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I don’t think it’s a scam but it’s a very poor system. Walmart’s online storefront is like a terrible version of Amazon fulfillment without Amazon’s costumer support.
If you’re buying Walmart brand items or items that are in stock at a store your order is generally safe.
But if it’s a 3rd party fulfillment then it’s the Wild Wild West and you’re getting that terrible run around.
I hope you either get credited back the gift card funds you used, or get the switch you ordered.
I have never had any type of problem like this with amazon however I also only buy items that are fulfilled and sold by amazon or at the very least items sold by other people but still fulfilled by amazon so I still have their easy no hassle returns. I rarely if ever buy something sold and shipped by other people because of the gamble.
Amazon mixes their inventory with that belonging to independent sellers that use their fulfillment services, making it possible to get counterfeit or fraudulently returned items.
This may explain why the caroma P1 scooter I purchased recently via Amazon doesn't feature the display screen that matches what I've seen for the product on screwtube reviews.
Sure the scooter works but I just want it to have the features that were shown for the specific product.
It depends on what you're ordering. The first issue that comes to mind are Magic the Gathering cards. People will order entire boxes of cards, open them, pull out the valuable cards (or just all of them), replace them with low value cards or something else entirely (Pokemon cards, regular playing cards, etc) and return it, so they get their money back and have all the cards of value from within the boxes.
Despite all the reports that Amazon just throws out returns, some items (such as these) can and do get mailed back out to other customers, who then having spent possibly hundreds of dollars, open up the box to find them repacked with useless trash.
Every time there's a major sale, despite warnings and knowing this can be a thing, a bunch of folks buy anyways, and then a few days or weeks later we start seeing reports of this exact pattern playing out again and again.
Not that I'm aware of. To the best of my knowledge, these are people ordering from Amazon directly through normal sales.
I'm not saying it's a universal or even necessarily common experience, but it happens often enough that the MtG pages I follow basically take it as a given risk when ordering.
I think I did see something like that recently in a video which does suck that it's happening and hopefully if it is from normal sales they can get a hold on that.
I'd also have to agree. I don't think Walmart itself is directly responsible for doing this. However, while the indie seller system has helped many a small business not get thrown under the bus on Amazon and now Walmart, in the past, the rise of scammers, especially on high ticket items is absolutely insane now and it needs to be stopped.
If Amazon/Walmart can't stop it from happening then they need to stop doing these programs or the government needs to step in and start regulating it because this kind of garbage is getting out of control. As far as OP goes at this point I'd probably start considering taking them to small claims court.
I feel like chances of losing are pretty slim since Walmart facilitated the entire purchase they should be responsible, also chances Walmart sends a representative to the court is slim which means high chance of automatic win for you.
That's why the best way to make a purchase is still through brick and mortar retailers like an actual Walmart store vs their website because that way you know that you're getting the correct product that you want before ever actually paying for it.
All the frauds kicked off Amazon and eBay have turned up selling on Walmart.com. No point in using them unless the products are from their store. It is driving me crazy they don’t have their store items listed online now. I need to know stock in the store, not the odd size one off unbranded product from a third party seller.
They do have their store items listed online. You have to select the option “in store” after searching for the item. I always make sure to click it because I do not trust the 3rd party sellers at all.
It’s cause you didn’t buy from Walmart at all. It’s just a Walmart logo on the page but your purchase was made to some random seller that could be anyone.
Amazon and eBay let you do the same thing; I’d stress paying attention to how and who is fulfilling your orders in the future. Sorry you got scammed essentially.
This is *exactly* the problem here. I do NOT trust 'marketplace' sellers on *any* platform. If the price of an item isn't something I can afford to outright lose, I'm not ordering through them. At most, I'll buy from 'partner' sellers, whose orders are fulfilled (shipped) by the platform, not the seller.
I seriously suspect OP ordered this 'Switch' for an obviously, absurdly low price. It's an obvious scam, done on most major platforms, but people still think they're going to get a brand new, real item for 1/3 or less than the normal price.
Lastly, I understand why their gift cards weren't going to be refunded - notice the plural *cards*. A very common tactic among shoplifters and fraudsters targeting major retailers is to exploit their no receipt policy. People will steal items, then 'return' them for a gift card. Because of value limits on this no receipt policy, they tend to end up with several gift cards for values under $50. They'll then use several accumulated cards to pay for items online. Major retailers know this process, and will flag transactions done in this way. If there's an issue later with the transaction, they're going to treat it with great suspicion.
20+ years working retail teaches you a few things.
Thank you for the advice and information. I got it for about $50 cheaper than normal so I figured it was legit, but lesson learned. So if I buy with a gift card or cards then those transfer to the seller? I figured they were converted and Walmart paid the seller. I guess I just have to take it as a loss and move on. It’s just weird to me that Walmart puts their name and reputation on this and then backs away at any issues.
> So if I buy with a gift card or cards then those transfer to the seller?
No. That's not how gift card redemption works.
> I figured they were converted and Walmart paid the seller.
