The following testimony is from Bethany:
Back in 2012, I shared how I saved $275 by digging out my tire receipt, to utilize the manufacturer’s warranty that had come with the tires, when they didn’t last as long as they should have. Today, I thought it was time to share how those manufacturer warranties (not extended or purchased) continue to help me save.
I had purchased a pair of dress shoes back in May of 2014, and as I walked into work 5 months after purchasing the shoes, I suddenly felt a bit unsteady. I lifted my foot and found the heel had started to separate from the shoe.
When I got home that night I sent an e-mail to the shoe company’s customer service group and they advised that I could ship the shoes back to them and they would send me a gift card for the current value of the shoe (I had lost my receipt). Within a couple weeks, I had a $40 gift card in my mail box to the store I had purchased the shoes from!
Worse than a broken heel though, is eggs stuck to my non-stick $52 & $108 sauté pans. I was so disappointed when my sauté pans stopped functioning as they should, and the coating on the $108 pan had started to chip.
We started to look at new pans one day, but then I remembered that these pans came with a lifetime guarantee. Again, a simple email to the customer service department, they validated my purchase (they were able to look it up by my name), I shipped the faulty pans back to them, and within a couple weeks I had a brand new product. $160 saved – thank you lifetime guarantee!
Finally just a month ago my husband purchased a new watch – but every time he put his hand in a wall (he’s an electrician) he would bump the side button and the watch would reset to EST – we are on CST. This was extremely frustrating for him, so he went and bought a different one. However, I remembered that the store we purchased the watch from had a 60-day satisfaction guarantee – and he wasn’t satisfied so I returned it and they accepted it with no issue. This ended up saving us about $35!
Often times, when a product isn’t working anymore, we tend to simply toss it in a junk drawer or throw it out – but I encourage you to think twice before tossing that broken item.
Consider taking a few minutes to write the manufacturer or look up the return policy for where you bought the item. Even if you don’t have the receipt they may give you an in-store credit.
Companies only know a product isn’t working if consumers tell them. I believe that companies who back their product with a lifetime guarantee truly expect their product to last and would want to correct the issue if it hadn’t lasted.
Julie says
I know that this comment is a little older, but I just wanted to say THANKS!! I was having the same problem with 2 of my cookware pans. I contacted the company and after awhile the rep found my info (I have learn to keep all paperwork). Not only did the company stand behind the life time warranty, the rep felt bad because it took a long time to find my info that she emailed a postage payed shipping label. The one pan was valued at $134.00 and the other was part of a set (so I’m not sure of the value) but the set was and is NOT cheap. Thanks again for this post & helping myself and other save $$$$ !!!
Lynne says
I always buy my large ticket items if available at Bed Bath and Beyond. They have a no hassles guarantee. With or without a receipt, you can return any item them have sold at any time for any reason.
If you do have the receipt, they will give you either store credit to replace the item or will give you the refund. Without the receipt, they will give you store credit minus 20%. I always keep my receipts for BBB purchases!
We had a Dyson vacuum that one of the attachments would not latch properly to work anymore after only having it for 6 months. I brought the vacuum back to the store with my receipt. I was able to get their top of the line Shark instead and they refunded me the difference of over $100! So worth it to shop there with their 20% coupons and keep the receipts.
Also, Sam’s Club has a similar guarantee to Costco. You can bring back items for any reason at any time.
Lynne says
I always buy my large ticket items if available at Bed Bath and Beyond. They have a no hassles guarantee. With or without a receipt, you can return any item them have sold at any time for any reason.
If you do have the receipt, they will give you either store credit to replace the item or will give you the refund. Without the receipt, they will give you store credit minus 20%. I always keep my receipts for BBB purchases!
We had a Dyson vacuum that one of the attachments would not latch properly to work anymore after only having it for 6 months. I brought the vacuum back to the store with my receipt. I was able to get their top of the line Shark instead and they refunded me the difference of over $100! So worth it to shop there with their 20% coupons and keep the receipts.
Jessica says
My daughter was given a Leapfrog My Pal Violet on her first birthday. It was brand new in the box, but when I set everything up and put batteries in it would not work. We didn’t have a receipt for it either, but I thought “Why not give a shot at contacting the company about it?” They contacted me and told me they would replace it. All I had to do was send them a picture of the product with a code they provided to me written on the battery case. A new Violet came in the mail, and it’s now one of her favorite toys! It’s always worth a shot to contact the company!
Kim says
The zipper on my breast pump case broke and the company sent me a brand new one when I called.
I have also had one of my kids’ electronic games replaced. At first, they only offered me a discount on a new one but after I explained that my child had only had the game for less than a month and that I was disappointed in the quality of the product and would likely buy something similar from a different company, they agreed to send me a new one. I had paid for it with my Target card to save 5% but this experience taught me to make big purchases with my Discover card because I know they would have refunded my money if the company hadn’t made it right.
Meg Herriot says
Great points. I have had good luck with Motorola and Oxo and Costco. Our Motorola Baby Monitor stopped working about 3 months after the warranty was out. The customer service representative was great, I sent the monitor out and we got a brand new monitor back (instead of having to buy a new one for $200. Oxo was also great about getting us a new garlic press after one broke and Costco stands by all their products, to the point that when I am looking for pricey items, I check if I can get it through them because their warrantee and customer satisfaction guarantee is excellent! It’s definitely worth keeping the paperwork and few extra minutes.
