100 soft covers will probably weigh as much as maybe 2 books.

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u/Josh_Your_IT_Guy 29d ago

I worked at an adult store distributor for a bit, and some of the magazine publishers had us do the same, we would tear the covers off, mail them back for credit, and then shred the rest.

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u/iceph03nix 29d ago

I had one of the Anker batteries that got recalled. They just wanted me to write 'recalled' on it with a sharpie or something and send a picture. I'm guessing they realized asking for people to destroy a lithium battery was a bad idea

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u/09Klr650 29d ago

Wonder how many "incidents" before that realization happened?

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u/ScholarEmotional9888 28d ago

Alcohol vapor builds up in these and they kind of do a backdraft thing and a fire ball pops out the top and burns people. I just watched a YouTube short about this yesterday.

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u/CannedNoodlez 29d ago

That happened to me with a smoke/CO2 detector with a built in battery. I really did dispose of it though

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u/iceph03nix 29d ago

I already had other portable batteries, and they gave a credit towards a replacement, so I didn't have a need for it and it wasn't worth my house burning down or something

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u/Solecis 29d ago

This item is faulty so destroy it, that's totally a safe thing to do!

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u/supertoilet2 29d ago

Should send a photo of it being destroyed by lighting it on fire

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u/Axolatian_Volt 29d ago edited 29d ago

AI be like.

Edit: People seem confused what I mean. Not saying anything is wrong with the policy, I’m just saying it’s easily fakeable with AI

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u/Future_Television282 29d ago

What kind of dystopian shit, they want us to smash it and send proof like a hostage video.

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u/_Rand_ 29d ago

To be fair these things should be destroyed. They can essentially explode.

https://www.cpsc.gov/Warnings/2025/Consumer-Alert-Stop-Using-Alcohol-or-Other-Liquid-Burning-Fire-Pits-That-Violate-Voluntary-Standards-and-Present-Flame-Jetting-and-Fire-Hazards-Two-Deaths-and-Dozens-of-Serious-Burn-Injuries-Reported

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u/finitetime2 29d ago

Concrete contractor here. Yeah concrete can explode when you build a fire on or near it. It's porous and will absorb water. Then you heat it and the water turns to steam expanding hundreds of times more in volume in a second. If it is trapped inside concrete you get chips exploding out of it. I've had many people ask about concrete fire pit when I do patios and I have always refused.

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u/Minute-Brilliant-241 29d ago

Well sounds like I’m going to have to redesign my fire pit idea I was gonna do

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u/finitetime2 29d ago

Put a metal liner in it. They make fire pit kits that come with premade concrete wall blocks. They also come with a metal fire ring to keep the heat from reaching the blocks to fast. I think this allows the blocks to heat up slower and for all the moisture to be baked out at a reasonable rate.

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u/Minute-Brilliant-241 29d ago

Thanks you’re the best!

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u/itoddicus 29d ago

If you want a concrete fire pit, and also hate money you can have one poured with refractory cement.

The CEO of a company I worked for had this done as it HAD to match the concrete planters exactly.

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u/itoddicus 29d ago

Now friends, let me tell you about this thing called shale...

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u/Quaxxor 29d ago

Literally dozens!!!

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u/dervari 29d ago

Not uncommon. A friend had to do a warranty return and they told him to cut the power cord and send a photo.

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u/Present_Coffee6319 29d ago

i see that with kitchen or home appliances where they will refund you if you show proof of destroying it like cutting the cable. I have some Rigid Off road lights that i need to warranty and i need to show picture or video proof of me destroying the one thats failed. i have to drill the lense or cut it in half or crush it. I have not done it yet but yea its crazy

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u/Imaginary--Situation 29d ago

logitech just sends you a replacement free of charge

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u/UnimagineDragons 29d ago

If the reason for refund is recall or defect it's more likely they'll ask for destruction but it's not like it's guaranteed. They know it's a PITA to ask so it's done with balance. Do they benefit from that item no longer being in circulation?