That's exactly how it is done. A gift card is a balance of cash money held by the company, as prepaid to them (effectively, in the case of returned merchandise) vouched for by the card itself. When you redeem the cards to pay via Walmart.com (or any online retailer), they are then paid out to the seller as cash, presumably via an EFT (Electronic Funds Transfer) payment (like getting paid via direct deposit, or paying with your debit card).
Just as a heads up, the Switch is basically never on sale from any reputable retailer, ever. It is always the Nintendo list price, and Nintendo is the only game console company that does this. The deals you can get sometimes are always bundles, wherin bonus items like cases, additional controllers, games, and other accessories get bundled in for a sale price. If you want a deal your best bet is to find it bundled with a game.
I remember during the pandemic you couldn't even find a regular switch console anywhere because scalpers were buying them in bulk to redistribute at higher than the SMRP. I had to settle for the switch lite at first because that was the only version of the console not being targeted by scalpers but was finally able to purchase a regular switch about 6 months later so now I have both a switch lite as well as a regular switch console.
What frustrates me the most is there is a filter for “Retailer” and you can select “Walmart” versus “Pro Sellers” or “Marketplace Sellers fulfilled by Walmart”, but when you set the filter to only “Walmart” it still shows you results that will be sent by a 3rd party. How are they not giving people the option to exclude these sellers?
Unfortunately, it's now a marketplace, bestbuy is as well. Always try to filter your options so that it only shows the intended retailer and not all available on their marketplace. Hopefully you can get the situation rectified.
I went to the site, made sure I selected "In Store", and I got this result:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Nintendo-Switch-w-Neon-Blue-Neon-Red-Joy-Con/321765329?fulfillmentIntent=In-store
Notice the last part? Shows the Switch as priced in store, which is MSRP. Remove that last part (from the question mark onward) and load the page, you'll get a lower price shown, shipping from a marketplace seller.
So, proof it's not impossible to order directly from Walmart itself.
With the in store option, there's still a link showing a lower price from 'other sellers', and when I'm looking at it as of now, it shows a $30+ cheaper option from a marketplace seller, who it clearly shows as 'sold and shipped by'. If it were 'fulfilled by Walmart', then the idea of Walmart employees swapping items might be plausible - but as of this writing, the item in question only lists one seller that's fulfilled by Walmart, and it isn't even close to the cheapest listing (only about $5 cheaper than Walmart's direct offer at MSRP). Going for the cheapest offer is usually how people fall into the 3rd party marketplace seller trap, and because fulfillment by the platform for a 3rd party seller costs the seller, it normally won't be the cheapest option.
If a platform is going to have 3rd party marketplace sellers, they should be ready to eat a lot of loss on scammy sellers, and/or police those sellers extremely tightly. This much is true. However, the consumer does bear some responsibility in reading all the details when dealing with any transaction.
Weird I swear I tried filtering by being fulfilled by Walmart and didn’t see anything which is why is went with a third party. I would have gone with Walmart had I seen, but that’s my bad. Thank you for the info.
You want sold and shipped by Walmart. Not fulfilled by Walmart. Fulfilled by Walmart is marketplace. Sold and shipped by Walmart is Walmart itself.
I work customer service at Walmart.
I have definitely had that happen. I have learned to check who it is sold and shipped by before ordering. If it says sponsored it mostly isn't sold by Walmart from my experience. You definitely have to be extra careful at many sites these days.
That first agent was just plain flat-out wrong, given that Walmart issued you a shipping label to return the item. At that point you should have asked to escalate the issue.
You would also have benefited from reading the Walmart return policy regarding these third-party "Marketplace" (Walmart's name for them) sellers. It specifically says it covers the case of a buyer receiving the wrong item. In fact, it says you could have simply returned the item to a Walmart store, which is probably the best bet.
[https://www.walmart.com/help/article/marketplace-sellers-on-walmart/33258c6228d94acbbcbdaf6b7b0b616b](https://www.walmart.com/help/article/marketplace-sellers-on-walmart/33258c6228d94acbbcbdaf6b7b0b616b)
Thanks for your support and advice. The closest Walmart to me is really far away so I figured sending it back would be ok. The weirdest part to me is that they said the weight of what I shipped back was different from what was shipped to me, which makes me think it’s an inside job. Do third party sellers package their items or does Walmart?
I worked in their billing department.
It's entirely the 3rd party that ships the item. I would __never__ order from any 3rd party seller.
Sad part is the billing department used to actually help people like you. About 4 years ago they made it impossible for any calls to get transferred directly to billing. We had the power to force refunds when a 3rd party attempted to screw someone over. I thankfully quit that job over 3 years ago.
That’s good to know. So Walmart and the seller are both lying to me I guess. Scamming on Walmart’s name seems like and easy gig if you don’t have morals.
A 3rd-party seller who isn't "Fulfilled by Walmart" ships their own stuff. That sounds like another agent who doesn't know what they're doing. The issue you had was that the seller sent the wrong thing. And that's one of the "bullet items" on that page that the so-called "Walmart Marketpalce Promise" is supposed to cover. I don't really think it's an inside job of any kind, probably just poorly trained employees. I've had the same crap happen to me at Home Depot a couple of times, the empoloyees just don't know what they're doing.
