Warranty Freight Charge?

cortguitarman

Do dealers usually charge for freight on warranty claims? I had my platesetter replaced a few weeks ago and received a bill for a freight charge. Dealer never mentioned anything about a bill when I picked it up. I've had a base, fire box, another platesetter and fire ring replaced under warranty and have never paid a fee in the past. It seems odd that I'm suddenly receiving a bill for this.

WeberWho

I would tell them you never agreed to a shipping fee. That should have been mentioned before placing the order. Tell them you are considering taking your business elsewhere since you are being billed without any prior consent.

If my dealer doesn't have the part in stock he will add it to the next shipment of Big Green Eggs he gets in. It doesn't cost him any extra. Another dealer across town will try to charge you every time possible for shipping. Just ask @Brisket_Fanatic‌ .

I would look at other dealers in the area or ask them to put it on the next Big Green Egg shipment into the store.

cortguitarman

I don't mind paying shipping. My issue here is that they took a platesetter out of their inventory and said here you go. I took it home and received a bill 3 weeks later. They never said a word about shipping.

jllbms

No way. There's no shipping charge unless the dealer separately orders it for you. I'd be contacting the Mother Ship.

Mickey

No way I would pay it. All they had to say is we can get it on the next order or we can charge you a fee to get early. Bad service from dealer, talk with the GM.

WeberWho

Have the same type of dealer here in the Twin Cities. Will never buy an egg or anything under warranty through them. It's a bad business move. If you're going to be charged for egg warranty parts that are in stock tell them you'll be taking your future business elsewhere.

Mickey

jllbms said:

No way. There's no shipping charge unless the dealer separately orders it for you. I'd be contacting the Mother Ship.

Only one problem: Mother ship don't give a rats a$$. Your dealer is not buying anything from Mother Ship, all bought from a distributor. You will get a " I'm so sorry" but that's all.

jllbms

On the flip side, at least you got a replacement. My dealer told me that the plate setter wasn't covered under warranty. At the time, I had no idea how incompetent they were.

Brisket_Fanatic

Because of were I live I have dealt with 3 different claims with 2 dealers. Had a fire grate replaced locally and was told upfront that shipping would be 15 bucks unless I waited til spring for the normal order. Since my grate was unusable I paid the freight. Then I was in town and stopped at the dealer I bought 2 eggs from and attended 5 eggfests from asking about a fire ring replacement. Showed them a picture and they walked in the back room and brought one out they "borrowed" from a display as there was no box and was charged 20  bucks because they had to order a new one. Paid it as I live 4 hours alway and wasn't going to be back In The area anytime soon. Third time I told them about a base and firebox well in advance but because they didn't hear back from mothership in time they had to order the box and were charging me 20 bucks for shipping. I explained everything I have done with the dealer, multiple eggs and eggfests and supplies and they finally decided to wave the fee. I'll deal with the other dealer in town from that day on as he is a super guy! 

Terrebandit

Maybe it's a form of punishment for all the other warranty claims you've had? Sorry man, I'm just kidding. 

Question to all, is that number of warranty claims considered normal with regular usage and average length of ownership?  Anyone know? If so, I need to prepare myself, because I tend to stress out about these kinds of things. 

stlcharcoal

That's BS.  If you get a warranty item directly from BGE, they'll charge you shipping.  But if you get it from your local dealer, it usually just comes on their normal delivery from their distributor.  I've had to wait a month or two to get fireboxes--no big deal if the other one still can work.  But when I had one finally fall apart and couldn't wait, Bruce in ATL shipped me one for $18.

Ask the dealer to see HIS receipt for the platesetter from his distributor and got charged shipping.  If it's a small shop and they special ordered it, maybe.....but it didn't cost anything extra to stack it on top of a couple BGE's in their normal load.

How much did they charge you??

Skiddymarker

Warranty is there if you need it, the cost of the part is free, the cost of shipping may be free - that's good. The bad news is you might have to wait for the part if you want it FOB your dealer. The BGE warranty, item 12 clearly indicates BGE is not responsible for shipping of replacement warranty parts. Bottom line is your dealer is your friend, choose one wisely. 

The dealer can request a warranty replacement part from their distributor and it will usually be FOB the dealer if they have a shipment coming. If it is handled outside an order, you will probably have to pay the shipping costs. 

High volume dealers seem to have orders going into distributors every month or two. 

EDIT - not sure how demo eggs are handled - is there a local dealer involved as seller of record?

DMW

If you want a recommendation on a dealer not too far from you, Meadow Creek BBQ in New Holland has replaced my firering and plate setter no questions asked and no charges. I did purchase from them. Each time I called them before I went to make sure they had it in stock. I did bring the cracked ones with me for replacement as there are no PCs or email in their shop to send an email to. Amish

cortguitarman

Thanks for the replies. I'll go talk to them on Monday. I used them because they are local and they are a customer of my dad's. My dad is a snapon dealer and they have been a good customer of his for 30 years. In turn, he has been their customer as well. I need to tread lightly on this one as to not damage a relationship between my dad and the dealer.

SMITTYtheSMOKER

If the Dealer doesn't get frequent orders they may have to order in specifically for this item just to replace their own stock.  How much did they charge you?

Tjcoley

I didn't have to pay for shipping for my replacement Egg. Three days after I filed the claim, I drove over to the dealer and picked up my new Egg. Easy peasey, lemon squeezy.