Is it normal to be expected to pay for shipping on warrantied skis?

Will_ThomeI have a pair of 2020 K2 Poachers that have delaminated at one tip. I know this is something that is easy enough to fix but I figured if I could get a warranty I might as well try. I am trying to get them warrantied and they asked me to ship them into K2. They said I am responsible for covering the shipping cost. I figured it wouldn't be that much so I just went along with it. I brought the skis into USPS yesterday and they wanted $68 to ship the skis so I just said no thanks. Is it normal for companies to expect the customer to pay to ship for a warranty? And does anyone know where the cheapest spot to go to get my skis shipped would be?

yes.

/thread

**This post was edited on Feb 19th 2021 at 12:35:59pm

If you're balking at paying $70 to potentially get a replacement set, then you are either 1) a cheapskate or 2) know already that the damage is not going to be covered by K2's warranty policy and are hoping for a freebie.

RudyGarmischIf you're balking at paying $70 to potentially get a replacement set, then you are either 1) a cheapskate or 2) know already that the damage is not going to be covered by K2's warranty policy and are hoping for a freebie.

Call me a cheapskate if that makes you feel better, but $70 is a lot for a 17 year old working part time as a ski instructor

Will_ThomeCall me a cheapskate if that makes you feel better, but $70 is a lot for a 17 year old working part time as a ski instructor

sorry

Will_ThomeCall me a cheapskate if that makes you feel better, but $70 is a lot for a 17 year old working part time as a ski instructor

If K2 paid to ship every pair of potential warranties, they'd go bankrupt, just the way it works. Where did you buy the skis from? Usually works out better for the consumer if they warranty their skis through the shop/store they bought them from.

Will_ThomeI brought the skis into USPS yesterday and they wanted $68 to ship the skis so I just said no thanks.

Did you have a ski box? If its just skis (no bindings), UPS/Fedex is usually $40-50, I'd try those over USPS, when it comes to shipping packages I'd skip the postal service.

Welcome to the hell that was my life for almost 5 years running K2's warranty dept in Canada. Constantly getting calls from angry kids that were pissed that they had to pay for shipping. Then they'd get really pissed when I'd tell them they weren't getting a new pair of skis/snowboard/boots/inline skates/etc...

eheathIf K2 paid to ship every pair of potential warranties, they'd go bankrupt, just the way it works. Where did you buy the skis from? Usually works out better for the consumer if they warranty their skis through the shop/store they bought them from.

I got them from Evo online and I am doing everything through them

eheathDid you have a ski box? If its just skis (no bindings), UPS/Fedex is usually $40-50, I'd try those over USPS, when it comes to shipping packages I'd skip the postal service.

I have them in a ski box and I did take the bindings off. $40-$50 does sound a lot more reasonable

Pipe_MunkyWelcome to the hell that was my life for almost 5 years running K2's warranty dept in Canada. Constantly getting calls from angry kids that were pissed that they had to pay for shipping. Then they'd get really pissed when I'd tell them they weren't getting a new pair of skis/snowboard/boots/inline skates/etc...

Oh damn. Yeah, I was never mad at K2 or anything, more just curious if this was the norm. I feel bad for people like you who have to deal with Karens every day.

Will_ThomeI got them from Evo online and I am doing everything through them

Ahh gotcha, thats really the only downside to buying skis online TBH

Will_ThomeI have them in a ski box and I did take the bindings off. $40-$50 does sound a lot more reasonable

Yeah USPS isn't the right company to ship your skis, definitely hit up a UPS store they'll hook you up.

eheathIf K2 paid to ship every pair of potential warranties, they'd go bankrupt, just the way it works. Where did you buy the skis from? Usually works out better for the consumer if they warranty their skis through the shop/store they bought them from.

That makes a lot of sense when you put it like that. I got my skis through an online Evo purchase

eheathAhh gotcha, thats really the only downside to buying skis online TBH

Yeah USPS isn't the right company to ship your skis, definitely hit up a UPS store they'll hook you up.

Yeah, I like to support the local shops, I only bought them online cause last spring they were half off.

Bet, I'll head over to UPS later today

i don't know how the process works, but if my skis had a legitimate factory defect, i'd be fucking pissed if i had to pay for shipping. that should be on the manufacturer. they sold you a faulty product, you shouldn't be responsible for getting them back.

if you're just sending them back to K2 so they can decide whether they're covered under warranty, that's a different story.

danbrowni don't know how the process works, but if my skis had a legitimate factory defect, i'd be fucking pissed if i had to pay for shipping. that should be on the manufacturer. they sold you a faulty product, you shouldn't be responsible for getting them back.

if you're just sending them back to K2 so they can decide whether they're covered under warranty, that's a different story.

