Andrew
Avoid Overstock at all costs!
I purchased a pair of leather boots on February 15 from Overstock.com, apparently from one of their marketplace sellers, Brands R Us in Millersburg, PA. The boots were too small so I wanted to exchange them for a larger size. I spoke with a "chat room" person, who gave me the number of the seller and told me to contact them directly. I tried -- repeatedly, and at different times of the day -- to contact the seller, but got a voice mail each time. I left several messages explaining the situation but never heard back from them. I also sent them an email. No response. Meanwhile, I contacted Overstock's customer care, by email and then by phone. They contacted the company, who responded several times with the SAME form email saying that I could send the boots back but would have to pay a 20 percent restocking fee. I kept explaining that I wanted to exchange them, not return them. Two days ago, I spoke with another Overstock rep who told me that ONE person was responsible at Overstock for dealing with problematic marketplace sellers like this one, and that that person would resolve the issue and get back to me within twenty-four hours -- and that I would NOT have to pay any restocking fee. Forty-eight hours went by and I received no response, so I called their corporate office in Utah. I spoke with Donna, a "corporate rep," who told me that the customer care person had given me wrong information, that I would indeed have to pay the restocking fee. When I complained that this was outrageous and that I had merely eanted to exchange the boots, she said that I had not purchased them from Overstock but from a marketplace seller and that the seller's conditions applied. Clearly they have no leverage over their sellers, and have no desire to break relations with poor ones. I have since been in contact with PayPal, who has opened a dispute and told me that they guarantee the purchase AND that the restocking fee will not apply: any sellers who accept PayPal have to accept their conditions, which preclude restocking fees. In short, I will have to wait ten days for this to be resolved. But I am so glad I went through PayPal. I will never use Overstock again, and strongly urge anyone who reads this to learn from my frustrating experience. All I wanted was to exchange the item for a larger size!