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Sam's Club Zero Warranty Eggs
A lot of potential Kamado buyers get pretty ticked when things like this happen. When is BGE going to finally jump on Wal-Mart for unauthorized re-sales of their products? This is 4th time these zero warranty eggs have shown up at Sam's. They all come with warranty cards so the end user may not know any better.
http://www.kamadoguru.com/topic/19574-big-green-egg-and-sams-club/page-2
Comments
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Someone is going to go for warranty and get denied, then BGE will be the worst company ever to everyone they meet. Sad.
2 LBGE, Blackstone 36, Jumbo Joe
Egging in Southern Illinois (Marion)
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From what I have read here on this forum is that the store would warrant the product. They couldn't deal with the mothership or another dealer, but the store itself would warrant the purchase.
True or not I don't know, and I won't be finding out. I only deal with real Egg dealers.Louisville, GA - 2 Large BGE's -
I know a little of how things work in Bentonville, AR. and it's not likely Sam's Club is buying from a dealer. They would work with the manufacturer, offer to buy in bulk, and negotiate price like a terrier shaking a rabbit.
This is likely BGE excess inventory they're dumping to Walmart at less than dealer wholesale - could be there is a known defect on a few thousand eggs they don't want to warranty. Dealers don't want eggs with a manufacturing defect anyway.
Indianapolis, IN
BBQ is a celebration of culture in America. It is the closest thing we have to the wines and cheeses of Europe.
Drive a few hundred miles in any direction, and the experience changes dramatically.
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DieselkW said:I know a little of how things work in Bentonville, AR. and it's not likely Sam's Club is buying from a dealer. They would work with the manufacturer, offer to buy in bulk, and negotiate price like a terrier shaking a rabbit.
This is likely BGE excess inventory they're dumping to Walmart at less than dealer wholesale - could be there is a known defect on a few thousand eggs they don't want to warranty. Dealers don't want eggs with a manufacturing defect anyway.Thank you,DarianGalveston Texas -
Shopping at Sams is like shopping at Walmart. Yea NO!!!!
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I had heard a rumor several years ago when Sam's (or Costco) had Eggs out west, the Eggs had been sold to a Housing developer that wanted Eggs to give away with each house, 300 were sold and all ended up in a discount house. Hard to control, it seems they do try.
-SMITTY
from SANTA CLARA, CA
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This comes up every couple of years or so. Costco was selling them a few years back.
Does it matter if BGE won't honor the warranty, if the retailer (Sam's Club in this case) does? Didn't someone here return their BGE to Costco after it broke? I would check what Sam's intends to do about replacement etc in the event of warranty claims, since it does not sound like BGE mothership will not service any warranty for these.#1 LBGE December 2012 • #2 SBGE February 2013 • #3 Mini May 2013A happy BGE family in Houston, TX. -
caliking said:This comes up every couple of years or so. Costco was selling them a few years back.
Does it matter if BGE won't honor the warranty, if the retailer (Sam's Club in this case) does? Didn't someone here return their BGE to Costco after it broke? I would check what Sam's intends to do about replacement etc in the event of warranty claims, since it does not sound like BGE mothership will not service any warranty for these.Thank you,DarianGalveston Texas -
It just seems like a bad idea considering how much time and effort has been spent building BGE's brand equity over the past 43 years. Hopefully Sam's will cover the units for 1-year at least.
It could also backfire with average consumers if there are defects that result in bad reviews. I'd love to tell you people are rationale but it takes 30 seconds on Twitter to prove that wrong.
What's worse is poor job their staff did setting-up the demos. There's a few pics out with demos at Sam's clubs where the lids are crooked and the nests are not assembled correctly. It's poor representation of the brand.
Minimally, Sam's and Wal-Mart should put a notice on the boxes and display units to let the public know what the warranty will be on the refurb or manufacturered 2nd's they're purchasing.
There's no notice on these units. The end result is Joe consumer only sees the BGE warranty card.2x Kamado Joe Big Joes + Cyber Q Wifi + Themapen - Pizza Steel + BGE Paella Pan + BGE Ash Tools + Woo2 + Open Bar Fire Ring -
I rarely defend WalMart/Sams/Costco, but in this case I will. This public lynching is ridiculous because they not to blame (as companies).
When you walk around those stores, there are dozens of other gray market items, especially in the clothing and jewelry section. Sam's and Costco are not "licensed dealers" of Levi's, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Nautica, Rolex, Omega, Tiffany, Breitling, etc. Several of these companies have sued, for copyright/trademark infringement or violation of their licensing agreement, and they have all lost.
