AAAARGHH! Scammed on 2 smart locks! (a vent)

I wouldn't bet the person who swapped the radio is the type that even cares. I was in HomeDepot one day at the service desk and a front door in a box was leaning against the counter. I was in a conversation with the sales assistant who mentioned the someone purchased a new door, returning the old door in the new door box. I guess the associated who accepted the return did not check the box. My point being, there are folks out there who don't think like you or I and don't give a damn about others.

Part of the problem is Amazon itself and how they deal with returns. If someone returns something and it is a commodity SKU, and not obviously damaged, it just goes into a pile that they pick from for any seller of that item. Zero way to track what customer ripped off a vendor. So it is really passive encouragement to the end user.

I have never bought anything used for my Home Automation, yet I still get used items. My original Wink was "new" and had to be factory reset as it was already assigned to an account. By the time I got it working, I just kept it. Bought a new RGBW Sengled bulb that I didn't open until after the return period and guess what.... single color bulb.

It really never used to be this way. New was new and used was used. Now new is opened and used is worthless.

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New is opened and used is worthless...Well spoken!

Your Wink hub reminds me of my Ecobee...
When I mentioned the sensors above, that was one auction. I bought the actual thermostat separately. Just like yours, it was claimed to be "Brand new, never used."

The description went into great detail about how it was bought for someone else, was opened just to make sure it was in the box, never taken out, never installed, because they determined that it wasn't going to be compatible with their system. Tons of details about how it was never touched, never used.

When I got it, it was in great shape, but it had obviously been used. Hooked it up, and it had 3 months of logs and alerts on it, and was still actively tied to a homekit account.

So yeah...I guess "used for 3 months before we decided we didn't want it" means exactly the same thing as "never taken out of the box, only opened to see that it was in there." Mmmhm.

I once bought an exhaust fan at Home Depot...decided to buy the cheap fan and the upgrade kit for that fan with the more powerful motor.
But then when I got home, I realized that someone else had bought the upgrade fan, upgraded their fan with it, and put their old original fan in the upgrade fan box and returned it. Makes me sick that people are out there just getting away with this stuff. :rage:

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Yeah, that is BS. People that do something like that intentionally deserve a severe ass whipping.

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Unfortunate I can't give you more than one like for that!

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I'll pile on

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@rickyturner @Gnant @bjcowles @JasonJoel

I don't have a home automation related Amazon return sold as new, but I have something way more disgusting.

Two years ago, my garbage disposal died, and I decided to buy the Insinkerator Evolution Compact disposal. I bought it new with the cord kit (not Amazon warehouse; the vendor was Amazon.com).

It arrived two days later in box that looked new and was sealed. Inside, the cord kit was ok, but the disposal itself was completely wrapped in Saran (not heavy plastic). There was an incredibly foul odor when I unwrapped the Saran. The damn thing had a bunch of partially ground up food inside the disposal. It had apparently jammed.

It got sent back. Amazon offered me 2 months free on my Prime subscription by way of "compensation".

Edit - the story ended with me spending half as much and installing a disposal purchased from Costco.

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AAAAH! NO! Unreal. How TF?

As an outsider, from a country where Amazon is nothing but a thing from the US, I say I see a red line in all these stories. It starts with an A and ends with mazon. :crazy_face:

Non the less in the Netherlands we also have such a holes who try this. But fortunately this country is so small I can drive everything in short times to make sure the product is good and have a face to face with the seller.

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Speaking as an Amazon vendor, the solution I have found is to simply package items in a way the packaging must be destroyed to open. Then all items are deemed unsellable and are automatically sent back. We then know who returned it and no switcharroos for the next customer on down the line. Saw a thread a while back where Hubitat received a Smartthings in one of their boxes as a return. Thought that spoke volumes.

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None of this is a recent development. Almost 60 years ago my mother worked at a Kmart. She told me about people buying things like tents or canoes in the spring and returning them in the fall. Obviously used, they were accepted and money cheerfully refunded. It was policy.

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That worked out well for KMart. I dated a couple women who would buy dresses for parties and return them right after. I don't remember the stores, but that didn't strike me as particularly savory.

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Just...wow.

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There are also retailers that do have liberal return policies but bare no pain. Anything returned goes back to the supplier for credit.

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Yes. That pretty much points the finger at one of us (Hubitat owners/users).

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But not everyone that has a Hubitat visits the Community. Hopefully there are thousands who don't. Hopeful because more is better to keep Hubitat thriving.

As with the SmartThings return inside a Hubitat box, Hubitat, the supplier, lost. They had one Hub stolen. Ideally, they know what Hub it was and can disable it. But that doesn't get the cost of goods back into their bank.

Same with credit cards too. Lots of fraud there, probably more since it's easier. Call up, say it's not my charge and instantly the Vendor's next disbursement is docked the amount. CC companies have the liberal policy because it's free to them. (minus some handling)

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Well... not one of "us"... but hope they feel quilty when the community helps him out.

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With that kind of character !
I seriously doubt it.

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All packed up with new documentation for her trip back to the mother ship tomorrow. The warning one is folded up inside the quick start guide. The rubber band one is for Amazon themselves.
Fingers crossed it saves someone some hassle.
I even included a couple cardboard divider pieces from my new lock packaging to make it a little more secure. :+1:

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Hi everyone !

I have a BETA version of a package for integration of a Nuki Smart Lock into HE for the brave and fearless to try it.

Anyone want to try it?

Marco Felicio