Large BGE at Sam's Club

which city?

JRWhitee said:

No lifetime warrantee, no Egg for me! At least at that price.

Exactly.  Makes no sense.

They have them in Norman too. Someone is Searcy is pissed! 

What are LBGE prices these days?  I got mine in Dec 2008 for about $800 with a few accessories thrown in.   

My BGE is great and with that greatness, I have used my warranty more than once in the 15 years I've had it.  It's an important part of it.  If you want to go Kamado without support, buy one through Alibaba and roll those dice.

I'd say the risk is substantial. Lots of eggs crack hence the lifetime warranty. $850 plus $500 for a new base. ...xl under warranty. Ymmv. 

Are you sure it is only 1 year at Sams?  I don't see any time limit on the return policy:

http://www.samsclub.com/sams/shoppingtools/returnorder/refundAndReturns.jsp

That being said- chances are they won't have any more so all you can do is return it and then you have to buy another egg anyway.  The price is good but you can do as good or a little better at an eggfest and get the warranty.  Not to mention I would be worried about actually getting a refund at Sam's after a couple of years if the base cracks. 

stlcharcoal said:

4Runner said:

and reads like BGE knows this is going on too...

NOTICE - Big Green Egg does not authorize distribution of its products through shopping clubs, wholesale clubs or discount club stores and discount chain stores, or through e-commerce sites. Any such entity offering Big Green Eggs is an unauthorized reseller, and may have obtained the merchandise through fraudulent or other improper means, or may have obtained EGGs from third parties with the intention of re-selling them for promotional reasons. Like many other companies, BGE does not extend warranty coverage to products once they are resold by unauthorized resellers or resold by private parties. Consumers are advised to check the Dealer Locator before making a purchase to verify that they are purchasing a genuine Big Green Egg product from an Authorized Big Green Egg Dealer and to obtain warranty coverage from Big Green Egg.

This is the line that gets me.  They try to make it sound like the trucks from Mexico were hijacked and these are black market.

They were most likely NOT obtained through "fraudulent or other improper means"--they were bought from their distributors or dealers.  Perfectly legal, just outside the scope of their dealership agreement--which Sam's is not bound by.  That's between them and the distributor/dealer, NOT them and the consumer.

So combat it by punishing the uneducated consumer rather than deal with the actual supply chain problem......despicable practice.

Although not probable, it could very well happen.  The language is simply trying to cover all scenarios which includes theft.

Yes, I take responsibility of knowing that I'm purchasing any product from an authorized dealer, or not, and then own those consequences.  I don't have a problem with that.    

I think that it's wrong for BGE not to honor the warranty on the Eggs at Sam's/Costco.  The consumer, most likely, would think the merchandise was a limited purchase and think he/she got a great deal due to the Club's purchasing power.  Sometimes you see something and the next week it's not there.  Not only that, there is nothing in the warranty paperwork telling the uninformed purchaser saying that Sam's/Costco, etc. is not an authorized dealer.  The customer will be pretty angry if the warranty is not honored after legally purchasing a BGE product at any retail store. BGE should find a means of finding out which distributer of theirs reselling their products improperly and drop them. I am sure serial numbers can be traced. If BGE does not honor the warranty, they may lose many customers due to word of mouth that they do not back up their warranty. Punish the unethical distributor, not a potential repeat customer.

Big box stores are not the only companies that do this. Think about the outlet stores. Those companies make different quality items for the outlets than the more expensive stores like Macy's or Dillard's. Outlet stores sell factory seconds as well. 

The customer and the manufacturer lose because the customer expects the company to back up their brand new product. If the manufacturer doesn't, word of mouth travels fast and ruins it's reputation. The customer is an innocent pawn. 

I am a member of Sam's Club and could have been one of those potential buyers. Most likely there would be no disclaimer indicating the warranty would be void if purchased. BGE are not cheap. The customer has every right to be angry because it was legally purchased at a retail store and to expect full warranty coverage. 

Big Green Egg must find a way to control who distributes their products and take them to court.

When my husband did the warranty info online, I believe the question was asked where was the place of purchase. What is to prevent a customer from telling a lie? Is there a way to confirm this by the serial number? How many people keep their receipts for the lifetime of their purchases?

The average customer is purchasing based on the reputation of BGE.
How many customers are going to check the BGE website before purchasing to find a disclaimer? Do you do that before buying items? Most people buy on impulse when a good deal is found. 

LadyGT said:

I think that it's wrong for BGE not to honor the warranty on the Eggs at Sam's/Costco.  The consumer, most likely, would think the merchandise was a limited purchase and think he/she got a great deal due to the Club's purchasing power.  Sometimes you see something and the next week it's not there.  Not only that, there is nothing in the warranty paperwork telling the uninformed purchaser saying that Sam's/Costco, etc. is not an authorized dealer.  The customer will be pretty angry if the warranty is not honored after legally purchasing a BGE product at any retail store. BGE should find a means of finding out which distributer of theirs reselling their products improperly and drop them. I am sure serial numbers can be traced. If BGE does not honor the warranty, they may lose many customers due to word of mouth that they do not back up their warranty. Punish the unethical distributor, not a potential repeat customer.

I disagree.  BGE is very clear and this is pretty common place across industries to support their authorized dealers.

NOTICE - Big Green Egg does not authorize distribution of its products through shopping clubs, wholesale clubs or discount club stores and discount chain stores, or through e-commerce sites. Any such entity offering Big Green Eggs is an unauthorized reseller, and may have obtained the merchandise through fraudulent or other improper means, or may have obtained EGGs from third parties with the intention of re-selling them for promotional reasons. Like many other companies, BGE does not extend warranty coverage to products once they are resold by unauthorized resellers or resold by private parties. Consumers are advised to check the Dealer Locator before making a purchase to verify that they are purchasing a genuine Big Green Egg product from an Authorized Big Green Egg Dealer and to obtain warranty coverage from Big Green Egg.

Also, you go to their site and to get a list of authorized dealers.  It comes down to the consumer taking responsibility for their purchasing decision and making sure they understand what the "deal of lifetime" really includes or doesn't include.    

LadyGT said:

If I bought a big screen tv there, I expect the same warranty there as anywhere else because it is a legit and reputable business. Again, the manufacturer should be responsible to sell to distributors with integrity. 

Please explain why it makes a difference where you buy it.

I agree. Most consumers that have heard about the lifetime warranty that comes with an egg would assume that it would come with it no matter which store it was bought at. 

BGE could find out which distributor or dealer unloaded those eggs at Sams etc if they wanted to. For some reason they choose not to. 

4Runner said:

 

NOTICE - Big Green Egg does not authorize distribution of its products through shopping clubs, wholesale clubs or discount club stores and discount chain stores, or through e-commerce sites. Any such entity offering Big Green Eggs is an unauthorized reseller, and may have obtained the merchandise through fraudulent or other improper means, or may have obtained EGGs from third parties with the intention of re-selling them for promotional reasons. Like many other companies, BGE does not extend warranty coverage to products once they are resold by unauthorized resellers or resold by private parties. Consumers are advised to check the Dealer Locator before making a purchase to verify that they are purchasing a genuine Big Green Egg product from an Authorized Big Green Egg Dealer and to obtain warranty coverage from Big Green Egg.

It says "...does authorize the distribution..."  Who cares what they authorized, it happened.  They authorized the sale to a dealer/distributor who breached their contract with the manufacturer.......why should the consumer get screwed?  Most likely, it was not through "fraudulent or improper means".  Take control of the dealers/distributors rather than throw paragraphs of legalese at the potential customer.