I sent them pictures first and they said that they needed to take a closer look but they would most likely be warrantied. I do ride park so obviously I'm not trying to get the edge cracks or anything warrantied, but from what I can tell the delamination at the tip was not from me riding park.

RudyGarmischIf you're balking at paying $70 to potentially get a replacement set, then you are either 1) a cheapskate or 2) know already that the damage is not going to be covered by K2's warranty policy and are hoping for a freebie.

Well, it's not as simple as 1 or 2. As eheath said unfortunately that ski manufacturers cannot financially assume the shipping cost associated with all warranty claims, that's just how it is so that's not going to change.

But that being said, I can understand the customer's perspective too, and having worked years ago for a large online retailer and sometimes handled warranty claims, I often sympathized with customers.

You always have abusers trying to cheat the system for a freebie, sure, fuck these guys, but you also have the guy who paid $500 for skis that fall apart after a couple of weeks, and they don't understand why they now have to pay an extra 15% on top of that for shipping to get what they already paid for: a ski they can use. Their perspective is that this defect is not their fault, if it's anyone's, it's the manufacturer, so the manufacturer should assume all costs associated with replacing the defective ski, not them. Which in my opinion is not unreasonable either.

But OP no way around it, except as eheath pointed out, depending on where you got the skis from, sometimes shops have more flexible return policies, I know we ended up implementing a policy where we assumed all shipping costs for warranty claims as long as the warranty claim ended up being accepted by the manufacturer, if not the customer was on the hook for shipping. That dissuaded the abusers from making claims while not putting additional financial burden on legit claims.

Monsieur_PatateWell, it's not as simple as 1 or 2. As eheath said unfortunately that ski manufacturers cannot financially assume the shipping cost associated with all warranty claims, that's just how it is so that's not going to change.

But that being said, I can understand the customer's perspective too, and having worked years ago for a large online retailer and sometimes handled warranty claims, I often sympathized with customers.

You always have abusers trying to cheat the system for a freebie, sure, fuck these guys, but you also have the guy who paid $500 for skis that fall apart after a couple of weeks, and they don't understand why they now have to pay an extra 15% on top of that for shipping to get what they already paid for: a ski they can use. Their perspective is that this defect is not their fault, if it's anyone's, it's the manufacturer, so the manufacturer should assume all costs associated with replacing the defective ski, not them. Which in my opinion is not unreasonable either.

But OP no way around it, except as eheath pointed out, depending on where you got the skis from, sometimes shops have more flexible return policies, I know we ended up implementing a policy where we assumed all shipping costs for warranty claims as long as the warranty claim ended up being accepted by the manufacturer, if not the customer was on the hook for shipping. That dissuaded the abusers from making claims while not putting additional financial burden on legit claims.

That's really well put, and that policy that you guys had sounds perfect, I wish more places would do that.

eheathAhh gotcha, thats really the only downside to buying skis online TBH

Customer is responsible for providing the box but depending on where you bought it, a retailer should provide a shipping label in this situation. It costs the retailer far, far less than a consumer to ship because they have contracts with couriers. Backcountry return shipping labels cost $6.99. Going through a manufacturer is a different story but unless the product is super old, the retailer should be handling it. And they can ALWAYS make exceptions.

Honestly the ski company should just ask the customer to send them a video of the damage. Then its not necessary to send skis back to the ski company.

if the vid shows warranty covered damage then the ski company should just get the customer to pay for return shipping of a new pair of skis. Or at least split the cost of return shipping.

RudyGarmischIf you're balking at paying $70 to potentially get a replacement set, then you are either 1) a cheapskate or 2) know already that the damage is not going to be covered by K2's warranty policy and are hoping for a freebie.

#callout

RudyGarmischIf you're balking at paying $70 to potentially get a replacement set, then you are either 1) a cheapskate or 2) know already that the damage is not going to be covered by K2's warranty policy and are hoping for a freebie.

Or you could just be hesitant to spend $70 bucks. Not an insignificant amount of money. OP, you ain't a cheapskate haha.

Dangler_DangerOr you could just be hesitant to spend $70 bucks. Not an insignificant amount of money. OP, you ain't a cheapskate haha.

Exactly, like $70 can buy me 2 tanks of gas

They don’t want the original pair to be ridden by a homie. Manufacturers do this all the time. At the shop I worked at, we had a really sick anorak from a big name that most of you would probably recognize. I noticed it had one of the hand gaiters backwards. The loop was for a right hand but it was on the left sleeve. So basically the thumb hole was on the left side of the left wrist. Not a big deal at all. They told us to rip the jacket up and throw it away

DolansLebensraumHonestly the ski company should just ask the customer to send them a video of the damage. Then its not necessary to send skis back to the ski company.

if the vid shows warranty covered damage then the ski company should just get the customer to pay for return shipping of a new pair of skis. Or at least split the cost of return shipping.