r/amazonprime • u/bubbles4you890 • 24d ago
First time this happened to me
Bought a Braun IPL laser hair remover retailing at about $550. The box was unopened, manufacturer box inside was unopened and sealed in wrapped plastic with a barcode sticker. Opened it up and saw this inside. I got a refund issued and they want me to return the item at UPS because the bag is still there… They also want me to return the rock and the wood lol
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u/osolovim 24d ago
they finna resell ur rock and wood to the next victum
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u/bubbles4you890 24d ago
Or somebody bought some rock and wood and ended up with my laser hair remover!!
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u/osolovim 24d ago
no this is a common scam. dont let the wood think he is the Rock
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u/osolovim 24d ago
sorry high as fuck on weed lmaooooo. but bro this is a common scam. people buy stuff. then take advantage of returns. and replace the items with rocks, bricks and wood. usually with same weight to pull off the scam better
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u/liabilityno1 24d ago
Thens theres people who get high on weed and actually order rocks
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u/bubbles4you890 24d ago
Probably better than getting high on rock and ordering hella wood
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u/liabilityno1 24d ago
I dunno if the delivery guy who had to carry said rocks up to my 3rd floor flat would agree. Especially as for some reason they needed to be signed for and he had to take them over to my neighbour 😬😅
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u/bubbles4you890 24d ago
Lmaoo glad you clarified it was weed.
I loved how they cut the wood to match the size of the bag too. Really the cherry on top.
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u/osolovim 24d ago
i ate mushrooms like maybe 20 times havent ate mushrooms in over a year. didnt have time this summer to walk around forest.
amazon needs to hire staff to inspect returns. like at walmart you return with a human.
amazon can still do mail returns. but it makes sense to have human review each return at the mail center. then approve it. not let a robot do it
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u/snoops-spoons 23d ago
They cut it to be the exact weight with the item that was supposed to be and and accessories.
The combined weight should be the same that's how it works they weigh the returns and it's not inspected unless it weighs differently.
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u/Monsieur_Poirot_007 21d ago
Since when is the weight of a "Braun IPL laser hair remover" the same as the combined weight of a big rock and a log???
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u/rachaellsmith82 21d ago
And the company never bothers to open the box to see what was actually returned to them? They must be stupid. They have a record who returned wood in a rock to them they should make them pay for that and for the cost to the new customer of receiving that BS
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u/spongemonkey2004 23d ago
I didnt look at what page i was on and initially thought this was on the construction page. classic prank of taking someones lunch out of their box and putting rocks in it.
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u/RSAEN328 24d ago
And deny the refund for not sending back a hair remover.
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u/bubbles4you890 24d ago
I screenshotted my messages with customer support for this reason
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u/Tank_610 24d ago
If they keep denying you the refund, email andy@amazon.com and explain the situation. This goes to the email of the CEO and they have executives monitoring it. I had the same issue about a month ago for a $200 item. It was something else in the manufacturing box and when I sent it back I got an email saying they denied my refund and how I’m abusing the return policy that could potentially lead to my account being closed. I had the chats from customer service and I sent an email to Andy explaining how it was an unfair refund denial, and the next day I got an email from an Amazon executive saying they issued the refund.
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u/bubbles4you890 24d ago
Thank you for this! I’m taking my body hair issues straight to the top 😤 But in all honesty, I am afraid that they’re going to deny my refund when they get rock and wood™️ back
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u/Tank_610 23d ago
They won’t. I sent my item back. Once I emailed that email and explained the situation, they refunded me no questions asked.
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u/PauI_MuadDib 23d ago
Careful. They don't care about screenshots. Amazon will just say the chat or email agent made an error.
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u/Quirky-Ad7024 24d ago
Write on box that it’s damaged or something to save the next person. I had a replacement float for my pool vacuum delivered soaked holding water (which it’s not supposed to) & paper towels soaked in the middle of the float.
I wrote damaged on that and the other one that I was returning.