Costco and Sam's are legally buying and reselling these items. The items are not black market & they are not counterfeit, they were all distributed to licensed/authorized dealer or distributor who legally sold them to Costco or Sam's. Now that dealer/distributor can get sued by the manufacturer for violating their contract; but it's a tort, not a crime. There is nothing in the law that can prevent you from reselling an item you lawfully acquired.
So, what the manufacturers have to do, is track down where those items came from and go after those dealers/distributors (which isn't hard to do when items have serial numbers.) Sue them for damages and revoke their status.......yet they don't. The manufacturers could also send a rep to the stores and buy up all those items and take the loss to protect their dealer network.....yet they don't. All they do is spread this crap about how Costco and Sam's are "unauthorized", do little to stop it, then screw the unknowing consumer with this "you should have known better BS."
On the warranties, if an employee of one of those stores is lying about the warranty or dealer status, then yes that's an issue. For all you know, they might have a deal with a local dealer to get parts for you. But either store has a 100% satisfaction guarantee which is far better than any warranty you're going to get from ANYONE. I have returned all kinds of stuff to Costco, no questions asked. I don't have to produce a receipt, I don't have to go back to the store I bought it from, I don't have to wait a month to get the part to fix it, etc. That's much better than BGE's warranty any day.
BTW, the non-transferrable aspect of the lifetime warranty is complete BS. People move, have kids, lose jobs, etc.....you sell something to your neighbor or family member and suddenly the warranty disappears? That doesn't happen with a car, firearms, or a lot of other items. I would love to see someone challenge the non-transferrable aspect in court.....especially when it went through one or more resellers before being put into service by the consumer. I bet they would lose on that one. After the loss, the manufacturer could go after the dealer/distributor that violated the sales contract for damages. That's how it should go down.
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@stlcharcoal is on FIRE.
Totally agree, 2-3 years ago this happened at Costco and that's when the big box store no warranty exerpt on the website went into the warranty.
Here is why it's BS, Jimmy buys an egg from Sam's Club and post 1 year has a cracked firebox, now SC won't return it, and BGE will laugh about his warranty claim. The innocent consumers are being punished and BGE is doing it intentionally, bad practice.
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BYS1981 said:
Here is why it's BS, Jimmy buys an egg from Sam's Club and post 1 year has a cracked firebox, now SC won't return it, and BGE will laugh about his warranty claim. The innocent consumers are being punished and BGE is doing it intentionally, bad practice.Where did the "1-yr" thing come from? Is that a Sam's deal? I dropped my Sam's membership long ago when Costco opened a store closer to me. At Costco, there's no time limit. I just returned a $150 patio heater I got shipped from Costco.com 3-4 years ago. It was kind of a POS from day one, but I used it anyway because I knew when it finally died I could return it.....which I did a few months ago.
One other thing I'll add about BGE's lifetime warranty, I bought my first BGE in 1993 for my father. There was only one dealer in St. Louis and it was $299 will ALL the accessories (except for the cover which was $17.99.) About ten years ago the firebox finally broke. That dealer has long been out of business. I called BGE in ATL and they shipped me a new one, and I covered the $15 for UPS.
A few years ago (after the buy out), it happened again, I called BGE and they told me I would have to produce a receipt because of internet sales, blah, blah, blah. I said it was 1993.....Al Gore had not invented the internet yet, and when I got the internet a year later my email address was some ten digit number @ CompuServe.com There was no gray market back then and I could easily prove through pictures that this Egg was pre-gray market era......long before this BS policy. They offered to sell me a firebox at wholesale + freight which came to about $70. Screw that.
Luckily I know a few BGE dealers & distributors, and had a new firebox no charge a few days later. But, that's because I had some pull--I didn't want to use that, but had to. The average Joe consumer doesn't have that weight and would have been screwed by some arbitrary policy made up AFTER they purchased their Egg.
Still love my BGE's.....they're great. But the "lifetime" warranty isn't worth the card it's written on unless you have a dealer that is willing to honor and process the claims.
Time to post some Tommy Boy meme's about "guarantees" when "I've got spare time". LOL
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@stlcharcoal - Thanks!
Greenwood, IN | XL BGE | Weber Genesis | Blackstone 28 | bunch of accessories -
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Hey, if you want me to take a dump in a box and mark it guaranteed I will. I got spare time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5dpBpaFiMo
Which came first the chicken or the egg? I egged the chicken and then I ate his leg. -
Haha, There it is. thanks.
