UCS B-Wing arrived crushed by LEGO

[mr_joshua]

First, I wish we still had the ASK Lego section...I really miss that.

I am not one to usually complain, especially when it comes to LEGO customer service...but here goes. Recently ordered the UCS B-Wing (and the shiny precious) but was slightly disappointed when I opened the box. The shipping/packing department had placed three of those inflatable pad bags on TOP of the inner Lego box. When taped shut this caused the inner box to be crushed/squeezed. I normally wouldn't care if this were just an off the shelf set, but at 2 Benjamins I would like to get a nice new product. So I call Lego customer service and they say the usual, they're sorry and will fix the problem, sending me a new one and a shipping label to send the bad one back...yay! I am totally happy as always.

I received the new replacement in the mail today, and not surprisingly the same large padding bags were placed on top and it caused the inner Lego box to be squished/bent again. Placed a call to Lego customer service again and this time they say tough...live with it. Or my other option is to pay for shipping myself to have it mailed back. I was completely at a loss of words. I kindly and very courteously explained that I simply expect a new item to arrive in new condition, not like it was sat or stepped on. Then this person went on to try to blame the shipper and that I should file a claim with them. That was basically the end of the call...I wanted to let this person know how I really felt but realized this wouldn't help.

Has LEGO customer service been outsourced to some generic company in Nebraska? If I still lived near a Lego store I would have just bought it there (or exchanged it), seeing that I was moved to Utah.....I have no other means.

What would you guys do?

[sparkart]

Tear open the box and build the model. While doing so, I'd marvel not only at the design and engineering required to make the model and the individual pieces, but the technology in transportation that it took to get it to me. And the economy of it! $15 to deliver this to my door - literally, crossing oceans and continents. Amazing. We live in an amazing time, in an amazing world.

[Mister Ed]

I will try to place myself in your shoes, since what I would do is open the box and build the set, then recycle the box. I wouldn't care what the box looked like, as long as the contents weren't damaged.

But assuming I cared about the box being bent, I would have taken the same steps you did (assuming that, in your second attempt, you made sure to mention that whether this person thought it seemed reasonable to expect a pristine box, the LAST person you dealt with obviously felt it reasonable enough to conduct an exchange, and that it is quite EVIDENTLY reasonable to expect, when exchanging an item for a specific reason, that it behooves the company to actually ADDRESS the issue leading to the exchange).

I would have escalated to a manager if possible, and if not, well if I was annoyed sufficiently, and a pristine box was a priority, I would have then moved to demanding a refund on the item, with them paying the shipping to get it back. That would have left me without the item, but by that point it would have seemed clear that I wasn't going to GET the item in a pristine box from them, so if that was important, I'd be better off doing without or hoping that it would eventually find its way to a local TRU or something.

[onions]

first world problems. i think the box condition would only matter if you were going to speculate and sit on it and resell it later, or if it was a gift for a loved one, or if you're one of those weirdos that saves boxes. rip her open and build the set. you'll feel much better when it's on your shelf.

[MisterFubar]

I'd say you could have my box, but it came crushed from the LEGO store. Picked a fresh set up off the shelf and took it to the counter and the manager asked me if I cared about the box and I replied, not really. So he grabbed one from the back that was crushed like you describe and gave me a discount on it.

but to answer your question, "What would I do?"

I'd open the box, build the set, put it on my shelf and enjoy it. It truly is a beautiful set. I'd then take the box, break it down and throw it in the pile with the rest of my LEGO boxes that I'll someday ask myself why I am keeping and recycle.

[sstoroe]

I would call them up and get a replacement. I have called them on numerous occasions and complained about this. I think that they know that people like the boxes and collect them. As for me, it is all about the boxes and the minifigs. I have completely given ordering from lego.com when I want the box nice. I just go to the store. Also, I never order during free shipping time cause they always kill the boxes.

[onions]

i still don't understand this fascination with the boxes. i suppose it's just one of things that people collect that i'll never 'get'.

[bigospedros]

i still don't understand this fascination with the boxes. i suppose it's just one of things that people collect that i'll never 'get'.

Maybe it stems from antique shows on tv constantly telling us toys are worth more with their original box, even though that has never been said for Lego ... It's more for things like Dinky toy cars, Hornby trains, etc etc

[Ted495]

first world problems. i think the box condition would only matter if you were going to speculate and sit on it and resell it later, or if it was a gift for a loved one, or if you're one of those weirdos that saves boxes. rip her open and build the set. you'll feel much better when it's on your shelf.

100% irrelevant. The point is he paid money for an item, to be delivered in pristine condition, and it was not delivered to him as such. If you want to take your box and rip it up and use it for toilet paper, well that is your thing, but it was a decision you made. This is a new product, clearly packaged incorrectly and needs to be fixed.

Now he can do whatever he likes, but I know in a situation like this if attempts via the phone don't work out, a nice typed letter or email with accompanying picture goes a long, long way. The point being, hes not mad, no need to yell or even get really upset, because they WILL fix it for you with a very small amount of effort on your part.

Personally I collect the boxes in no small part as well, and it my right as a consumer to get what I paid for.

[bigospedros]

Why don't you post a photo of just how "bad" the damage is?

[Solo]

But the item he paid for probably did arrive in pristine condition. He never bothered to actually open it to confirm. After Lego received the original item and sent a replacement only to get the same complaint again I can understand why they are unwilling to go for round 3. The fact is packaging is designed to protect products from damage by absorbing the damage itself. Expecting a flawless box is an assumption on the buyers end and is not guaranteed or even implied by Lego in any way on their website as far as I've seen. Now, if you were to order it elsewhere and pay a premium for a collectors grade box (I know BBTS has something like that, not sure if it applies to Lego sets though) and it arrived in that condition, then I would consider this is a valid complaint. But Shop at Home clearly does not cater to box collectors.