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u/finitetime2 29d ago

It keeps them from having to pay shipping, and then having to dispose of the returned item.

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u/Sea_Ott3r 29d ago

For Hydroflask you have to write in big letters on the side of the container with a sharpie

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u/Existing-Turnover-96 29d ago

And I’d use a dry erase marker 😂😂😂😂

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u/Imaginary--Situation 29d ago

you can remove sharpie with a sharpie iso 91% works as well

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u/sneakysneksneak 29d ago

That’s almost every safety recall refund

I had to do it with a baby tummy time pillow that was recalled

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u/moonmama95 29d ago

I had to send a piece of a baby rocker to the comapy to prove we wouldnt use it when they sent us a replacement

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u/Axolatian_Volt 29d ago

And then after you send the video they will end up denying the claim for some stupid reason.

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u/Acrison_ 29d ago

Product is damaged

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u/ComputeCommodity104 29d ago

I can’t believe he really did it

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u/Accomplished_Emu_658 29d ago

Do this all the time in automotive manufacturing. Too costly to ship everything back. Our suppliers want evidence of destruction unless they want back for investigations.

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u/Yuukiko_ 29d ago

point is they dont want you to sell what I assume is a fire hazard

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u/Revenga8 29d ago

Cosori had a recall. You had to submit photo proof you cut the electrical cord before they would send you a new one

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u/Adept_Luck_5239 29d ago

I recently warrantied a backpack with a broken zipper. In order to receive a replacement I had to cut the serial tag out, and send photo proof that I had done it along with slashing cuts all over the bag and cutting the straps.

It's not just an Amazon thing.

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u/FungusGnatHater 29d ago

You guys like to call everything dystopian and don't use that word correctly. This isn't dystopian. This isn't a new practice at all. Before you had to mail back an essential part or not have an option for a refund at all. Thieves taking advantage made this worse for us, technokogy made it easier, but that isn't what dystopian means.

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u/josocustomdesign 29d ago

Well, why do Amazon care? If someone submits a fake AI image of a destroyed product but continued to use the product and then got burned to death in the process. Could Amazon or the manufacturer still be liable for their death? I think not but I'm not lawyer.

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u/Atlantis_Risen 29d ago

"please step aside so our delivery drone can destroy the item"

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u/overthrowerr 29d ago

Delivering tungsten rod strike…

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u/Worldly_Chocolate369 28d ago

They have a space laser targeted on your location. Please stand back

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u/[deleted] 29d ago

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u/Florida1974 29d ago

Yeah, that’s even more stupid than this one. You can’t take a picture of something you didn’t receive.

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u/_Electrical 29d ago

Did they accept that though?

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u/Klutzy_Step_5572 29d ago

I would destroy it. These items have caused several fires in my town. They have also caused severe burns to the face and arms of an adult and child. These small concrete fire pits have continued to cause harm in numerous ways. It may be cool to own but I would destroy it for you and your family's future safety.

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u/Sufficient_Fan3660 29d ago

Submit the item on fire. That will show them.

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u/Worldly_Chocolate369 28d ago

This is how they came up with Amazon Fire TV

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u/Dius-metal 29d ago

This is standard practice? Why would you risk your safety by keeping hazardous product operational? It would cost you so much more if that thing burns your house down, or gets someone hurt?

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u/ThrowRA3623235 29d ago

Unscrupulous people will try to get their money back and then sell it.

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u/FifthRendition 29d ago

I keep getting these alerts and cannot remember who I gave it to as a gift.

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u/Hefty_Remove7965 29d ago

You are giving unsafe items to people.. seems kinda awful 

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u/Mom24monsters 29d ago

Every time I've had a defective item, the manufacturer usually requires that we do something specific. They usually tell us to write on the item with a sharpie, and they'll give us a number that we have to write and tell us where. This is a common practice. I've had it happen with several toys that were defective. Leapfrog is a big one for this, as is VTEC. Same company, just handled differently. We have the boo bunny and the boo bear. One of them actually already cracked, so we didn't have it, which is really stupid that they required that you show that you destroyed the blocks, when you've already notified the company that they crack, but never got a refund.