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stlcharcoal said:
I rarely defend WalMart/Sams/Costco, but in this case I will. This public lynching is ridiculous because they not to blame (as companies).
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
They are to blame...when a store manage will look you in the eye and lie…claiming to be official BGE dealer when they are not.
Please explain to me how this is honest and not wrong.
Thank you,DarianGalveston Texas -
@stlcharcoal True Dat! Sam's Club, BJs Wholesale, Costco etc aren't buying these on the DL it's all legit. I probably wouldn't buy one from them. However, if somebody else did and had a warranty claim why couldn't it be processed as usual?LBGE 2013 & MM 2014Die Hard HUSKER & BRONCO FANFlying Low & Slow in "Da Burg" FL
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NPHuskerFL said:@stlcharcoal True Dat! Sam's Club, BJs Wholesale, Costco etc aren't buying these on the DL it's all legit. I probably wouldn't buy one from them. However, if somebody else did and had a warranty claim why couldn't it be processed as usual?
Pretty interesting. supposedly, the item is purchased and re-sold in store in hopes of increasing memberships which lead to more revenue. You see a BGE at Sam's, you tell your buddy "Sam's sells BGEs." Buddy signs up for membership. -
Photo Egg said:
They are to blame...when a store manage will look you in the eye and lie…claiming to be official BGE dealer when they are not.
Please explain to me how this is honest and not wrong.
Large and Mini BGE
Hamilton, VA -
caliking said:This comes up every couple of years or so. Costco was selling them a few years back.
Does it matter if BGE won't honor the warranty, if the retailer (Sam's Club in this case) does? Didn't someone here return their BGE to Costco after it broke? I would check what Sam's intends to do about replacement etc in the event of warranty claims, since it does not sound like BGE mothership will not service any warranty for these.BYS1981 said:@stlcharcoal is on FIRE.
Totally agree, 2-3 years ago this happened at Costco and that's when the big box store no warranty exerpt on the website went into the warranty.
Here is why it's BS, Jimmy buys an egg from Sam's Club and post 1 year has a cracked firebox, now SC won't return it, and BGE will laugh about his warranty claim. The innocent consumers are being punished and BGE is doing it intentionally, bad practice. -
stlcharcoal said:
BTW, the non-transferrable aspect of the lifetime warranty is complete BS. People move, have kids, lose jobs, etc.....you sell something to your neighbor or family member and suddenly the warranty disappears? That doesn't happen with a car, firearms, or a lot of other items.
You think BGE should warrant your egg for the next thousand years, because if it is transferable, then your kids and then their kids and then the person that buys your egg at an estate sale and then their offspring etc ad infinitum would be eligible for that lifetime warranty if it was transferable. Nope, the non-transferable lifetime warranty is completely legal and makes good business sense. I don't see where any court would shoot that down, as no business would ever offer a lifetime warranty that never ever expires.
BTW, I bet all of those warranties you know of that are transferable, none of them are lifetime.
Large BGE in a Sole' Gourmet Table
Using the Black Cast Iron grill, Plate Setter,
and a BBQ Guru temp controller.
Medium BGE in custom modified off-road nest.
Black Cast Iron grill, Plate Setter, and a Party-Q temp controller.
Location: somewhere West of the Mason-Dixon Line -
Photo Egg said:stlcharcoal said:
I rarely defend WalMart/Sams/Costco, but in this case I will. This public lynching is ridiculous because they not to blame (as companies).
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
They are to blame...when a store manage will look you in the eye and lie…claiming to be official BGE dealer when they are not.
Please explain to me how this is honest and not wrong.
As I said, if there are employees that lying or misguiding consumers, that's another story.......I'm not defending that. They might have an "in" with a local dealer or distributor to get the unit and the parts, but they're not "official" or "authorized". They should disclose that if asked, as that's the case on a lot of products they offer. Maybe that manager got lied to by his regional buyer and he truly thinks he's a dealer. Either way, it's not your job or mine to police the local store and tell them they're not authorized dealers--that's the manufacturer's job. Call your local dealer and give them a heads up if you feel like you need to. If that was my product sitting there, I would have bought all of it back and taken the loss to protect my dealers. Then I would have tracked down who sold it for them, and revoked their dealership.What I'm doing is defending Sam's and Costco as companies. They are not doing anything unethical or illegal by purchasing and reselling products (and offering their own [better] warranty in place of manufacturer's warranty). That's what I got out of a few posts in this thread, that they were somehow breaking the law or doing something unethical by selling BGE because they were not "authorized" to. The courts have ruled many times you can resell anything you legally have acquired.....lot of case history from price fixing lawsuits. For instance, you can have a dealer agreement telling a dealer that they cannot advertise your product below a certain price, but they can ultimately SELL it for whatever they want. I've also seen some bulk products labeled that you cannot divide the product, then sell under a different brand name (not sure if that's been tested yet.)
