Occasionally, something purchased online just won’t meet a buyer’s standards. So, they decide to return it.
Going to a store and swapping an item can be easy. However, figuring out how to return something purchased online has proven substantially more difficult.
In some cases, stores will offer “returnless refunds,” where a customer requests a return and is told they can keep the item and get their money refunded. In other cases, companies will ask customers to go through an arduous and somewhat confusing return process. One internet user was shocked to discover Amazon wanted her to mail back leaking detergent bottles.
Now, a user on TikTok has sparked discussion after recounting her experience trying to return a mattress to Amazon.
What went wrong with this Amazon mattress return?
In a video with over 316,000 views, TikTok user Kimi (@fashionandfurbabies) says that she ordered a mattress from Amazon. However, it “ended up stinking really badly.” So, she decided to return it.
This, she soon realized, presented a problem.
“It’s a mattress in a box,” she starts. “So once you set it up—like, to test it out and find out that it’s stinky, it’s now out of the box.”
Kimi says she’s heard of people returning their Amazon mattresses and getting to keep both the mattress and the refund. However, she says this is not what she wanted. Instead, she went through the return process and was told that Amazon would come to her house and pick the mattress up.
“On the return thing, it says like, ‘Oh, your driver will print the label’ and ‘Oh, just leave it on your porch, and they’ll come and pick it up,’” she details. “And I am just wondering if they are actually thinking and realizing that this is a mattress out of the box. Because now it’s on my porch. It’s a huge mattress, so here’s hoping they actually take it.”
What happened next?
In a follow-up video, Kimi says the workers did come and take the mattress. However, she admits that they didn’t seem thrilled about it.
“They did come to get it in the allotted time slot,” Kimi states. “The drivers looked really irritated, and so I confirmed with them. I was like, ‘Do they realize that it’s like a full mattress out of the box, and that’s OK?’ And they said, ‘Yes, it’s fine. Yes, they are aware of it.’”
“They did struggle a little bit to get into the truck. But they got it, and I got my refund,” Kimi adds.
Kimi further states that she was offered a partial refund in exchange for keeping the mattress. However, she turned it down in favor of returning the mattress.
Is this normal?
While Kimi references the idea of requesting a refund and still being able to keep the mattress, it doesn’t seem like this is a common practice for Amazon.
The internet is filled with stories of people returning mattresses to Amazon and going through experiences similar to the one described by Kimi.
For example, one Reddit user shared how they were able to return a mattress to Amazon via a process comparable to the one detailed by Kimi. Another Redditor noted their frustration with the process, saying that the return and refund took several months to process.
If one wishes to return an item to Amazon, they should go through the standard return process and follow the directions provided. In general, the company says that a customer has 90 days to do this.
@fashionandfurbabies Has anyone ever successfully returned a mattress to Amazon?! To clarify, they did offer to let me keep it for a portion of a refund, buuuut I don’t actually need two mattresses
♬ original sound – Kimi Nhere’s to hoping they actually take it!
‘We are not set up for that at all.’
In the comments section, users recounted their issues dealing with mattress returns.
“I deliver for FedEx and one time I had a pickup scheduled for a mattress and it was a disaster,” stated a user. “We are not set up for that at all. I know it’s different for Amazon but for us it just didn’t work.”
“When this happened to me we scheduled pick up the guy calls me saying he’s on the way but if I wanted to keep the mattress to take a picture of it and send it to his personal number and he’ll just say he picked it up bc he has alot of them already and he just has to drop them off at a trash facility and no one checked the qty in the truck but how many pictures he had,” claimed another.
“They told us to donate it and sent a new one,” alleged a third.
“This is why I bought mine thru Costco,” declared a further TikToker.
The Daily Dot reached out to Amazon via email and Kimi via TikTok comment.
Internet culture is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here. You’ll get the best (and worst) of the internet straight into your inbox.