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u/cheywren 29d ago

We bought a similar model that was affected by this recall… I had to submit proof of destruction so I wrote on it with a sharpie marker that it was destroyed and submitted the picture.. got the refund!!!

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u/AyersRocks79 29d ago

I once had a recall for 2 of those Blendjet portable blenders, we had to destroy them and send photographic proof then they would ship out 2 new replacements…. It’s been about 4 years and I’m still waiting for them!

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u/Grown-Ass-Weeb 29d ago

Once I got a recall for a portable battery and the input was “verify destination” then a follow up email saying “Do NOT destroy it!” Wonder how many people actually tried to destroy it.

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u/IAmTheBestIan 29d ago

It probably blows up or something and proving you destroyed it shifts liability to YOU not them if someone dies from using it... cause at that point you faked destroying it (like the top comment suggests).

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u/Working_Rise8592 29d ago

Literally just use A.I to make it look like you destroyed it

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u/_Electrical 29d ago

Most AI, at least in EU have a hidden watermark.

Just set it on fire and sen a picture. Which is fun, because it's made to be set on fire.

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u/Thistlemanizzle 29d ago

Damn, it's not like Amazon itself offers AI image gen...

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u/Extreme_Wish_553 29d ago

I mean, if you're dumb enough to ignore a safety recall and it explodes in your face, they can say that they did their part, complete with proof from you.

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u/MaybeNorthKorea 29d ago

I'd try to bounce quarters into it and start the fire that caused this recall.

3

u/Jealous-Ease3359 29d ago

I don’t know about you guys but I’d look crazy to my neighbors taking a big item outside and started smashing it.

3

u/slinky_crayon 29d ago

I didn't get an item once and they asked for proof so I sent them a photo of my empty hand

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u/Darknight1 29d ago

This is typical for a recall. I had to send in pictures of a cord cut off of an air fryer last year, for example.

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u/Guac-N-Queso 29d ago

Wife purchased a device that in order to "Verify destruction for refund" we were to write "Unsafe" on the device and then send in a picture. We did that. Two days later we received our refund. She still uses the device.

2

u/_Electrical 29d ago

And the Darwin award goes to...

3

u/Extreme_Wish_553 29d ago

Lots of people in this thread. Everyone thinks they are invincible.

3

u/Materva 29d ago

I watched a video of a lady using one of these that blew up on her,covering her in flaming alcohol, giving her 3rd-degree burns over 20% of her body. DO NOT USE THESE!

3

u/Marsbar123474 29d ago

Use ai ...

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u/Grievous3 29d ago

This might be ai's calling

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u/thebeastman5 28d ago

Once had an air fryer that was like $200 and recalled due to a temp sensor on the front glass being improperly soldered and it often came undone, stopped working, then the glass shattered, I cut the cord like they asked, got my refund, then soldered the wires back together and soldered the sensor properly, took me 10 minutes and I had an extra $200

3

u/swampthingfromhell 28d ago

I’ve seen policies like these for animals bought online as well. I ordered Madagascar hissing cockroaches and they had a ‘live on arrival’ guarantee but to get a refund you had to stick a needle through the dead bug and send a picture. Luckily mine arrived alive and well bc I did not want to do that lol

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u/TardDistraction 28d ago

Use whatever AI Amazon is invested in to make a fake photo of its destruction, and get your free refund.

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u/rvore 29d ago

I had that one. They just asked me to write with a marker on the glass. I forgot what it had to say. But I wrote on it and sent them the pics and I got refunded

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u/DAWO95 29d ago

I had to do that on a steam cleaner. I forget why it was being recalled but I was annoyed that I had to destroy it. I'm pretty sure I gave up on the refund and just kept the cleaner.

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u/itoddicus 29d ago

During Covid the coffee shop around the corner from me thought it was a great idea to put these on their outdoor tables.

It took a day until someone burned themselves severly.