Ultimately, this is on the manufacturer to stop these practices, NOT the consumer or any of the resellers in the middle. But when you get big and have a lot of people in the middle, that gets hard to do. So rather than spending the money and time to fix the problem, it's easier to screw over the unknowing consumer. Not fair. Fix the problem, or suck it up and honor the warranty.
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MeatChurch said:NPHuskerFL said:@stlcharcoal True Dat! Sam's Club, BJs Wholesale, Costco etc aren't buying these on the DL it's all legit. I probably wouldn't buy one from them. However, if somebody else did and had a warranty claim why couldn't it be processed as usual?
Pretty interesting. supposedly, the item is purchased and re-sold in store in hopes of increasing memberships which lead to more revenue. You see a BGE at Sam's, you tell your buddy "Sam's sells BGEs." Buddy signs up for membership.This was discussed the "Inside Costco" on CNBC or one of those shows.
Yes, they absolutely do this in hope of retaining and recruiting more members. A lot of those specialty items get sold at cost. Even their main staples at the store are marked up less than 15%. They make money on memberships, not the products they sell. Brilliant.
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Eggcelsior said:I walked into Costco, explained what happened, and was told "no problem" and they returned $659 to me.
In my opinion the ability to return the product if you're unhappy with it is more valuable than the lifetime warranty. Case in point I bought a Thermoworks ChefAlarm from my BGE dealer last month to go with my Thermapen. I took it home tried to use and within 30 seconds of being in the food on the egg, the display was reading HHH and the high temp alarms were all going off and it wouldn't recover after taking it out of the egg. Clearly something was wrong. The Egg was well below max temp for the probe (egg was at 300, max on the probe is 700) and indirect so I didn't fry the probe, it was bad out of the box when heat was applied. Well I'm sure the ChefAlarm is a great product but I have no interest in keeping it now, and the wife wants her own Thermapen, so I tried to return it to the dealer and pay the difference for the Thermapen and go on my merry way. The dealer told me they can't take it back without Thermoworks approval and that I needed to deal with Thermoworks. Keep in mind that the purchase happened the week before I tried to return it, but because I tried to use it and the probe was bad they can't (or most likely won't) return a defective product because the dealer can't resell it as new. Thermoworks will send me a probe free of charge that should fix it (who knows for sure) per their lifetime warranty and sell me a discounted Thermapen but won't authorize the return. Now I'm stuck with a product I don't, that didn't work, but has a lifetime and if I want the second Thermapen I have to shell out more instead of just paying the difference. If I would have bought this from Costco, Walmart or even Amazon I could take it back no questions asked but because I bought it from my Egg dealer I'm stuck. Honestly, it's not my dealers fault completely, but it doesn't make me want to continue doing business with my dealer on products like this. A Lifetime Warranty is only good if you know you're going to keep the product for a lifetime, as defined in the warranty, otherwise I'd rather just be able to return it.Large and Mini BGE
Hamilton, VA -
Zmokin said:stlcharcoal said:
BTW, the non-transferrable aspect of the lifetime warranty is complete BS. People move, have kids, lose jobs, etc.....you sell something to your neighbor or family member and suddenly the warranty disappears? That doesn't happen with a car, firearms, or a lot of other items.
You think BGE should warrant your egg for the next thousand years, because if it is transferable, then your kids and then their kids and then the person that buys your egg at an estate sale and then their offspring etc ad infinitum would be eligible for that lifetime warranty if it was transferable. Nope, the non-transferable lifetime warranty is completely legal and makes good business sense. I don't see where any court would shoot that down, as no business would ever offer a lifetime warranty that never ever expires.
BTW, I bet all of those warranties you know of that are transferable, none of them are lifetime.
What I would like to see is clarification of the word "lifetime". Is the "lifetime" of the person that bought it or "lifetime" of the product/manufacturer? That's where it could get interesting.So a guy buys the product from an authorized dealer and dies the next day, is the warranty is null and void for the son since he was not the original buyer? Why can the manufacturer just absolve themselves of support for the product since it changed ownership?
