Car Seat Sell By Date???

zachsdad · Apr 14, 2008

If a car seat is only good for a specified number of years, is there anything that says how long after the date of manufacture that the seat can be sold for??

I just got a seat that is good for 4 years but it was manufactured 2 years ago!!

That means that I only get it for half the time that it is good for. Then if I send it back I will have to pay about $40 in shipping and restocking fees!!:thumbsdown:

Please help me out to see if the retailer is wrong in selling the 2-year-old car seat.

-Zach's Dad

joolsplus3 · Apr 14, 2008

What seat is only good for 4 years

I love that idea of a Sell By date, though...:thumbsup:

keri1292 · Apr 14, 2008

Never heard of a 4yr expiration date.

What seat is it?

Starlight · Apr 14, 2008

I don't think any carseats are only good for 4 years. Most are 6. Which seat did you buy?

Depending on the price you paid for the seat, I would contact the company you bought it from to see what they could do for you.

natysr · Apr 14, 2008

I am also curious to know what seat this is.

Also, did you pay the retail value for the seat, or was the price already marked down.

I would expect as a consumer to pay a pro-rated portion based on the original value and lifespan left on the seat.

So, in your example, if the life span is really only 4 years, and the seat retails for $200, I would be willing to pay $100 for a seat that sat on the shelf for 2 years.

If I were you, I would contact customer service and ask for either:

1) a refund of the lost value of the seat

or

2) request to exchange the seat for another seat and be willing to pay the difference of any cost, and not be charged a restocking fee.

Chances are, even if they do have a restocking fee policy, for a 2 year old seat, they should be willing to work with you to make you happy.

However, if the seat was already marked down in price a great deal, then there may not be much that can be done.

zachsdad · Apr 14, 2008

Ok hold on . . . My wife, told me that it had a 4 year expiration date, and I trust her facts and I have not been able to verify it my self.

We got the Evenflo Titan Deluxe. We got it from Albee Baby.

The seat says "Do Not Use After Dec 31, 2010"

Starlight · Apr 14, 2008

Was it discounted?

natysr · Apr 14, 2008

zachsdad said:
Ok hold on . . . My wife, told me that it had a 4 year expiration date, and I trust her facts and I have not been able to verify it my self.

We got the Evenflo Titan Deluxe. We got it from Albee Baby.

The seat says "Do Not Use After Dec 31, 2010"

Someone please correct me if I am wrong, but I thought Evenflo seats were good for 6 years. Can you also check the date of manufacture? I have heard that Evenflo has been known to stamp the wrong "Do not use by" date on some seats.

I looked on Albeebaby and saw that their Titans now are going for $99, with the exception of the green one which is $89. Did you get the $89 one?

Personally, if I were you, I would call up Customer Service and tell them how disappointed you are that a seat that should be good for 6 years only has a shelf life of less than 2 years left. I would request to be able to return the Titan (with them paying the shipping back); No restocking fee; and request to get an Evenflo Triumph Advanced instead with you paying the extra $50.

It is a much better seat and will last you much longer.

BW1426 · Apr 14, 2008

Is it the the Titan Deluxe that goes up to 40lbs or 50 lbs? They have both on the website. That seat lasts for six years, meaning that if it says to stop using in in 2010 they sold you an almost four year old seat.

If it is the one that goes up to 50 lbs there has to be an error because that seat was not manufactured four years ago, if it was the 40 lb one then it is possible.

I wouldn't pay more than $30 for a four year old Titan. Hopefully Albee will pay for you to ship it back or give you a substantial refund. I'd be pretty unhappy about this. With that said, I'd strongly urge you to check out the Evenflo Triumph Advanced as it has a 50 lb limit and 35 lb limit rearfacing (this is the safest way for your child to ride and with a 35 lb limit most kids can remain rf until 3 years or so). I wouldn't buy the Triumph from Albee Baby as it's not a great deal. http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5933974

Starlight · Apr 14, 2008

natysr said:
Someone please correct me if I am wrong, but I thought Evenflo seats were good for 6 years. Can you also check the date of manufacture? I have heard that Evenflo has been known to stamp the wrong "Do not use by" date on some seats.

