- First check the box for signs of mishandling. These items are large and heavy and they usually travel UPS or Fedex Ground which means that most likely a signature will not be required. It is possible that your makeup vanity could be delivered and left at your front door when you are at work or away from your home.
- If the box is clearly dented, roughed up, has smashed corners or is ripped in any way make sure that you snap a couple of pics with your smart phone or camera. Make a call or email the seller, retailer or Amazon. Explain to them that your vanity arrived damaged.
- We do recommend that you make your purchase through Amazon or a very well known retailer as you have a bit more buyer protection than if you purchased through a private seller on eBay or a lesser known furniture website.
- If the damage is to the extent that you can see the contents inside and it is banged up you probably do not want to even open the box and you can let them know this as well when you call or email.
If you made your purchase through:
- Amazon Direct: They most likely will offer to send you a new product out and pick up your damaged unit all at no cost to you. This is where it pays off to buy Amazon direct. They may or may not ask for picture proof.
- Third party through Amazon: They may offer to send you a new product out and pick up the damaged unit OR they may tell you that you have to send the item back at your cost. ($55.00 – $110.00)
- eBay or lesser known retailer: They may tell you that you have to send the item back at your cost or have you wait and hold on to the vanity until they file a claim through the carrier which can take a couple of weeks or longer to investigate, especially during the Holidays. (This is the worst case scenario and most eBay sellers will make it right for you).
You may be instructed by the retailer or seller to open the package and check the contents and it is possible that the damage is only to the outer carton. The packaging has improved tremendously in the last 10 years for these items. Most of the better known brands (we will cover that in another article) will have super dense molded foam encased all around your makeup vanity and are wrapped in a thick double walled cardboard outer box. Honestly the packaging is great and damage these days is pretty rare.
If the outer carton looks great but you still have a damaged product (internal damage) it could be through mishandling of the carrier or from the factory itself . Not to worry, simply make the call or send the email as stated above and make sure you snap some pics. If the damage is small, they may offer you a discount to keep the vanity “as is” or they may offer to send you out replacement parts of the damaged portion.
We have seen customers leave terrible feedback for larger items like this because the product arrived damaged and they did not know that they could call and request a total replacement or even replacement parts. You are covered and can be made whole with minimum effort depending on who and from where you make your vanity purchase.
Sometimes you will see a slightly lower price from an eBay seller (check their return policy) or from a lesser known online retailer (check their return policy). You can think of that extra $10.00 – $20.00 you spend for that makeup vanity through Amazon or a larger retailer like “a peace of mind” coverage when it comes to damage and replace situations.
The Summary / TLDR Section:
- Makeup vanities ship in boxes that are big and heavy.
- They travel ground carrier and may be left at your door when you are not home.
- If it arrives damaged, you may be covered depending on where you make your purchase.
- Take pictures of any and all damage.
- The packaging these days is great and damage is actually rare.
- If you buy a makeup vanity, make sure it is from a reputable retailer.
- Sometimes a slightly higher retail price = peace of mind/insurance.
If you have any questions or concerns about makeup vanities in general, please feel free to post a comment below and I will be more than happy to try and help out.
Sincerely,
The Vanity Girl
PS – Make sure to check out my makeup vanity photo gallery