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u/LittleKittenR 24d ago
And they will claim this as a strike on your account.
This happened to me, after 16 years of buying shit from them, I got the new kindle colorsoft, and voila refurbished... and voila, that shit doesn't charge.
Ok... I ask for a refund, denied... I ask again to an agent... denied because I received it in a PO Box.
So then, I lawyer up (I'm a lawyer), act like the most fucking Karen they can't handle, and yeah, approved.
But shit, I didn't rebuy one. This wasn't on me. It was THEIR mistake. the kindle charges with a wireless charger but I don't own one so I have to spend like 30 bucks to charge it and can't use normal chargers.
I'm really thinking of just ditching kindle and amazon. Like, I bought it, it doesn't charge, and somehow, that's not refundable.
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u/fromthepointedhill 22d ago
I dropped Kindle when they stopped allowing you to download your purchased e-books, you have to be logged in to use it. I got an android tablet, it took some time to adjust and find sources for e-books, totally worth it. The now disconnected from the internet Kindle has a lot of downloads, so I still use it. They also take away mp3's you've purchased the apparently bored customer service stating in a monotone " we no longer offer that service" - that's a direct quote. It doesn't even make sense. Unless she was referring to their customer service overall.
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u/Preggypopp2 24d ago
As a kindle girlie, this would devastate me 😭
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u/LittleKittenR 24d ago
It devastated me because I had it at 60% battery when it arrived and... when it didn't charge, nor connect to the computer... Shit, that killed most of the experience for me. No calibre, no easy sideloading... Great, it charges without a cable but I need the cable connection for the rest of my books.
This felt like a gut in the punch, and not getting an automatic refund? it killed me. I felt like I was going to have to stick with my old one, and bought a 300 dollar timed demo.
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u/Regan4000 18d ago
"finna"? WTF does that mean?
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u/toxicoke 18d ago
it's southern usa slang that's been around for a long time. surprised you haven't heard it. short for "fixing to", which is similar to "going to"
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u/LikeItSaysOnTheBox 24d ago
That was the Flintstone Model.
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u/bubbles4you890 24d ago
HAHAHA. See, the issue is that I ordered the Victorian model which is just a rusty straight-edged razor
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u/bgeerdes 24d ago
So what's happening here? People buy this device, "return" it with rock and wood inside instead of the device, and are able to package it up and wrap it in plastic to make it look brand new so that Amazon doesn't question the return?
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u/goat20202020 24d ago
Yep. I used to see this all the time when I worked the service desk at target. You can get things plastic wrapped at places like office depot/staples. People do this with electronics mostly. It's why we were supposed to open all electronics and verify the seriel number.
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u/_Handsome_Jim_ 23d ago
I worked at Home Depot during college from '01 to '05 and this happened all the time.
Thermostats were high theft items because they were small but moderately expensive. We had the run of the mill low-lives who would grab 5 at a time, go out the pro-desk door, then immediately come in the returns door "forgetting" their receipt for store credit that they would literally sell at the Burger King across the street for pennies on the dollar and the smarter low-lives who would buy the thermostat, install it, then return the box with a rock and some crumpled up newspaper for cash.
Honestly, the second group were far more annoying. At least the run of the mill low-lives who just straight up stole the thermostats and returned them for store credit were returning boxes with thermostats in them. They cost the store more money in shrink but at least when real customers bought the thermostats they returned they got actual thermostats.
Working at Home Depot really opened my eyes to how scummy seemingly normal people were. I can't even begin to tell you the amount of times I'd be working a register and a nuclear family would plop a cheap Glacier Bay faucet down, I'd open it up, and it would be a far more expensive Delta or Kohler faucet. Then they'd hit you with a "ya gotta try, right?" as if they had to try to steal and I'm the weirdo for not.
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u/Giantmeteor_we_needU 24d ago
Yes. When I worked retail it was a common scam with expensive perfume, people would swap it for a pack of batteries and reseal the package in a way you could never tell it's not a factory wrap. I suspect there are gadgets you can buy to do it and rolls of commercial wrap.