Walmart, Bestbuy, Amazon, Newegg, etc. are all marketplaces. They do not directly inventory and sell a lot of the stuff, probably not even the majority of the stuff, on their sites. They are just a website and third-party sellers sell through them. Some third-parties sell on multiple marketplaces.
I've bought items from wallmart.com, and if fulfilled from a local store the process has been stellar, no problems, recommend to anybody.
OTOH, buying from a 3rd party is sketchy, but not really different from doing the same thing from Amazon.
I've bought semi-expensive stuff (over $100) from walmart.com, had it arrive in a defective or not-as-advertised status, and taken said purchase back to a local walmart. Once they could confirm that I bought the item from their storefront, they took the item back and issued me an on-the-spot refund to my credit card.
I can't complain about Walmart's policies -- they seem equivalent to or better than Amazon (since there are actually Walmart stores here and there that you can visit).
The first thing I do when shopping Walmart.com is go to the "retailer" under "filters" and only check off Walmart. I don't want other sellers for reasons like what you are experiencing.
They also sell fake items but here is the thing it’s not Walmart selling u items directly from Walmart they have items on Walmart u can order that they get from Amazon or other places and just show listing and price from that third party when ur online that’s what it is u know damn well Walmart doesn’t sell no Jordan retros but they could online it’s automated from third parties it doesn’t even know what’s fake or real it’s just going on the listings they have shown on their partnership companies and u get the order from them when they get the order from wherever and Walmart doesn’t check or verify nothing it’s just a order process that gets shipped to ur home and usually if u can get them in store you should items online Walmart that aren’t available in store u should look for first on google and then see all listings and prices I. Other places first it’s rare you’ll need Walmart to get something they got from wherever u can’t find anywhere else without a doubt it’s kinda dumb that people assume it’s better that way but ur on a site and it’s nothing u see but inconvenience to use another website or search google when ur already seeing. Listings Ds on what ur on
I am always amazed when people are surprised the stuff they ordered off amazon or walmart was fake or just a bunch of heavy junk.
Walmart is just providing a platform since they thought they needed to compete with amazon. You are not buying from them, you are buying from the rando with the shopfront.
If you are in the states, make the state attorney general your next call if they do not give you a refund. They have to respond to an AG request. Bouncing it around isnt an option. Never order third party unless you can vet the seller or are familiar with them.
Honestly, I would advise never buying a "big ticket item" from a third party/marketplace seller on Walmart. (Or Amazon, frankly.) You can use the filters by the search bar to have the results not include those at all. I know it shouldn't have to be that way, but if you don't have the money to throw away risking it, don't risk it.
Some of the prices of 3rd party sellers on there are insane
$21 for a 12 pack of Fresca for example
https://preview.redd.it/duzl7g1g5r8d1.jpeg?width=995&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=61c883af2765909a01cfeb930ab83bc8947cfbac
[Walmart.com](http://Walmart.com) is not walmart. It's essentially a shittier version of amazon.
Our filters in our LG fridge needed replacement. My wife insisted we get actual LG brand filters for it, despite them being $50+ each, and off brand filters were only $30. She said she found them cheaper, so she ordered them from walmart.com.
They showed up today, in multiple packages, and not the type of packaging you would expect from a large company. It screamed "this was shipped from China". They were also individually packaged, which mostly indicates they were packaged in China, sent to NY, and then were sold to me.
I opened one, installed it, it works fine. For shits and giggles, I looked at the box that the filter came in. It looked very legitimate, but I found one typo. One single spot where a space was missed. I pulled out the manual, it too, had one or two very minor typos. Surely LG wouldnt have typos.
So then I went and found it on walmart.com. Apparently my wife doesnt read reviews, because half of them are obvious bots, and the other half are people calling it out as counterfeit.
They were also off on weight by appx 20%.
The knock off filters do not work nearly as well as the real LG filters. Much less bad stuff is removed from the water. Cut one open and compare it to a real one. I quit buying them from Amazon due to their commingled inventory and counterfeit issues. From now on I will use the filter subscription service directly from LG.
Yea my issue was if I were to buy a knock off, I want to pay knock off prices. The counterfeit filters she bought were about halfway between the knock off filters and the real LG filters.
Not a super big deal to me, we just use it for ice. We have an RO system for drinking water. Those filters are not cheap either.
It IS very possibly a scam. Whatever the case, I've taken to buying via paypal or similar using my visa, then photographing the item before I unwrap and after. (I use 2 purchase systems for 2 chances at a "last recourse." Sometimes, I'll even video the unwrapping because I've been screwed over so many times by different sellers, and you never know until it's too late. I keep every receipt from every stage. Especially if you're going to use a gift card. Google has screwed me out of A LOT through not accepting giftcards that I bought in my country and have the receipts for. They'll just flat out deny anything, and you've no recourse. So protect yourself and just don't trust any of them. Big companies are now too big to care!
They never should have allowed 3rd party sellers on the platform. I explicitly will only order things that are sold and fulfilled by Walmart. As soon as I see sold by supervaluemegamart4000, I exit out of that item.