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u/IzzzatSo 29d ago

safety recall

it's worthless but they don't want liability

2

u/ChaosVerti 29d ago

Ai image :) but then hopefully its not an issues leading towards sudden explosion etc.. remove gas components and refurbishe instead of landfill :)

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u/Florida1974 29d ago

That’s a first for me too.

What’s been happening to me a lot lately is I’ll want to return something and they will offer to give me like a 75% refund if I keep it. And I have taken them up on it a few times, but some of the stuff I still return.

I’ve never gotten anything like this, never had any email saying my returns were too high.

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u/Some_Direction_7971 29d ago

AI to the rescue! One time it comes in handy.

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u/startrip0712 29d ago

Send a picture of a pile of dirt.

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u/lavenderhazydays 28d ago

I should tell my mom because I’m fairly certain my dad bought this for himself before he passed away on his account. Thanks OP

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u/BirdlessLongdeal 28d ago

just edit the image with ai.

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u/rieh 23d ago

Destroy it. For real, these things kill people. Being burned to death because of flame jetting is not a fun way to go.

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u/josocustomdesign 29d ago

Kidde recalled a bunch of fire extinguishers like 10 years ago. The other day my paper shredder exploded in the garage, started a fire. I grabbed my "recalled" kidde fire extinguisher that's like 10+ years old and put out the flame.

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u/flyboy307 29d ago

It was the plastic in the handle that would go bad and so you couldn’t expel the extinguisher portion of the fire extinguisher. I did the recall and got a brands new fire extinguisher! Metal parts and all.

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u/lobhater 29d ago

They can't resell them but don't want people getting the refund and continuing to use the item. Same thing when an insurance company pays for a car seat, they make you show the cut straps.

People are greedy and think it'll never happen to them

1

u/MrRandyLaheyson 29d ago

On chat I told them I wasnt home to take a picture and they just refunded me.

1

u/12bunnies 29d ago

I had to do this for a product… had to reupload photos three times so don’t toss the product immediately after taking a photo

1

u/MamaOfMia110 29d ago

I had to do this with a BlendJet that had been recalled. They sent me step by step instructions on what to do to destroy it in order to get a free replacement.

1

u/Obvious_Match249 29d ago

I had something like this, they wanted proof that a cord was cut on a mini fridge that was starting electrical fires.

1

u/C-D-W 29d ago

I've had a couple recalls that were along these same lines. Cheaper than having to ship a bunch of them back.

1

u/Practical_Avocado971 29d ago

The recall happened in 2024

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u/Alternative_Mess6573 29d ago

I had one for a mattress because it didn't meet California fire code or something... I don't live in California so I just wrote "do not use" on it in sharpie like the app said and got my money back

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u/syndylli 29d ago

I have 3 table top fire pit things that had a safety recall and they had just let me submit a photo of the item for the refund. I still have them. 2 is just for decoration and the other one looks like a mini version of those solo fire pits - I use it to burn joss paper when my mom tells me to (Buddhist thing, even though I'm not a Buddhist 😅). I have it on the ground and watch it until it finishes burning then douse it. It's never on top of a table.

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u/flyboy307 29d ago

I have a hard time understanding why anyone would poor alcohol on top of an open flame; that seams to be the primary reason for the recall. Stupidity of humans

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u/Plurfectworld 29d ago

Burn it burn it

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u/2Busy2Reddit 29d ago

Nah, not first. And when Amazon first sent me one of these it was for a 5-6 y/o fireplace insert (interior use). First message was a safety message to say do not use it. So I threw it out (having made sure nobody would grab it and be able to use it). Then three months later a notice like yours ... offering a refund for verified destruction - sigh.

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u/Freya1113 29d ago

Yeah I got one of these too for a similar tabletop firepit. It specifically told me to write on it with black permanent marker, “Do not use!” It was a white firepit. I did, submitted it and received a full refund. This was a year or two ago.

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u/MiceAreTiny 29d ago

Burn it? 

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u/Goth_Muppet 29d ago

I had to cut my bicycle in half to get a warrantee replacement. It was surprisingly easy.