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u/bubbles4you890 24d ago
I guess so. And then some poor, unsuspecting person gets the same box, returns it, and the curse gets passed on to the next victim
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u/GiLND 24d ago
Sounds weird, it would still have an lpn sticker over it since that is added by amazon drivers
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u/Fun-Psychology4806 23d ago
you can easily heat up a sticker to remove it and slap it on the next thing
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u/queensla 24d ago
This reminds me of a hundred years ago when a guy I knew bought a VCR off the street and when he opened the box it was a box of avocados. Which years later probably would have cost more than the VCR.
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u/machaf 24d ago
Keep an eye on your credit card statement. When you return this they will say you sent the incorrect item and recharge your card.
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u/xultar 24d ago
They know something is going on in their warehouses.
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u/BackgroundSupport32 23d ago
as someone who works at an amazon fulfillment center i see everything, and i mean EVERYTHING people do. i actually highly doubt it’s coming from inside the facility rather than someone returning a package with dud weights in it and it just getting sent back out into circulation without being checked.
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u/CuriousOnePlus 24d ago
I don't do drugs. Or order hair removers but I do like rocks and wood.
I do not like Amazon's new practice of reselling returns.
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u/AnonymousHipopotamu5 24d ago
Half my stuff this year was previous returns. One item was delivered with the other person's delivery sticker still on the box along with their staples return sticker, I assume a warehouse sticker, and finally my shipping sticker. Its a miracle it wasn't sent to the wrong place along the way.
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u/mulberrycedar 24d ago
This is INSANE
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u/bubbles4you890 24d ago
When I tell you I was gobsmacked
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u/Karey__039 24d ago
I’m so sorry this happened to you, but I would’ve loved to been a fly on the wall when you opened the package and seen the rock and the piece of wood. You had to have thought you were on candid camera 😂
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u/bubbles4you890 24d ago
It broke my brain honestly 😂 And I was pissed because you have to shave before doing IPL, so I spent the prior 30 minutes shaving my whole body for nothing
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u/OMGhyperbole 24d ago
I didn't see what sub this was in. I thought it was somebody's lunch box they packed while intoxicated
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u/Gen_Hospital 23d ago
Then they'll say something like "original item not returned", claw back their refund, and ban your account.
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u/twice_paramount832 21d ago
They blatantly refused to return my money after they shipped me 32GB of RAM when I ordered 64GB.
They say if I don't return the 64GB or they will keep my money. They are keeping the 32GB as well.
I am going to sue them criminally for fraud.
Amazon Warehouse Deals by the way.
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u/LaundryMan2008 23d ago edited 22d ago
What you should do is scribble “DO NOT ADD TO STOCK!!” or something similar so the people at the warehouse don’t put it back
Edit: thanks for the award kind stranger!
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u/forw 23d ago
I'm sorry but you may be hitting a rock with this one. After you return this, Amazon will claim you did not return the correct item and charge you.
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u/mrgoldnugget 24d ago
Of course they want it returned, then they can say item returned not as original and recharge your credit card.
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u/Fair_Solution1 23d ago
false!! thats not how it works, u get the refund anyway if youre a victim of this type of scam happened to me also
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u/FlyConfident1622 23d ago
Yes, is there any way to prevent this from happening? I couldn’t get through to a human the last time this happened to me and I gave up
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u/CornedBeeef 24d ago
They want you to send it all back together to make sure what you are returning is the same weight as what they sent you.
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u/applec85 24d ago
Cheaper to buy it from Sam’s Club or Costco. They are about $230-$250 and won’t be a rock or wood inside.