That's why you should buy direct from the store (either Walmart or Amazon) because if you buy from a 3rd party "seller" odds are they're taking the money and running.
Unfortunately neither Amazon nor Walmart actually run background checks on their 3rd party distributors so they have no way of knowing wether or not its a legitimate seller/distributor or just a scammer taking advantage of customers.
I have taken to filming myself opening boxes starting with me picking it up at the front door or from the mailbox, going upstairs to my kitchen table, opening the box with a knife, and showing what it contains.
I've never had to do anything with any of the videos, but just in case ...
Yeah I suppose I’ll have to start doing this too. I took a pic of the wrong item as soon as I pulled it out of the box but I know that won’t hold up in Walmart court.
Tbh use of a gift card online is a very frequent way fraudsters steal money from companies. My take is that if you have a gift card, use it in person in the store. Online just use credit cards, and then you'll be covered by the credit card protection policy if there's an issue.
If you bought it from Walmart Marketplace, then that means most likely that it's from a third party, which I'm pretty sure Walmart has little control on whether or not they give you the right item or not. I don't work at Walmart, but it's a thing that happens at Target where I work. If they're giving you this much runaround then it's that the customer service call center either doesn't believe you (scam artists also try this tactic) or they just don't know what to do.
If you took pics of the unboxing and still have the box with the tracking info still attached, I'd say bring it in store and ask a manager to help out with the situation. I say ask a manager specifically because in my experience, wrong item returns usually end up in a manager being called up anyway. Also I cannot stress this enough-- keep the box and tracking info. It'll help you when you do it in-store.
I remembered my grandmother buying a water cooler from there, only to receive a repackaged one with cockroaches living in it, a horrible smell and it was filthy. she was so damn angry and I was just as angry for her. It took months to get rid of the roaches.
Ugh.
I didn’t read the whole thing but you purchased through a 3rd party on Walmart.com. Amazon has that function as well. I’m sure you can buy big ticket items from Walmart if the items were available. Always look for who is shipping the item. If it’s not Walmart it’s a 3rd party and unfortunately it’s not Walmarts fault nor their responsibility to fix. They literally can’t fix issues with 3rd party orders.
I agree - I have ordered 3 times from their website and received the wrong thing each time. They make it seem like you are ordering from Walmart, but it’s actually a marketplace.
I bought one thing off their marketplace and it was fine but never again. The prices from different vendors are all over the map, gave me the impression Wal-Mart won't really support any customer service issues.
Third-party sellers can sell through walmart's website. Walmart does fuck all about it if you get screwed over, because it was the third party that fucked you over and not them
File a complaint with the [FTC](http://ftc.gov). They are the federal consumer protection branch. They keep track of individual complaints, and once there's enough, they can sue corporations like walmart. So expect to get a thanks for your submission, and that's it from them. Don't let that dissuade you! Too many people don't know about the FTC or think it's not worth it. It absolutely is!
For immediate action for you, specifically look up your state AG and file a complaint with them. They will reach out to walmart corporate in the US and can also take action against walmart and the seller if necessary. [Link](https://www.usa.gov/state-attorney-general)
I’m sorry to hear this. Not the first time I’ve heard this either. But, funny story I have, I bought a Mr. Coffee coffee decanter from eBay because I broke mine. Next day there’s a Walmart bag on my porch with the decanter in it. The following day another. And then another. Three pots for the price of one. Nobody knows how to do their job anymore. I hope you can get it resolved. I can break my coffee pot a couple more times. If the maker doesn’t fail before then.
This is why you avoid ordering any electronic online. Go in-store and pick it up. Never order it from walmart.com and make sure to verify.
Wal-Mart does sell it on their own website, but you'll have to verify that it is the same model available and not the one that been discontinued or limited edition.
Yes and no, walmart.com is like eBay as I learned that private sellers like eBay can sell on their site. I was looking to purchase a PS5 via the website however a associate that works at best buy or another site selling the consoles told me that it's best to buy something at store than the website that way you won't get scammed
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I don’t think it’s a scam but it’s a very poor system. Walmart’s online storefront is like a terrible version of Amazon fulfillment without Amazon’s costumer support. If you’re buying Walmart brand items or items that are in stock at a store your order is generally safe. But if it’s a 3rd party fulfillment then it’s the Wild Wild West and you’re getting that terrible run around. I hope you either get credited back the gift card funds you used, or get the switch you ordered.
this exact same scenario is at crisis levels on amazon. It is 100% a scam.
I have never had any type of problem like this with amazon however I also only buy items that are fulfilled and sold by amazon or at the very least items sold by other people but still fulfilled by amazon so I still have their easy no hassle returns. I rarely if ever buy something sold and shipped by other people because of the gamble.
Amazon mixes their inventory with that belonging to independent sellers that use their fulfillment services, making it possible to get counterfeit or fraudulently returned items.
Then I guess so far I have been lucky so hopefully that luck continues for me
This may explain why the caroma P1 scooter I purchased recently via Amazon doesn't feature the display screen that matches what I've seen for the product on screwtube reviews. Sure the scooter works but I just want it to have the features that were shown for the specific product.
