New True Fit & return etiquette questions

[erin327]

Our new True Fit is (finally) here! Well not exactly here, but at the Walmart store 10 minutes away for me to pick up when LO wakes from her nap. I can install it and try it out and then still return it if it doesn't work for us or in our van, right? Can I let her use it for a day or two to see if she will nap ok in before deciding for sure to keep it or get a Marathon instead? I want to be sure it will work well for us before being committed to it, but I don't want to violate any "rules" about trying and returning car seats. Please tell me what is acceptable.

thanks!

[chickabiddy]

This is a matter of opinions, and like... bellybuttons, everyone has one.

I'm sure just about everyone would agree it's fine to return a seat that has just been "tried on" in your car and found not to install correctly.

I also think we pretty much agree that if an actual defect comes to light while the seat is in use, it should be returned.

I personally do not think it's okay to return a seat that has been used just because you decide you don't like it after all. That's what Craigslist and swap is for. I also think I'm in the minority with this opinion.

[vonfirmath]

I'm with chickabiddy. If you actually use the seat, you're committed to it. Changing your mind later is your fault, not the store's. would you like to purchase a car seat in the store someone else had driven around with for a week, then returned?

[TechnoGranola]

If the story policy is to allow you to be able return an item, within so many days, regardless if the item is used, then I think it's fine to do. If the stores policy is to only accept new items or defective items for a return, then I think an item used for a few days is a "used" item and would not fit into the returnable criteria. Lieing about whether or not it had been used would not be okay in my books (not that you were planning on lieing about it!).

Most of the stores that I've shopped at that allow used/tried (and not just defective) items to be returned, sell the item as "open box return" with a 5%-10% discount. What I like about this, is that future customers KNOW that the item has been opened and possibly used by a previous customer and can make the decision on whether they want to buy it. The store offers this to get you to buy items from them that you might otherwise decide not to purchase, and to hopefully have you exchange it for an item you DO like in their store.

I do agree that if the store doesn't do the "open box return" identification of an item and just puts it back on the floor, then I also would not feel good about returning an item I used. But, I also would no longer shop at stores that would put used items back on the sales floor without identifying them as returns.

[Mama Jo]

What do they do with seats that are opened and returned? Do they put them back on the floor and resell them? Or do they send them back to the manufacturer?

I purchased a seat and after installing it in my vehicle, I didn't like how it installed. I had every intention of returning it to BRU.

But then something came up at the last second and we had to run somewhere and I didn't have time to take the seat out and reinstall my BV.

I ended up using the seat I planned to return. And decided that it would no longer be right to return it after that. I would not want to purchase a returned seat that someone had actually used.

So I'm either keeping the seat or selling it to my sister. Technically, I could still return it because it's in perfect condition and one of the labels is still even attached. But I wouldn't feel right doing that.

If I knew it would be sent back to the manufacturer regardless, then I might feel differently about returning it. But because I think it goes right back to the sales floor, I just can't.

[chickabiddy]

If I knew it would be sent back to the manufacturer regardless, then I might feel differently about returning it.

Personally -- and again, of course, this is just my opinion -- I don't even think that would be right. That drives the costs up for everybody. No, one return of a $150 carseat spread across WalMart's entire customer base is not going to be noticeable. I know that. I still don't think it's right for a person to expect other customers to cover the costs of her changing her mind.

[Mama Jo]

Personally -- and again, of course, this is just my opinion -- I don't even think that would be right. That drives the costs up for everybody. No, one return of a $150 carseat spread across WalMart's entire customer base is not going to be noticeable. I know that. I still don't think it's right for a person to expect other customers to cover the costs of her changing her mind.

My point being - if the seat would be returned to the manufacturer regardless of whether or not she used it, there would be no difference in returning it after simply installing it vs. returning it after using it once.

I don't think this is policy, but I was speaking as to if it was.

And if it was, using your logic then, no one should be allowed to purchase a seat and then return it because they changed their mind.

So what's the difference in her changing her mind because the install is tricky or because she doesn't like how her kiddo fits in it? The only difference would be whether or not the seat was used, and if the same thing were going to happen to it either way, then your view on returning it should be the same for both.

Again, I'm sure the seat just goes back to the shelf, so my argument is probably pointless. And which is why I will not be returning *my* seat. I was simply making a comparative argument.

[chickabiddy]

I guess I see a seat that's been "tried on"/tags on, as still new and saleable.

A seat that's been used should not be.

That's where I draw the line -- a seat that's still new/saleable is fine to return, a non-defective/changed-my-mind seat should not be (and I know stores may very well accept it, but I believe the OP was asking about etiquette, and that's my opinion on the etiquette of it all).