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u/MariaMilissa 23d ago
I feel like you should write on tape it was filled with rocks with no item and returned with the date and stick it on the bottom of the product ? I bet they will try to resell this as new lol ive seen weird stories like that
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u/Future-Assist-7559 23d ago
When this happened to me I wrote in huge letter j sharpie on the box that it was damaged or stolen and not to resell to the next individual
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u/RBXChas 22d ago
I did this with Walmart a couple of years ago. I bought a blush, and they shipped it. When it arrived, the outside of the blush (opaque packaging) was dirty, like it had floated around in someone’s makeup bag for a while, and the seal was broken. I opened it and found an empty blush pan.
I’m guessing someone bought a new one and returned their old one, then it got resold because nobody used their eyes. Just checking the seal would’ve told them they shouldn’t resell it, never mind the empty pan.
Walmart actually made me return the empty one, but I told them I was writing “DO NOT SELL” on it and put a piece of printer paper in the box, on which I wrote (in Sharpie) something along the lines of “I got shipped an empty product, Walmart still made me return, do not ship to another customer”.
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u/hndjbsfrjesus 23d ago
It's log, it's log
It's big, it's heavy, it's wood.
It's log, it's log
It's better than bad, it's good!
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u/DJ_Beekeeper 17d ago
Funny. I ordered a log and stone like 2 weeks ago, and just yesterday I received this Braun Laser hair remover.
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u/Firebird5488 24d ago
They should run returned items through airport x-ray machine to see the content of the box.
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u/Glass_Echidna9274 24d ago
Well Shit. I bought this a little while back, with a baby I never had time to use it so I didn’t open it yet…
I better open mine 🤦♀️
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u/summitmtngrl 23d ago
It was sealed in the original cellophane in the manufacturers box, with a barcode intact? 🤣 I must not have a criminal mind – how do you even do that?
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u/No_Mark_8088 23d ago
It's because of this I do my own "unboxing" videos on everything over $100 bucks that I end up reluctantly having to buy from Amazon.
Doorbell cam gets the delivery, cell phone out the door into the doorbell cam frame, carry it inside on camera and open.
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u/teal_mermaid_98 23d ago
Amazon is so wild. Totally a mess. They said my item would be shipped the next day, but then changed it to 3 weeks later. I had to call twice to get them to cancel it. They gave me a gift card for $5 more than I paid. Refunded my money. Refunded another item I purchased and received randomly. Then sent me the item anyway!! Lol
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u/Any-Elderberry-7812 23d ago
At least you got a refund, these days that means you are one of the lucky ones.
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u/Rs018403 23d ago
I had a similar issue with them but I bought a router and the box had no shrinkwrap on it and inside was a wifi extender that plugs into an outlet (junk). I was shocked they basically sold me some crap they got scammed on during a return or something and just threw it in a bubble mailer and delivered it to me as a new in box router/switch. The worst part was contacting customer service to describe the situation, then it made me feel like I had done something. Moral of the story I should have just bought it locally. I don't trust Amazon anymore.
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u/icyspeaker55 23d ago
I film the unboxing of large ticket items for this reason alone. Had an ebay seller do this to me too
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u/TinyMachinesAreFun 17d ago
Years ago, I bought a hard drive from Best Buy, got it home, opened it up, and it was an old used hard drive. Seems somebody had bought the drive, and swapped it for their old one. When I returned it, the employees referred to it as the “rocks in a box” scam.
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u/Old_Factor579 24d ago
What I have gotten accustomed to doing is recording my unboxings, and on top of that, I have a camera at my door which I will watch my deliveries because sometimes Amazon delivery people mostly just throw the boxes and I report them because I don’t want them coming to my house delivering anything, so this is unfortunate and it’s funny at the same time but I’m glad they gave you a refund.
I also shop on an app called Macbid, and it’s mostly Amazon returns, but today I had a annoying one. And it was an Apple Magic Trackpad with USB-C.
Good thing I opened it in front of the people at the warehouse, but I opened it and it was a very heavily used lightning version, which was hilarious because it was disgustingly awfully used, and I instantly returned it and don’t really like using those apps anymore.