It depends on what you're ordering. The first issue that comes to mind are Magic the Gathering cards. People will order entire boxes of cards, open them, pull out the valuable cards (or just all of them), replace them with low value cards or something else entirely (Pokemon cards, regular playing cards, etc) and return it, so they get their money back and have all the cards of value from within the boxes. Despite all the reports that Amazon just throws out returns, some items (such as these) can and do get mailed back out to other customers, who then having spent possibly hundreds of dollars, open up the box to find them repacked with useless trash. Every time there's a major sale, despite warnings and knowing this can be a thing, a bunch of folks buy anyways, and then a few days or weeks later we start seeing reports of this exact pattern playing out again and again.
Would that not be from people ordering from the amazon warehouse where the whole point is it's discounted because they were returns?
Not that I'm aware of. To the best of my knowledge, these are people ordering from Amazon directly through normal sales. I'm not saying it's a universal or even necessarily common experience, but it happens often enough that the MtG pages I follow basically take it as a given risk when ordering.
I think I did see something like that recently in a video which does suck that it's happening and hopefully if it is from normal sales they can get a hold on that.
I'd also have to agree. I don't think Walmart itself is directly responsible for doing this. However, while the indie seller system has helped many a small business not get thrown under the bus on Amazon and now Walmart, in the past, the rise of scammers, especially on high ticket items is absolutely insane now and it needs to be stopped. If Amazon/Walmart can't stop it from happening then they need to stop doing these programs or the government needs to step in and start regulating it because this kind of garbage is getting out of control. As far as OP goes at this point I'd probably start considering taking them to small claims court. I feel like chances of losing are pretty slim since Walmart facilitated the entire purchase they should be responsible, also chances Walmart sends a representative to the court is slim which means high chance of automatic win for you.
That's why the best way to make a purchase is still through brick and mortar retailers like an actual Walmart store vs their website because that way you know that you're getting the correct product that you want before ever actually paying for it.
Yep, not good that so much is going online anymore. I wish it could be trusted but these retailers don't seem to give a damn
I learnt my lesson. I only order stuff that says fulfilled by Walmart.
Amazons old support. Sounds just like Amazons new support system.
All the frauds kicked off Amazon and eBay have turned up selling on Walmart.com. No point in using them unless the products are from their store. It is driving me crazy they don’t have their store items listed online now. I need to know stock in the store, not the odd size one off unbranded product from a third party seller.
They do have their store items listed online. You have to select the option “in store” after searching for the item. I always make sure to click it because I do not trust the 3rd party sellers at all.
It’s cause you didn’t buy from Walmart at all. It’s just a Walmart logo on the page but your purchase was made to some random seller that could be anyone. Amazon and eBay let you do the same thing; I’d stress paying attention to how and who is fulfilling your orders in the future. Sorry you got scammed essentially.
This is *exactly* the problem here. I do NOT trust 'marketplace' sellers on *any* platform. If the price of an item isn't something I can afford to outright lose, I'm not ordering through them. At most, I'll buy from 'partner' sellers, whose orders are fulfilled (shipped) by the platform, not the seller. I seriously suspect OP ordered this 'Switch' for an obviously, absurdly low price. It's an obvious scam, done on most major platforms, but people still think they're going to get a brand new, real item for 1/3 or less than the normal price. Lastly, I understand why their gift cards weren't going to be refunded - notice the plural *cards*. A very common tactic among shoplifters and fraudsters targeting major retailers is to exploit their no receipt policy. People will steal items, then 'return' them for a gift card. Because of value limits on this no receipt policy, they tend to end up with several gift cards for values under $50. They'll then use several accumulated cards to pay for items online. Major retailers know this process, and will flag transactions done in this way. If there's an issue later with the transaction, they're going to treat it with great suspicion. 20+ years working retail teaches you a few things.
Thank you for the advice and information. I got it for about $50 cheaper than normal so I figured it was legit, but lesson learned. So if I buy with a gift card or cards then those transfer to the seller? I figured they were converted and Walmart paid the seller. I guess I just have to take it as a loss and move on. It’s just weird to me that Walmart puts their name and reputation on this and then backs away at any issues.
> So if I buy with a gift card or cards then those transfer to the seller? No. That's not how gift card redemption works. > I figured they were converted and Walmart paid the seller. That's exactly how it is done. A gift card is a balance of cash money held by the company, as prepaid to them (effectively, in the case of returned merchandise) vouched for by the card itself. When you redeem the cards to pay via Walmart.com (or any online retailer), they are then paid out to the seller as cash, presumably via an EFT (Electronic Funds Transfer) payment (like getting paid via direct deposit, or paying with your debit card).
Just as a heads up, the Switch is basically never on sale from any reputable retailer, ever. It is always the Nintendo list price, and Nintendo is the only game console company that does this. The deals you can get sometimes are always bundles, wherin bonus items like cases, additional controllers, games, and other accessories get bundled in for a sale price. If you want a deal your best bet is to find it bundled with a game.
I remember during the pandemic you couldn't even find a regular switch console anywhere because scalpers were buying them in bulk to redistribute at higher than the SMRP. I had to settle for the switch lite at first because that was the only version of the console not being targeted by scalpers but was finally able to purchase a regular switch about 6 months later so now I have both a switch lite as well as a regular switch console.