I looked on Albeebaby and saw that their Titans now are going for $99, with the exception of the green one which is $89. Did you get the $89 one?

Personally, if I were you, I would call up Customer Service and tell them how disappointed you are that a seat that should be good for 6 years only has a shelf life of less than 2 years left. I would request to be able to return the Titan (with them paying the shipping back); No restocking fee; and request to get an Evenflo Triumph Advanced instead with you paying the extra $50.

It is a much better seat and will last you much longer.

:yeahthat:

joolsplus3 · Apr 14, 2008

Evenflo says 6 years on the website, but they are either incompetent or lying to us because they get the date stamp wrong on what seems like most of their seats

keri1292 · Apr 14, 2008

What is the Date of Manufacture printed on the seat?

That's really odd. I'd really want to exchange it for the Triumph Advance which will last you much longer anyway.

HEVY · Apr 14, 2008

I would fight them on the restocking fee since they sold you a car seat that only has 1/3 of it's life left.

Mommy2Marcus · Apr 14, 2008

I also agree that I would fight them & make them pay the return shipping, not charge a restocking fee & then refund you what you paid for it. I would then go to Target, K-Mart, Babies R Us & buy the Triumph Advance. It will last you ALOT longer than the Titan.

natysr · Apr 14, 2008

Mommy2Marcus said:
I also agree that I would fight them & make them pay the return shipping, not charge a restocking fee & then refund you what you paid for it. I would then go to Target, K-Mart, Babies R Us & buy the Triumph Advance. It will last you ALOT longer than the Titan.

The reason I would ask the vendor to apply my money toward the Triumph Advanced is a show of good faith that; 1) I'm a reasonable customer; 2) I realized that vendors don't necessarily realize or intend to sell old seats; and 3) I appreciate them waiving the restocking fee which is their policy.

I like to allow a company to try to make things right with me before I automatically take my business elsewhere.

zachsdad · Apr 14, 2008

Like any other responsible parent, we researched this seat and found that it would be best for us. Whatever the website may say, I think that our seat says the most since the dates are right on there.

We are going to contact Albee Baby and put their reputable customer service to the test. If that is not enough, we will see if Evenflo will help us out.

You can be guaranteed that there will be follow up posts tomorrow on this situation and comments and feedback left where applicable.

-Zach's Dad

joolsplus3 · Apr 14, 2008

Good luck, I hope they are easy to deal with :thumbsup:

natysr · Apr 14, 2008

I don't think anyone here was trying to imply that you were irresponsible with your choice of carseat.

Most of us also were not aware how much research you did or what factors you have in your situation to consider when choosing a seat. Generally speaking the Triumph Advances is a "more bang for your buck" seat. It certainly isn't the "end all, be all".

I think the posters here wer just trying to be helpful in letting you know that if you would exchanging the seat anyway, what other options there were available to you.

I know when I first bought my first convertible, I honestly had no clue the differences between the Roundabout and the Marathon. I thought the only difference was the weight limit, and the seat shell height meant nothing to me. I've learned alot since then.

Please do update us after to speak with Customer Service. I'm interested to hear how they handle the situation. Good luck!

Unregistered · Apr 14, 2008

It may be just a error on the date stamped possible? I have 2 Evenflo seats one is a Bolero man. Aug of 2006 no do not use date on the seat at all. also Evenflo Victory Date was manufactured date 2002 do not use date dec 31 2009.

keri1292 · Apr 14, 2008

I'd give Evenflo a call too and see what's up.

Also, I recommended the Advance because some people don't like to buy another harnessed seat after the convertible. This seat is often outgrown before kids are ready for a booster. So, we were just looking to save you a buck.

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