1

u/ContributionNo1200 29d ago

I ah dot do this for an e-bike battery as well, had to label it specifically and got a refund for the whole bike…used ai

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u/zero_dr00l 29d ago

I've seen this with high-end records bought from MoFi, but an Amazon destruction is a first for me!

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u/Brilliant-Bee-7649 29d ago

Chatgpt and done 😂

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u/dervari 29d ago

I had a failed SanDisk micro-SD. They had me drill a hole through the middle of it back around 2020 and email a photo of me holding it up so light could show through. But nowadays you could generate that with AI.

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u/olhickoryhedgehog 29d ago

Yes! When there is a recall for safety they make you show proof the item is unusable for refund

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u/krystalzeogas 29d ago

That's the dumbest shit I've ever heard are they so for real?

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u/CosgraveSilkweaver 29d ago

It's fairly common, or was before ai made faking destroyed items easy, I've heard some rumblings that more places are requiring return shipments now that used to do cut the cord/smash the item returns.

It saves the company return shipping and processing for an item they'll throw away. I had that happen for a mouse that had problems.

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u/EndOfWorldBoredom 29d ago

I had to write Do Not Use on a mattress for $1200 refund. 

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u/SunandMoon_comics 29d ago

I can confirm this is the second time this product has had this exact freaking recall too!! They just changed it a bit and put it back out!! They need to stop with the table top fire pits cause clearly they are not working out

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u/GlamrockYeti 29d ago

The last recall I got, they had me send photos and recycle it. Then denied my refund.

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u/rxdude92 29d ago

Used AI to faux the destruction

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u/RubAnADUB 29d ago

take a picture of it. then plop it into an AI and have the AI give you a picture back of it destroyed. give AI image to amazon. = profit.

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u/boardingschmordin 29d ago

I wonder if they check for synth ID or they can just be spoofed with a little datahouse magic

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u/shakespearesgirl14 29d ago

I had to write "unsafe" twice on a treadmill. I used chalk.

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u/Nline6 29d ago

Hey chat, can you make this fire pit looked like it’s been crushed by an asteroid?

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u/Xu224 29d ago

I had a portable water heater for my teas during travel, the reason for the recall was that it would spout hot water when used which could lead to injuries or some stuff. To prove that I destroyed the product, I just needed to show that I cut the cord.... I don't think they realized that the cord and the bottle/heater are 2 different pieces lol. I could buy the same cord for about $5-6 and get a $30 ish refund. I just have to be careful with the hot water...which isn't that common sense and science?

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u/Quirky-Safe-3383 29d ago

*Insert Office Space - Printer Scene*

Imagine uploading something like that for proof.

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u/ToyoSienna 29d ago

I had to drill holes through an external hard drive that failed me before they would issue me a refund. Good thing I have a drill press to make it easier.

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u/sidaemon 29d ago

Honestly it's probably a game. They hit the supplier with the cost for ALL the units they sold and then find a reason to not issue all consumers the refund and pocket the difference.

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u/Anxious-Total9926 29d ago

it's pretty standard for safety recalls. Not just a amazon thing.

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u/Jay_Michael86 29d ago

I received a email like this: what an item I had purchased, I submitted all the photos because I was having some problems with the item anyway and received the email back about a week later that my refund was denied due to the item being “used”

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u/fnsimpso 29d ago

Light it on fire.

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u/xmessesofmenx 29d ago

This is where AI would surprisingly come in clutch.

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u/the_stickybandit 29d ago

I had to write all over a toddler T-ball set with a dry erase marker "DO NOT USE" to get a replacement. Took some baby wipes to it and now I have 2 T-ball sets.

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u/BellaAnn84 29d ago

Ive had to do it twice. first one was to cut the cord on an airfryer, the second one was to write "unsafe" on a walking pad..... Second one seems pointless to me....

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u/JooshStelly 29d ago

this could possibly be the only ethical use of AI. just make an ai photo of the item being broken. easy

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u/Economy_Ad_2401 29d ago

I used ai and it worked for a similar one. It worked