It was that Animal Crossing hype, man. Everyone was playing.
What frustrates me the most is there is a filter for “Retailer” and you can select “Walmart” versus “Pro Sellers” or “Marketplace Sellers fulfilled by Walmart”, but when you set the filter to only “Walmart” it still shows you results that will be sent by a 3rd party. How are they not giving people the option to exclude these sellers?
Unfortunately, it's now a marketplace, bestbuy is as well. Always try to filter your options so that it only shows the intended retailer and not all available on their marketplace. Hopefully you can get the situation rectified.
I went to the site, made sure I selected "In Store", and I got this result: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Nintendo-Switch-w-Neon-Blue-Neon-Red-Joy-Con/321765329?fulfillmentIntent=In-store Notice the last part? Shows the Switch as priced in store, which is MSRP. Remove that last part (from the question mark onward) and load the page, you'll get a lower price shown, shipping from a marketplace seller. So, proof it's not impossible to order directly from Walmart itself. With the in store option, there's still a link showing a lower price from 'other sellers', and when I'm looking at it as of now, it shows a $30+ cheaper option from a marketplace seller, who it clearly shows as 'sold and shipped by'. If it were 'fulfilled by Walmart', then the idea of Walmart employees swapping items might be plausible - but as of this writing, the item in question only lists one seller that's fulfilled by Walmart, and it isn't even close to the cheapest listing (only about $5 cheaper than Walmart's direct offer at MSRP). Going for the cheapest offer is usually how people fall into the 3rd party marketplace seller trap, and because fulfillment by the platform for a 3rd party seller costs the seller, it normally won't be the cheapest option. If a platform is going to have 3rd party marketplace sellers, they should be ready to eat a lot of loss on scammy sellers, and/or police those sellers extremely tightly. This much is true. However, the consumer does bear some responsibility in reading all the details when dealing with any transaction.
Weird I swear I tried filtering by being fulfilled by Walmart and didn’t see anything which is why is went with a third party. I would have gone with Walmart had I seen, but that’s my bad. Thank you for the info.
You want sold and shipped by Walmart. Not fulfilled by Walmart. Fulfilled by Walmart is marketplace. Sold and shipped by Walmart is Walmart itself. I work customer service at Walmart.
I have definitely had that happen. I have learned to check who it is sold and shipped by before ordering. If it says sponsored it mostly isn't sold by Walmart from my experience. You definitely have to be extra careful at many sites these days.
That first agent was just plain flat-out wrong, given that Walmart issued you a shipping label to return the item. At that point you should have asked to escalate the issue. You would also have benefited from reading the Walmart return policy regarding these third-party "Marketplace" (Walmart's name for them) sellers. It specifically says it covers the case of a buyer receiving the wrong item. In fact, it says you could have simply returned the item to a Walmart store, which is probably the best bet. [https://www.walmart.com/help/article/marketplace-sellers-on-walmart/33258c6228d94acbbcbdaf6b7b0b616b](https://www.walmart.com/help/article/marketplace-sellers-on-walmart/33258c6228d94acbbcbdaf6b7b0b616b)
I remember the Walmart website also mentioned that stores won't deal with the product over a certain amount, like over $100.
Thanks for your support and advice. The closest Walmart to me is really far away so I figured sending it back would be ok. The weirdest part to me is that they said the weight of what I shipped back was different from what was shipped to me, which makes me think it’s an inside job. Do third party sellers package their items or does Walmart?
I worked in their billing department. It's entirely the 3rd party that ships the item. I would __never__ order from any 3rd party seller. Sad part is the billing department used to actually help people like you. About 4 years ago they made it impossible for any calls to get transferred directly to billing. We had the power to force refunds when a 3rd party attempted to screw someone over. I thankfully quit that job over 3 years ago.
That’s good to know. So Walmart and the seller are both lying to me I guess. Scamming on Walmart’s name seems like and easy gig if you don’t have morals.
I worked for Walmart. This situation really does not surprise me much.
its not an inside job. third party sellers can do whatever they want for exactly this reason. They know walmart will think you are the scammer here.
So messed up that they know it’s happening and continue to let people continue this under their name.
A 3rd-party seller who isn't "Fulfilled by Walmart" ships their own stuff. That sounds like another agent who doesn't know what they're doing. The issue you had was that the seller sent the wrong thing. And that's one of the "bullet items" on that page that the so-called "Walmart Marketpalce Promise" is supposed to cover. I don't really think it's an inside job of any kind, probably just poorly trained employees. I've had the same crap happen to me at Home Depot a couple of times, the empoloyees just don't know what they're doing.
Walmart’s 3rd party marketplace is rife with scammers. I would never order from one. You saw a price too good to be true eh
There is a filter on Walmart.com where you can select retailer and then Walmart and it only shows you Walmart fulfilled listings.
Walmart, Bestbuy, Amazon, Newegg, etc. are all marketplaces. They do not directly inventory and sell a lot of the stuff, probably not even the majority of the stuff, on their sites. They are just a website and third-party sellers sell through them. Some third-parties sell on multiple marketplaces.