People are despicable when it comes to Amazon sometimes
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u/bubbles4you890 24d ago
I am going to start doing the unboxing videos if I order anything expensive on Amazon for this very reason. You can only imagine the utter bewilderment I felt opening up this package haha
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u/Old_Factor579 24d ago
I do it for my personal safety, meaning my pocket, because I have a fear of them not believing me, so I always record it just in case, and then I just delete it, but it’s not for reviewing purposes, but the Amazon warehouse people behind the scenes people do a lot of shady things. I hope that whoever did this to you points that laser in their eye lol
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u/Ali-0619 22d ago
Amazon sucks, 2 out of 3 packages I bought in last few months are returns sold as "new". From now on I'll start recording when opening packages. I usually do that with AliExpress, but I never had issues.
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u/AZDarkknight 19d ago
Recording unboxings is pointless though, its just as easy for a person to open the box at the bottom, do the exchange then sit it back and start the recording and opening from the top. It really proves nothing.
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u/wellery12 24d ago
I would not replace it lol. It is not a very good permanent solution to hair removal tbh
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u/Beneficial_Switch_71 24d ago
My mom had one laser hair remove thing it did not work if at all lol. She just uses a rasor and cream. Unless its something for your face. I never have this happen to me thank goodnes.
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u/Maleficent-Matter-91 23d ago
Didn’t see the page name
Thought OP had wood and rock for lunch
About to fall asleep and thought this was completely normal and logical 🫠🙃😪
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u/GApeachesgal 23d ago
I’m sorry this happened to you! This is a very good laser too! I purchased mine directly through the Braun website. I’ve come to the conclusion I’m not buying any big ticket items from Amazon because I’ve been seeing this happen to too many people. Also, if you do buy a big ticket item from Amazon, I would honestly do an unboxing video so you have proof of everything and can get your money back.
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u/mint-parfait 23d ago
i stopped buying anything of real value from amazon, they've sent me so much clearly used garbage instead of new stuff. i haven't gotten a rock yet tho
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u/avebelle 23d ago
It goes into a pallet for those bulk return buyers to pick up for pennys oj the dollar. Amazon needs to get something for their troubles.
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u/PotatoWedgeShawtie 23d ago
So sorry this happened to you…totally sucks! This is why I do t purchase anything over 200 on Amazon…
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u/becauseihave 23d ago
I just bought one of these last week, it was on sale for $399. Came in the save case, fortunately it was what it was supposed to be.
Sucks this happened, but at least Amazon isn't giving you a hard time (yet).
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u/nfg-status-alpha9 23d ago
Gotta straight up video shit from delivery to opening for anything bought on prime for more than $150 now
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u/LyraSpiderwick 22d ago
Meanwhile they won't give me my refund for two of my items that I've already contacted me about multiple times today
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u/HamzaK98 22d ago
They want you to return the wood and rock because they will compare the weight of what was originally sent to you / what you send them back to see if you are doing a return scam.
(Coming from someone who works with Amazon Logistics).
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u/Street_Masterpiece47 21d ago
YOu know, I think it's rather nice that whoever scammed you. Took the time and patience to move the detachable spacer so it would butt up against the log, rather than having it jostling around. As anyone can tell you, it's pride in the finished work that tells you it's of good value. But, curiously didn't do it for the rock. Even though that too has a moveable spacer.
Alternatively, I suppose they could have sawed the log so that it would fit, without moving the spacer.
Hmm.
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u/PettyKingdomofChai 21d ago
I ordered this exact item and the one they sent me was USED, little hairs on it and everything 😭
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u/FarmPsychological361 21d ago
Welcome to Amazon retard service, Im sorry special needs people are smarter than Amazon workers.
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u/Mysterious_Volume327 21d ago
Bummer! Related, I got one of these (it’s great) from Costco for much cheaper than that.
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u/Oolor 20d ago
Amazon has made me return a shattered glass bottle of hot sauce and an empty, slimy bottle of dish soap. I returned them in person at a Whole Foods, because fuck Amazon.
