return 3rd-party seller on Amazon

[broadway]

I bought a tripod laundry rack from a 3rd-party seller on Amazon.

One of the three rods at the top that extend out would not lock into place.
And you can see that who ever assembled it in China, broke a plastic part.


When I went to Amazon.com to report a problem, I was given two choices:
a.) ask for return
b.) contact seller

I chose (b).

Was that the right thing to do?
I hope I didn't give up the right to return the item for a refund.
I have never received a defective product before.

 

[Ronstar]

I think you did the right thing. I did the same thing. Got a wrong part from an amazon 3rd party (US). I contacted their customer service dept through email. They emailed me a ups label. I sent the part back. They credited my credit card. Easy.

 

[Scuba]

We bought a similar laundry rack from Wal-Mart. Love it! Functional, cheap, and white which we wanted.

 

[pb4uski]

Recently had the easiest return ever on something from Amazon. I ordered the wrong item.... a GPS bracket to replace one that was left at home... but I ordered the bracket for a Nuvi 2595 rather than a Nuvi 2495. When it arrived it didn't fit of course.

I arranged the return online, put it back in the original packaging and taped it up and then returned it to an Amazon locker at the nearest Whole foods store a couple miles away. Punch in the code supplied and the door to the bin opens, put the package in the bin and close the door to the bin. Easy peasy.

 

[HI Bill]

Either way should work, eventually. Amazon has an "A to Z" warranty, so if a third-party seller fails to make good on a return/product quality, etc., they'll refund your $, but may ask you to work through the seller first. Good luck!

 

[Aerides]

by selecting "contact seller" you haven't lost any rights, but don't be surprised if the seller still asks you to go and request a return. Generally speaking, amazon doesn't recognize replacements from 3rd party sellers, so even if you both agreed and said, hey, sure send me another instead and I'll send this one back, amazon doesn't give the seller any protections to do so. Of course for low-dollar things the seller might do that still.

But the standard response for an item you say is defective is that the seller provides you a pre-paid return label, then refunds you once the item comes back, and if you want another, you buy it again. And for a lot of 3rd party sellers, amazon does it automatically - amazon creates the label bypassing the seller.

It should really be no more difficult than buying from amazon directly. And if the seller is not handling things correctly, then just go to amazon (but it's nice to give them a chance to correct things first).