[Mister Ed]

But the item he paid for probably did arrive in pristine condition. He never bothered to actually open it to confirm. After Lego received the original item and sent a replacement only to get the same complaint again I can understand why they are unwilling to go for round 3. The fact is packaging is designed to protect products from damage by absorbing the damage itself. Expecting a flawless box is an assumption on the buyers end and is not guaranteed or even implied by Lego in any way on their website as far as I've seen. Now, if you were to order it elsewhere and pay a premium for a collectors grade box (I know BBTS has something like that, not sure if it applies to Lego sets though) and it arrived in that condition, then I would consider this is a valid complaint. But Shop at Home clearly does not cater to box collectors.

That said, though, when they decided they WOULD cater to a box collector in this instance, by replacing the item the first time solely because the box was crushed, it seems only reasonable to expect that they would actually make SOME effort to fix the problem prompting the exchange. It seems odd to me that, instead, they apparently did nothing to ensure that the same problem would not occur.

Even though I would agree that, to me (and apparently many others), this seems like a non-issue, at the point at which LEGO agreed that it WAS enough of an issue to warrant a replacement, common sense customer service suggests addressing the issue that caused the complaint in the first place. Otherwise, they should have just refused the first exchange, and explained at that point that a pristine box is not guaranteed.

By agreeing to an exchange based solely on the condition of the box, they kind of create a reasonable expectation on the part of the customer that he SHOULD get a box in good condition. Otherwise why exchange it at all? From a customer service perspective it seems obvious that you are better off refusing an exchange than granting it knowing full well that the problem is likely to recur without special steps being taken, not taking those steps, then refusing the inevitable second request.

[crazybirdman]

i still don't understand this fascination with the boxes. i suppose it's just one of things that people collect that i'll never 'get'.

Same here. Only my cat ever plays with the box. Plus it's just way to difficult to keep a box in pristine condition, especially the larger ones. Shelf wear, removed price tags, dinged corners etc. And if you are just going to open the box anyway, what does it matter?

[Solo]

Ed, that's all well and good until the part where they got the same complaint twice and decided it wasn't worth addressing the second time without mr_joshua paying for the shipping. The impression I get from that is they did not understand the issue at first, and upon receiving the returned item and finding an undamaged toy in a dented box they honored their end of the sale by sending a replacement with no regard for the box itself. This, to me, makes it clear that they don't care about box condition and do not knowingly cater to those who do. Without the word for word complaint and responses we can only infer how much information was exchanged. If he did say that only the box itself was the issue and they agreed to replace it with a perfect box, then sure. But that does not sound like a likely scenario.

If they received the item, noted the box damage as the issue, and then sent out a new one with better packaging to ensure it wouldn't be damaged - sure. That would be them catering to box collectors. That's not what happened though.

Ultimately, the lesson here is you can't trust Shop at Home to provide pristine boxes. Whether they should or shouldn't is up for debate of course but until they offer a guarantee it's in your interest to shop elsewhere if that is what you want.

[Mister Ed]

It seems pretty clear, if I take the OP at his word (and I've no reason not to) that he DID make it clear to customer service the first time that the box was the issue (since that was the whole reason for his call, I can't see how he WOULDN'T). He further states that they said they would fix the problem. There may have been some misunderstanding on what exactly they meant by that, but it seems very likely to me that the person he talked to WAS made aware that the box was the issue, and knowing that, chose to offer a replacement.

I suspect they offered the replacement because it is their policy to offer replacement ANY time they get a complaint (at least the first time). Which is all well and good, if true, but hopefully if that's the case, they would make it clear at THAT point that they can't guarantee to fix the original issue in this case, because pristine boxes are not something they promise. Maybe they did, and that's where the misunderstanding occurred. I find that more likely than the notion that they were somehow unaware that the condition of the box was the issue, since that was the whole point of his call.

I'm not really sure why I'm arguing the issue at all, though. I had to put myself into a foreign mindset to even consider the question in the first place, as I am most definitely among those that couldn't care less about the condition of the box.

[Mofo Jones]

OP lost me when he insulted my home state.

That said, as long as the box arrives containing the correct number and type of intact LEGO bricks, it's a success.

[CWAL]

I just took advantage of the sale on Amazon to get the Death Star. The geniuses at the fulfillment center decided to stack it on TOP of the other two sets I ordered. Of course they were crushed almost past recognition as boxes... On top of that, the outer box broke open and the Death Star got pretty torn up.

In disgust I just sent them all back for exchanges. Now I see them shipping them all in one box again. Brilliant.

If I had been a bit less frustrated and thinking straighter at the time, I would have exchanged them one by one over the course of a few days to ensure that the sent them all in separate boxes. xD

[SDIronClaw]

OP lost me when he insulted my home state.

Lol, a bit touchy are we.

[Mofo Jones]

That day I was.

[batsamd]

If the box means that much to you, I would mail a letter with photos showing the beat up box, as mentioned before.

If after receiving the letter, they are not willing to ensure the set arrives with a box in better condition, I would call them up, explain the entire scenario, and tell them you want a refund, as mentioned before, because the item is not arriving in the condition you expect.

Hopefully, when they hear you want a refund, they'll offer to send you a new one and try to ensure that this time the box is OK.

If they don't offer another replacement, then return the item and put that money towards a purchase with someone that will try harder to ensure you receive a box in good condition. Unfortuately, that probably means buying from the secondary market, where you will probably have to pay mark-up plus extra for insurance and extra packaging required to make sure the box stays in good condition.