Fox Shox Warranty Void By Unauthorized Distributor: Amazon.com

[78ygbsm]

I often use .Amazon.com for free shipping to Hawaii and most recently, I ordered the Fox Shox Stabilizer for my 2021 Jeep JL. I didn't realize there was an issue with the RH Mounting Bolt (for my application) until I reviewed a few Amazon.com buyer reviews. So, I checked the Amazon product page and it referred me to Fox Shox Customer Support (FSC). According to FSC, Amazon.com is not an authorized distributor so the Fox Shox warranty is invalid! However, they provided me with the Bolt part number and vendor. I contacted the vendor and was advised the $4 bolt shipping cost to Hawaii was over $45. I contacted another vendor, slightly cheaper bolt, but shipping was over $70. So, I refused and will return the Fox Shox Stabilizer to Amazon.com. I did inform Amazon.com about the warranty issue and recommended they update their product support information for all Fox Shox products. I also have heartburn with Fox Shox regarding the Bolt, but there is not much I can do. I did notice a few vendors did seem to have the entire bolt inventory and were charging outrageous shipping costs. Perhaps they share their profits with Fox Shox....just my opinion. Bottom line: Do not order Fox Shox products from Amazon.com unless you are not concerned about their warranty. Yes you have the great Amazon.com 30 day return, but thereafter, you'll be holding the "bag" with that YGBSM look.

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[alphawolff]

I would've just paid the shipping. Seems like a lot of time & effort to partially install something to just remove it and return it over $45.

You live on an island in the middle of the ocean, I'm really surprised amazon offers free shipping there. That's pretty awesome all things considered.

 

[NPC 20883467]

... I contacted the vendor and was advised the $4 bolt shipping cost to Hawaii was over $45. I contacted another vendor, slightly cheaper bolt, but shipping was over $70...

That's just (attempted) fraud on the part of the vendors. A USPS small flat rate box is $8.55 to all 50 states.

 

[78ygbsm]

Of course I could afford the 45/70, but the vendors were ripping me off and what about the void warranty? Regarding Amazon.com Prime...it's not free, but well worth the annual subscription. I've ordered some very large/heavy items with free shipping. Examples: 2 Ton Floor Jack, Headers, Heads, etc.

 

[Vinman]

That's just (attempted) fraud on the part of the vendors. A USPS small flat rate box is $8.55 to all 50 states.

But that bolt doesn’t magically remove itself from the shelf, write up an invoice, process payment, hop itself into a box and deliver itself to the post office for cheap shipping. Somebody had to do all that and get paid to do so.

But I do get a kick out of how many times I see people complain about shipping costs for a relatively inexpensive item, the cost of one has absolutely nothing to do with the other.

 

[78ygbsm]

I agree with you NPCxxxxxx, however, most large companies have a flat rate agreement with UPS/FedEx. Problem is, retail customers do not benefit from this rate. Also, retail prices factor labor/shipping/etc so perhaps shipping a $4 3" bolt for $45-$70 is justified. But I'm not buying it. Besides, Fox Shox should have included this exatra bolt in their kits. Just my opinion.

 

[henryb]

you should find someone to have it droped shipped and then sent over to you. could be cheaper that way

 

[Eyeball]

But that bolt doesn’t magically remove itself from the shelf, write up an invoice, process payment, hop itself into a box and deliver itself to the post office for cheap shipping. Somebody had to do all that and get paid to do so.

But I do get a kick out of how many times I see people complain about shipping costs for a relatively inexpensive item, the cost of one has absolutely nothing to do with the other.

Do you really think that in 2023 someone is actually writing up an invoice and processing a payment? That has been automated for decades on the internet. As far as taking it to the shipper or post office, they are not driving each package to the shipper individually. How much more does it cost to throw it on the heap of packages Fox is already sending out for the day with their FedEx / UPS discounted rate?

No matter how you slice it or allocate the costs, $45 is excessive in this case.

 

[rcadden]

It's important to note that Amazon allows almost anyone to become a seller, and those sellers can list nearly anything for sale on Amazon. There are a few exceptions, mostly larger companies who protect their brand passionately. They're basically resellers, and many companies do not honor warranties for items purchased through unauthorized retailers.

When you're shopping on Amazon, before you add the item to your cart, you can look near the price and it'll say "Sold by" and gives the name of the seller. If it's not the company name (or Amazon) then you're buying from some random Amazon merchant. There is a whole industry of Amazon resellers (arbitrage) - people who buy things and then resell them on Amazon.

Source: I used to do Amazon arbitrage. It's more work than you think, but can be profitable, especially if you're able to scale and get good sources. I made a killing off these certain glasses from Big Lots, of all places. Bought them for like, $2/box at Big Lots and then could sell the boxes for $10-12 on Amazon. Crazy.

 

[Eyeball]

I often use .Amazon.com for free shipping to Hawaii and most recently, I ordered the Fox Shox Stabilizer for my 2021 Jeep JL. I didn't realize there was an issue with the RH Mounting Bolt (for my application) until I reviewed a few Amazon.com buyer reviews. So, I checked the Amazon product page and it referred me to Fox Shox Customer Support (FSC). According to FSC, Amazon.com is not an authorized distributor so the Fox Shox warranty is invalid! However, they provided me with the Bolt part number and vendor. I contacted the vendor and was advised the $4 bolt shipping cost to Hawaii was over $45. I contacted another vendor, slightly cheaper bolt, but shipping was over $70. So, I refused and will return the Fox Shox Stabilizer to Amazon.com. I did inform Amazon.com about the warranty issue and recommended they update their product support information for all Fox Shox products. I also have heartburn with Fox Shox regarding the Bolt, but there is not much I can do. I did notice a few vendors did seem to have the entire bolt inventory and were charging outrageous shipping costs. Perhaps they share their profits with Fox Shox....just my opinion. Bottom line: Do not order Fox Shox products from Amazon.com unless you are not concerned about their warranty. Yes you have the great Amazon.com 30 day return, but thereafter, you'll be holding the "bag" with that YGBSM look.

Find out what it cost to have the bolt shipped to Huntington Beach, Ca 92646 and have it shipped to me, I will put it in USPS and forward it to you.

 

[garyji]

My stabilizer came with the bolt.

G.

 

[Badunit]

I do get a kick out of how many times I see people complain about shipping costs for a relatively inexpensive item, the cost of one has absolutely nothing to do with the other.

If the cost to ship anything else of that size/weight to Hawaii is usually the same $45-$70 as the OP was quoted then I agree with you. But the actual shipping cost appears to be $9 and it doesn't take 2-3 hours of clerk-level man-hours to process a bolt from their original purchase to final sale and boxing it up and sending it to the mailroom for shipping to the customer. It was a rip off and I would return the stabilizer and all over it (and also over the warranty problem).

 

[78ygbsm]

Thank you for the offer to ship the bolt via USPS, but I will return the Fox Stabilizer to Amazon due to the warranty issue. Amazon's product support page refers customers to Fox Shox Customer Support....so I made a bad assumption prior to ordering. I did discuss this problem with Amazon.com CS. I'd like to close this discussion with I don't blame Fox Shox re the warranty issue, but there is no excuse for shipping price gouging: Quadratech will ship this bolt to any CONUS address for $9. The shipping cost to Hawaii: $76.68.....plus they charge $.08 for shipping protection...for a $4 bolt. I would'nt mind paying $20 or so via USPS, but almost 4X via FedEx?
Thank you everyone for the positive comments/offer. And I did appreciate the somewhat insightful comment regarding retail pricing/rationalization for the high shipping cost. Aloha/Regards to all! Retired old fart.

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