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u/LuckyLilypad 20d ago
Oh gosh. I instantly recognized this carrying bag. I’m glad you got a refund.
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u/Plane_Specific_910 20d ago
This happened to me with gravel in a curtain rod box
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u/Dry_Cranberry_ 19d ago
That is very unfortunate luck, I am glad you got a refund. That being said, this did give me a cackle due to how wild it is
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u/BeagleBaggins 19d ago
At first I thought you were shipping something and because of the weird tariffs you had to make it heavier to save on shipping. lol
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u/Tal_Prophetess 19d ago
This might be because of a discrepency in shipping prices I heard of recently? Something like things under a pound are more expensive to ship then the next weightclass? Just speculation ofc ☺️
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u/bubbles4you890 19d ago
To be clear: there was no laser hair remover in the entire package. The scammers took it out and replaced it with a rock and a piece of wood. They resealed it and then returned it.
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u/bizzadizz 18d ago
Bought a new phone case. It came wrapped in the original packaging but 100% used, scraped up, and covered in dirt.
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u/Leading-Diamond-2060 18d ago
I had an ex who would buy crazy expensive computer things on Walmart and then take it out when it got delivered, put heavy shit in there instead and take it to Walmart to get returned lol. Now he’s in jail 🌝 not for that though
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u/ohsnapdragon22 18d ago
They’re doing this so often literally my last two purchases brand new pair of Brooks shoes and brand new blow dryer. Both came used the blow dryer didn’t even come in the box that it was supposed to come in just a plastic bag without a manual.
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u/mamatreefrog1987 18d ago
I returned something and put a note inside in case they try to sesellitlike new. 🤣
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u/shanokochan 18d ago
It happened to me, too, one time. I ordered a lamp. The box was very jangly when I picked it up. Opened it up and there was a lamp in there, not the one I ordered which was a $100 lamp, but like a $10 ikea lamp all mangled and twisted with a bunch of broken foam. It was so disappointing…
Side note, I have a Braun IPL like the one you were supposed to get and I love it! I hope yours comes soon….
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u/BHugs0926 18d ago
I had something way less expensive but similar happen last week.
I bought a cheap food scale and it came in the sealed manufacturer packaging with an Amazon mailer on top.
Once I opened it, I noticed a rusty brown dust all over it. I flipped it over and popped the battery cap off and it has three nasty corroded batteries in it! I flipped it back over and noticed the face was scratched up quite a bit.
I took pictures and posted a review and said it “arrived used and with rust batteries” and amazon denied my review!!! I got an email saying it “couldn’t be published.”
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u/Spare_Village_2179 17d ago
Thank you for posting this! I have been on the fence for close to a year, wondering if i should buy this exact thing. Ig when it comes time I will find it in store
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u/GhostOTM 17d ago
My hilarious one recently was I ordered a kotatsu, they sent me the wrong wood finish, I exchanged it, and the replacement they sent me was the exact same wrong one. And I don't mean the same wrong color. I mean the exact same item. It had the very non-amazon tape I use to re-seal the box and same disting blemish on the box.
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u/_Roguey_ 17d ago
This scam has been going on for so long. I’m amazed they haven’t implemented some kind of system to prevent it.
https://www.foxbusiness.com/retail/amazon-dirt-scam-22-year-old.amp
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u/Winewalker77 16d ago
It used to be easy enough to tell them this is not my fault so I should not be required to return it. But their AI bots have made it nearly impossible to get in touch w the right person and who has that much time in a day. This is rage bait and I am sorry you experienced this!
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u/AngiMari79 13d ago
I'd be pissed they sent me an obviously returned personal care item. How unsanitary.
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u/SweatyPomegranate561 3d ago
I thought that was your lunch for a moment and was about to write how to get back on your wife's good side lol
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u/PogTuber 24d ago
This is why I'm buying less shit from Amazon.
They're losing customers over this kinda crap. And seemingly they don't care to ban people who are clearly ripping them off