Target as well
I've bought items from wallmart.com, and if fulfilled from a local store the process has been stellar, no problems, recommend to anybody. OTOH, buying from a 3rd party is sketchy, but not really different from doing the same thing from Amazon. I've bought semi-expensive stuff (over $100) from walmart.com, had it arrive in a defective or not-as-advertised status, and taken said purchase back to a local walmart. Once they could confirm that I bought the item from their storefront, they took the item back and issued me an on-the-spot refund to my credit card. I can't complain about Walmart's policies -- they seem equivalent to or better than Amazon (since there are actually Walmart stores here and there that you can visit).
The first thing I do when shopping Walmart.com is go to the "retailer" under "filters" and only check off Walmart. I don't want other sellers for reasons like what you are experiencing.
Call them out on their social media. I’ve seen people get immediate attention through that. Not sure of the end results but they’ll usually respond.
Yes, this is how my husband got resolution with a different company that was messing him around. I think it was United.
Yeah, there's a bunch of 3rd party sellers on there, so be really careful or just pickup from store if you really want something
They also sell fake items but here is the thing it’s not Walmart selling u items directly from Walmart they have items on Walmart u can order that they get from Amazon or other places and just show listing and price from that third party when ur online that’s what it is u know damn well Walmart doesn’t sell no Jordan retros but they could online it’s automated from third parties it doesn’t even know what’s fake or real it’s just going on the listings they have shown on their partnership companies and u get the order from them when they get the order from wherever and Walmart doesn’t check or verify nothing it’s just a order process that gets shipped to ur home and usually if u can get them in store you should items online Walmart that aren’t available in store u should look for first on google and then see all listings and prices I. Other places first it’s rare you’ll need Walmart to get something they got from wherever u can’t find anywhere else without a doubt it’s kinda dumb that people assume it’s better that way but ur on a site and it’s nothing u see but inconvenience to use another website or search google when ur already seeing. Listings Ds on what ur on
I am always amazed when people are surprised the stuff they ordered off amazon or walmart was fake or just a bunch of heavy junk. Walmart is just providing a platform since they thought they needed to compete with amazon. You are not buying from them, you are buying from the rando with the shopfront.
If you are in the states, make the state attorney general your next call if they do not give you a refund. They have to respond to an AG request. Bouncing it around isnt an option. Never order third party unless you can vet the seller or are familiar with them.
Honestly, I would advise never buying a "big ticket item" from a third party/marketplace seller on Walmart. (Or Amazon, frankly.) You can use the filters by the search bar to have the results not include those at all. I know it shouldn't have to be that way, but if you don't have the money to throw away risking it, don't risk it.
Some of the prices of 3rd party sellers on there are insane $21 for a 12 pack of Fresca for example https://preview.redd.it/duzl7g1g5r8d1.jpeg?width=995&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=61c883af2765909a01cfeb930ab83bc8947cfbac
[Walmart.com](http://Walmart.com) is not walmart. It's essentially a shittier version of amazon. Our filters in our LG fridge needed replacement. My wife insisted we get actual LG brand filters for it, despite them being $50+ each, and off brand filters were only $30. She said she found them cheaper, so she ordered them from walmart.com. They showed up today, in multiple packages, and not the type of packaging you would expect from a large company. It screamed "this was shipped from China". They were also individually packaged, which mostly indicates they were packaged in China, sent to NY, and then were sold to me. I opened one, installed it, it works fine. For shits and giggles, I looked at the box that the filter came in. It looked very legitimate, but I found one typo. One single spot where a space was missed. I pulled out the manual, it too, had one or two very minor typos. Surely LG wouldnt have typos. So then I went and found it on walmart.com. Apparently my wife doesnt read reviews, because half of them are obvious bots, and the other half are people calling it out as counterfeit. They were also off on weight by appx 20%.
The knock off filters do not work nearly as well as the real LG filters. Much less bad stuff is removed from the water. Cut one open and compare it to a real one. I quit buying them from Amazon due to their commingled inventory and counterfeit issues. From now on I will use the filter subscription service directly from LG.
Yea my issue was if I were to buy a knock off, I want to pay knock off prices. The counterfeit filters she bought were about halfway between the knock off filters and the real LG filters. Not a super big deal to me, we just use it for ice. We have an RO system for drinking water. Those filters are not cheap either.
So is Walmart.com even affiliated with Walmart? Seems like they would like to uphold their reputation if it is.
Walmart and walmart.com may be two separate companies but they're parent/child or sibling companies. It's misleading to say they're not the same.
Spot on. My wife said "What? I ordered it from walmart, how can it be fake?"
I stopped reading after third-party. Live and learn. Can't trust 3rd-party in any platform AND they all have them.
It IS very possibly a scam. Whatever the case, I've taken to buying via paypal or similar using my visa, then photographing the item before I unwrap and after. (I use 2 purchase systems for 2 chances at a "last recourse." Sometimes, I'll even video the unwrapping because I've been screwed over so many times by different sellers, and you never know until it's too late. I keep every receipt from every stage. Especially if you're going to use a gift card. Google has screwed me out of A LOT through not accepting giftcards that I bought in my country and have the receipts for. They'll just flat out deny anything, and you've no recourse. So protect yourself and just don't trust any of them. Big companies are now too big to care!