Bethany says
Ohhhhh that’s great to know about Costco I wasn’t aware of that perk, might make me consider getting a membership 😉
Katy says
This isn’t exactly a warranty, in fact the rep told me that my situation is specifically NOT covered by warranty, but when I was reading a review of a fitbit charge the reviewer mentioned that they had lost their tracker. A rep from fitbit replied to their review and asked them to contact customer service. I took a look at the customer service forums on their website and this is fairly common (unfortunately), but many people had reported that fitbit replaced their trackers. I lost my fitbit one just about a year ago and after reading this review yesterday I sent them an email and they have offered to replace my tracker. It was what I was hoping for, but definitely not expected. So even if your issue isn’t covered by warranty, it might not hurt to contact the company. You just never know!
Bethany says
We are FitBitters here too and the I agree their customer service has been exceptional – I had a friend who literally flushed hers (well her 5 year old did) down the toilet and they sent her a new one. My husbands holder broke and they sent him a new one. When my mom’s stop holding a charge again they replaced for no cost! There are a lot of great business out there that I will continue to frequent because of great service and product warranty!
Jenny says
I wrote to Dinkin Donuts not long ago because I wasn’t receiving some bonus points. They asked for a receipt, I took a screen shot of my giftcard history on my app & of the actual website. They gave me 400 points, which equals 2 free drinks!
Saving any little bit helps!
-Jenny
Bethany says
That’s great! Can’t deny a girl her Dunkins ?
Mandi says
I bought some boots about 80% off on a website. I wore them about 2 weeks when decorative lacing started coming off. I contacted the manufacturer and they gave me a store credit for the full price to their website and let me keep the boots. I told them I had not purchased them for that much. They said that was ok.
Bethany says
I had a similar experience with a curling iron I bought on Amazon … It didn’t heat great so I completed the return form but the store just refunded my money and advised me that I didn’t have to send it back.
Emilie says
Columbia will repair or replace winter coats…same style and size. You pay to ship it to them and then they send it back. I did this with two hand me down coats that the zippers were broken on. They sent me new coats as the same ones did not exist.
Debbie M says
Good to know, I have a Columbia jacket with a broken zipper as well.
Bethany says
Nice! Great to know!
Jennifer says
Wow! I’ve always ignored warranties. Guess I’ll stop 🙂 Thanks for the tips.
Bethany says
Happy to provide the reminder ?
Shaylin says
Just yesterday I called Keurig. I was given a hand me down keurig from a neighbor and was told it was not working properly. I gave it a try and then decided to give it away. But someone suggested I try calling. So I did. They walked me through some trouble shooting and then decided it wasn’t fixable. But because the previous owner had not registered it, she registered it to me on the phone and then started the one year warranty. And then she offered to replace it for FREE!!!
I just got a FREE brand new Keurig because I called and the previous owner had not registered it. SOOOOO glad I called 🙂
Bethany says
How awesome is that?? We also had a great experience with our Keurig … When we moved apparently all the water didn’t drain and froze during the move. We had registered our original Keurig and our warranty had expired but they sold us a brand new version of the one we had for only $75 and our original was one of the top of line (wedding gift) and cost about $150+ new so even though it wasn’t free it still saved us big!!!
Kate says
This is a good reason to hang onto your receipts. Our family policy is for anything non-consumable over $40–anything less than that is not worth the extra paperwork and hassle for us.
We had a laptop that we purchased from an electronics store. I paid for it with a credit card and the store emailed the receipt to us. When the laptop was 18 months old– out of manufacturer’s warranty, it died. I knew our credit card extended the manufacturer’s warranty, so I called the credit card company. After paying $70 for a computer-repair techie to tell me what I already knew (that the CPU and motherboard were bad) and that it would cost more to repair than to replace, the credit card company refunded the original purchase price!
Bethany says
Oh that’s a great point that now a days many credit cards also back purchases for periods of time even when a manufacturer warranty might have expired… I’m going to remember that tip!
Jessica says
I did that with a Jansport backpack that got a hole in the bottom. Lifetime warranty, but I had to mail it in at my own expense.
Bethany says
I’ve had to mail my stuff back at my own expense too… But it saves me much more in the end so I find it to be worth it!
Diana says
Cool, I didn’t know about Jansport’s warranty. I’ve had my backpack since 2002 and the zipper messed up in the last year. I’m going to try sending it in.
Kim says
I purchased a 5 year car battery from AutoZone. When it went out a little over a year later, AutoZone replaced it (they also install for free!!) & said if it didn’t last until the original purchase warranty expired they would replace it again for free. Manufacturers have also sent me coupons for free batteries & light bulbs when their products didn’t last the warranty period.
Bethany says
Manufacturers who believe in their products stand behind them … We just have to remember to notify them when something doesn’t go as expected – good luck with the new battery!
Laura says
I was happy I had saved my receipts for a car battery. I bought a new battery at Sears. It didn’t retain a charge for long. I took it back to the store and realized they had sold me a new battery, but didn’t install it. The battery in the car matched up with the receipt numbers on my old battery I had bought years ago.
Sears refunded my money and I have never returned to this shop in WA since. I wonder how many other people have been scammed out of their “new” batteries!
Bethany says
Yikes! I’m glad they refunded your money. Sears was where I had my tire experience and they were very helpful!
LindaG says
I was thinking recently of how I needed to contact the manufacturer of my pots and pans set to get replacements for two of the items in the set which are having the “sticky eggs problem” also. Thank you for the encouragement to do so!
Bethany says
Glad I could provide some encouragement … For me it’s totally worth the $10-$20 to ship it back to the manufacturer to save well over $150+ for just one pan
Tracy says
I am doing this with my son’s Nerf gun. He got it for Easter and it stopped working it keeps eating the little darts. I called the company and they sent me a free return label and said they will replace it for free with the same gun or one of equal value.
Bethany says
Awesome!