Repair Christmas Gift or Replace It?

[Rich Riddle]

I ordered the wife a Christmas Ornament and it arrived with an arm and half of a mustache not connected (but the pieces are in the box). It's a simple glue scenario to get them in place. It seems like it would be more effort to repackage and return the toy than spending the five minutes with glue and attaching the pieces. What would you do?

Wodden Toy.jpg

[Rick Potter]

If nothing is broken, I would glue and give.

[Rich Riddle]

Nothing is broken. The assembling workman used almost a microscopic amount of glue to hold the arm and mustache in place so the arm and mustache pieces fell off the toy. With sufficient glue the arm and mustache pieces will stay secure and one shouldn't be able to tell it didn't arrive that way.

If nothing is broken, I would glue and give.

[Bruce Page]

You could return it to prove a point, but I doubt it would register with anyone on the receiving end. I'd take the few minutes and glue it myself.

[George Bokros]

Yup, I would glue it my self.

[Lee Schierer]

I would glue and give it, but not before I checked the other pieces to see how well they are attached.

[Brian Henderson]

I'd just glue it since it is likely you'd have to pay for return shipping anyhow.

[Brian Henderson]

Nothing is broken. The assembling workman used almost a microscopic amount of glue to hold the arm and mustache in place so the arm and mustache pieces fell off the toy. With sufficient glue the arm and mustache pieces will stay secure and one shouldn't be able to tell it didn't arrive that way.

You can always complain to the company or give them a bad review on Yelp or something

[Brian Elfert]

If you return it they would almost certainly just put it in the trash and send you another one. It is so cheap to have these things made in China that it makes no sense for the manufacturer to fix them.

[Myk Rian]

With sufficient glue the arm and mustache pieces will stay secure and one shouldn't be able to tell it didn't arrive that way.

If that's the case, fix it and be done with it. No brainer.

[Rich Riddle]

I took a chisel and removed the slight amount of glue on the arm and mustache. I then placed small dabs of Titebond III (with a q-tip) on the arm and mustache. It took less than a minute of appropriate pressure on the arm and mustache to keep the pieces where they needed to align. Thoug mass produced, these are hand-made in Germany, so they might not toss them in the trash if returned. Wife is now happy and it took less than five minutes including getting out the glue and putting it away. It was less hassle to fix than replace. Plus, it's a justification for the "tools" used to complete the task.

[Jim Koepke]

It was less hassle to fix than replace. Plus, it's a justification for the "tools" used to complete the task.

Some times the easy way is the best way.

Are you sure the small print didn't say, "may require some assembly"?

jtk

[Mark Blatter]

This is an interesting question.....fix or return. I have had this dilemma a number of times. As you pointed out Rich, the time to repair the item was less (and with less hassle) than it would take to return it. At the same time, the more companies are permitted to send out a poor quality product, the more they will and the more often it will happen. I personally dislike calling and complaining, but once I get to my tipping point, I will call and complain about a very small thing just to prove a point. Your question is a great philosophical question, one that I cannot answer except on a case by case basis.

In your case I would have done the same thing, but I would try not to buy from them in the future. Until they had one at a price I couldn't resist, and that brings up another great dilemma we all have....cost vs quality.

[Mel Fulks]

Rich, if you let the company know how well you fixed that ,you might be offered the Monday mustache install schtick! But you are too disarming for the "arms place".

[Bert Kemp]

I just received a broken electrical connector I ordered, I email the company for a RMA and a prepaid shipping label to return the broken item. They told me to keep it and refunded my money. No questions asked. I ordered a new one from a different place. Took the broken one and was able to solder the connection point to make it usable till the new one comes in.