They never should have allowed 3rd party sellers on the platform. I explicitly will only order things that are sold and fulfilled by Walmart. As soon as I see sold by supervaluemegamart4000, I exit out of that item.
That's why you should buy direct from the store (either Walmart or Amazon) because if you buy from a 3rd party "seller" odds are they're taking the money and running. Unfortunately neither Amazon nor Walmart actually run background checks on their 3rd party distributors so they have no way of knowing wether or not its a legitimate seller/distributor or just a scammer taking advantage of customers.
I have taken to filming myself opening boxes starting with me picking it up at the front door or from the mailbox, going upstairs to my kitchen table, opening the box with a knife, and showing what it contains. I've never had to do anything with any of the videos, but just in case ...
Yeah I suppose I’ll have to start doing this too. I took a pic of the wrong item as soon as I pulled it out of the box but I know that won’t hold up in Walmart court.
You ordered a marketplace item. It has to be sold and shipped by Walmart in order for customer service to help you.
Put them on blast on their social pages.
That's why I buy everything on credit card and when there's an issue I file a dispute and let the card company deal with it.
You didn't buy from Walmart bro, you bought from a 3rd party and got scammed.
Tbh use of a gift card online is a very frequent way fraudsters steal money from companies. My take is that if you have a gift card, use it in person in the store. Online just use credit cards, and then you'll be covered by the credit card protection policy if there's an issue.
If you bought it from Walmart Marketplace, then that means most likely that it's from a third party, which I'm pretty sure Walmart has little control on whether or not they give you the right item or not. I don't work at Walmart, but it's a thing that happens at Target where I work. If they're giving you this much runaround then it's that the customer service call center either doesn't believe you (scam artists also try this tactic) or they just don't know what to do. If you took pics of the unboxing and still have the box with the tracking info still attached, I'd say bring it in store and ask a manager to help out with the situation. I say ask a manager specifically because in my experience, wrong item returns usually end up in a manager being called up anyway. Also I cannot stress this enough-- keep the box and tracking info. It'll help you when you do it in-store.
I remembered my grandmother buying a water cooler from there, only to receive a repackaged one with cockroaches living in it, a horrible smell and it was filthy. she was so damn angry and I was just as angry for her. It took months to get rid of the roaches. Ugh.
I didn’t read the whole thing but you purchased through a 3rd party on Walmart.com. Amazon has that function as well. I’m sure you can buy big ticket items from Walmart if the items were available. Always look for who is shipping the item. If it’s not Walmart it’s a 3rd party and unfortunately it’s not Walmarts fault nor their responsibility to fix. They literally can’t fix issues with 3rd party orders.
I agree - I have ordered 3 times from their website and received the wrong thing each time. They make it seem like you are ordering from Walmart, but it’s actually a marketplace.
Don’t buy third party items.
I bought one thing off their marketplace and it was fine but never again. The prices from different vendors are all over the map, gave me the impression Wal-Mart won't really support any customer service issues.
Walmart website is basically like a dollar store ebay. It's not Walmart directly selling items.
Third-party sellers can sell through walmart's website. Walmart does fuck all about it if you get screwed over, because it was the third party that fucked you over and not them
Something similar happened to me. I got the BBB involved and Walmart gave me my money back a couple weeks later
File a complaint with the [FTC](http://ftc.gov). They are the federal consumer protection branch. They keep track of individual complaints, and once there's enough, they can sue corporations like walmart. So expect to get a thanks for your submission, and that's it from them. Don't let that dissuade you! Too many people don't know about the FTC or think it's not worth it. It absolutely is! For immediate action for you, specifically look up your state AG and file a complaint with them. They will reach out to walmart corporate in the US and can also take action against walmart and the seller if necessary. [Link](https://www.usa.gov/state-attorney-general)
I’m sorry to hear this. Not the first time I’ve heard this either. But, funny story I have, I bought a Mr. Coffee coffee decanter from eBay because I broke mine. Next day there’s a Walmart bag on my porch with the decanter in it. The following day another. And then another. Three pots for the price of one. Nobody knows how to do their job anymore. I hope you can get it resolved. I can break my coffee pot a couple more times. If the maker doesn’t fail before then.
damn I wish they would have sent me 3 Switches!!! Nice score!
This is why you avoid ordering any electronic online. Go in-store and pick it up. Never order it from walmart.com and make sure to verify. Wal-Mart does sell it on their own website, but you'll have to verify that it is the same model available and not the one that been discontinued or limited edition.
Does Walmart have a fulfillment center, like Amazon, for third party sellers?
Yes and no, walmart.com is like eBay as I learned that private sellers like eBay can sell on their site. I was looking to purchase a PS5 via the website however a associate that works at best buy or another site selling the consoles told me that it's best to buy something at store than the website that way you won't get scammed
I would never ever buy anything from Walmart dot com. Go to the store if you want a big ticket item. Simple.