Judah K.
DO NOT ORDER DIRECT FROM THE COMPANY
Sad to say, I'd purchased a truly great dog crate from Midwest some years ago and it was doing quite nicely but I thought it a nice time to replace with new. Looked at their site, as I did previously and found the crate for the same price as before! I was thrilled. Having trusted them in the past, I trusted them again but got burned! The new crate arrived, an inch shorter than the very same model number I had. The wire used to make the crate is lighter/thinner. The clamps that hold the whole thing together are fewer and thinner so the whole thing wobbles with the slightest touch. When you try lifting with the supplies handles, the whole crate "bows" (the former one didn't). There are no extra "security" clamps on the newer crate. In short, it's made for a larger dog but even a chihuahua would have NO trouble getting out of this thing. I contacted Midwest to see if there hadn't been some mistake but they explained "the manufacturer" changed the product. Fair enough. But it's useless to me now. The very next day, I re-packed it in the very same carton it was received in and contacted Midwest for return instructions... THEY DO NOT PAY FOR RETURNS! THEY CLAIM THEY SHIP FREE (and now I wonder). I checked with the major carriers, UPS, FedEx, USPS to see what it would cost ME to return the crate and for a crate that cost me $199.95, Midwest expects me to pay between $108 and $150 to return something that is inferior and useless. Thankfully, I used a credit card to make the purchase but now have to file a "dispute" and see where this gets to. So just be advised: If you're thinking of buying ANYTHING from Midwest, the quality is FAR FAR INFERIOR to what it used to be, they're all "very sweet" until something goes wrong and they REFUSE to accept responsibility for anything other than a "refund" BUT YOU have to get the merchandise back to them and YOUR additional expense. IF you truly MUST order a product from them, be sure to use a 3rd party that will cover returns in the event you're as disappointed as I am. Following up here with new information: After a bit more research, I've come to learn that the cost of $199.95 for the crate includes the "shipping" (which the company cleverly claims is "FREE"). The cost of the crate is about $60.00. Shipping at lowest rate is $140.00. The crate can be purchased at Amazon.com for about $60.00 with actual "FREE" shipping. So this company is misrepresenting costs. If there's something wrong with the merchandise, they REFUSE to cover return shipping so, if you order at (rounding) $200.00 and need to return for a refund, you'll pay the $140.00 to return the merchandise. They might refund you $200.00 which is your initial payment BUT you will PAY $140.00 to get that $200.00. You'll have paid $280.00 (shipping) for a $60.00 refund.