Again, I get it.....I just think it's bogus for someone to call something a "limited lifetime warranty". The word lifetime gets people all warm and fuzzy, even though "limited" before it, and the PAGES of stuff behind it tells you how they're not going to honor it. Just my opinion on that, not unethical.
What I think is unethical, is not cover something that was lawfully acquired in new condition because someone in THEIR supply chain broke THEIR rules (not the law.) That's my point.
My comparisons come from the firearm industry. Traditionally firearms have had a lifetime warranty for the life of the firearm......doesn't matter how many times it got sold in the middle. Most the established companies will still send you a box to send it back to them prepaid, fix the problem, then send back to you no charge. S&W tried this "original purchaser" BS years ago, yet they'll still fix any defect for free if you push. Of course, neglect, modifications, other preventable things are not covered, but anything they could be held liable for definitely are. If you're going to be the most expensive and established product out there, bite the bullet and stand behind your product no matter who owns it.
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stlcharcoal said:Zmokin said:stlcharcoal said:
BTW, the non-transferrable aspect of the lifetime warranty is complete BS. People move, have kids, lose jobs, etc.....you sell something to your neighbor or family member and suddenly the warranty disappears? That doesn't happen with a car, firearms, or a lot of other items.
You think BGE should warrant your egg for the next thousand years, because if it is transferable, then your kids and then their kids and then the person that buys your egg at an estate sale and then their offspring etc ad infinitum would be eligible for that lifetime warranty if it was transferable. Nope, the non-transferable lifetime warranty is completely legal and makes good business sense. I don't see where any court would shoot that down, as no business would ever offer a lifetime warranty that never ever expires.
BTW, I bet all of those warranties you know of that are transferable, none of them are lifetime.
What I would like to see is clarification of the word "lifetime". Is the "lifetime" of the person that bought it or "lifetime" of the product/manufacturer? That's where it could get interesting.So a guy buys the product from an authorized dealer and dies the next day, is the warranty is null and void for the son since he was not the original buyer? Why can the manufacturer just absolve themselves of support for the product since it changed ownership?
Again, I get it.....I just think it's bogus for someone to call something a "limited lifetime warranty". The word lifetime gets people all warm and fuzzy, even though "limited" before it, and the PAGES of stuff behind it tells you how they're not going to honor it. Just my opinion on that, not unethical.
What I think is unethical, is not cover something that was lawfully acquired in new condition because someone in THEIR supply chain broke THEIR rules (not the law.) That's my point.
My comparisons come from the firearm industry. Traditionally firearms have had a lifetime warranty for the life of the firearm......doesn't matter how many times it got sold in the middle. Most the established companies will still send you a box to send it back to them prepaid, fix the problem, then send back to you no charge. S&W tried this "original purchaser" BS years ago, yet they'll still fix any defect for free if you push. Of course, neglect, modifications, other preventable things are not covered, but anything they could be held liable for definitely are. If you're going to be the most expensive and established product out there, bite the bullet and stand behind your product no matter who owns it.
Large BGE in a Sole' Gourmet Table
Using the Black Cast Iron grill, Plate Setter,
and a BBQ Guru temp controller.
Medium BGE in custom modified off-road nest.
Black Cast Iron grill, Plate Setter, and a Party-Q temp controller.
Location: somewhere West of the Mason-Dixon Line -
Zmokin said:
I didn't disagree with you on the fine print, I know what it says as do you. It says, "original purchaser that buys from an authorized dealer..." Consumers rarely read this though, they just see the bullet point of "Lifetime warranty" and take it as broad coverage (which it is definitely not).
Unlike your brake pad example, this is not a consumable item. If it has the quality that it is supposed to have, it should never have to be replaced anyway.
Again, my point in this thread is the manufacturer not covering the warranty on a BRAND NEW product because one of their rogue dealer/distributors violating a contract between the manufacturer & dealer/dist. The consumer was not privy to those terms, yet they are the ones that get screwed. I believe the manufacturer should take the high road and cover the product--then rain down holy hellfire on the deal/dist that broke the terms of their contract.
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stlcharcoal said:
Unlike your brake pad example, this is not a consumable item. If it has the quality that it is supposed to have, it should never have to be replaced anyway.
Large BGE in a Sole' Gourmet Table
Using the Black Cast Iron grill, Plate Setter,
and a BBQ Guru temp controller.
Medium BGE in custom modified off-road nest.
Black Cast Iron grill, Plate Setter, and a Party-Q temp controller.
Location: somewhere West of the Mason-Dixon Line -
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