When my husband and I registered for our wedding at Bed Bath and Beyond, I can remember the guy showing us the cookware and knives and saying something about returning it later on if it wears out or gets dull. I filed that fact away, but I didn't really believe him. Well, I'm getting really frustrated these days because the nonstick property of our expensive Calphalon cookware has quit on me, leaving all kinds of food stuck and burnt on the pan. I've taken care of these pans, always handwashed, no metal utensils, etc. I was bummed at the thought of having to go out and buy new pans again already, especially since these were so expensive to begin with. I've only had them for 4 years.
Well, I was looking around for information on the lifespan of nonstick pans, and I happened to remember the comments of the salesperson when we bought the pans. I thought, what the heck, I can ask and if they say no, whatever, at least I tried. So I went on the live chat customer service on their website and he said the same thing! He said that BB&B does not require the items to be in their original packaging or a receipt, they can be used/laundered, and there is absolutely no time limit on returns or exchanges!
Has anyone ever had experience with this generous return/exchange policy? Is it too good to be true? I want to know before I pack up all my pans and drag them in there only to get shut down.
Don't know. But I would have hit "print screen" and printed the comment out and brought it with me for back up. Either way you should be covered. Calphalon has a lifetime warranty. It'll be more work, but even if BB&B can't help you Calphalon should. Good luck!
OMG!! You made my day!!!!! I have the same situation but I have had them a bit longer. I have been so upset about these pots & pans and wanting a new set. Contacted the live chat and verified I could exchange even though they don't sell my pots any more. Woooo hooooo Bed Bath & Beyond here I come! Can't wait to get my stainless steel pots...YES!
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you for posting this...I had no idea!
I could believe it.
Think about it - how many customers will actually take advantage - 1 out of 100? 1 out of 1,000?
Pretty good return on their cost. You just mentioned to 10,000 of your closest friends - you and us will all feel great about BB&B, and probably be more likely to shop there.
However, only a very few of us will return anything. So the cost of your pans has got to be less than the advertising they would have to spend to get as many people to feel good about their store.
Return them in good conscience - they made a shrewd business/advertising decision that is no doubt paying off for them. :)
I hope they work with you. I don't shop there so I don't know. I do know that store keep up with returns and who returns things most often.. that is why they get your info. When someone returns a lot and often, then the rules change.
As for the pans, I recommend Stainless All Clad. They are far from cheap but great quality, no issues with sticking, etc. The small sauce pans are about $120 when I bought about 6 yrs ago but all of mine still look brand new.
Good luck and let us know if you get to make an exchange!
Dad covered a lot of it, the other part is the really expensive items tend to have long or lifetime warranties. So they take it from you and send it to the manufacturer. That way they are not out the money and they have a happy customer. All they have to do is be the middle man.
People tend to return big ticket items before small stuff so I would imagine a high percentage of the actual returns cost them nothing.
yup they're awesome! also anything you got off your registry, if your registry exists and you return it without receipt they give you cash back=)
I'm shopping for new bedding and after reading this post, will be headed to BB&B! Good to know!
Wow, I'm so glad you asked this, and glad to see the responses. Because the EXACT SAME THING has happened with my Cephalon cookware that I bought there. I will take mine back too :)
I'm so glad I read this today! I knew they would take things back without a receipt, but didn't realize how extensive their return policy is.
I am sitting on two Le Creuset pans that are over 4 years old and the enamel has chipped from the inside of the pans, rendering them useless. Le Creuset has a lifetime guarantee, but I have to eat the cost of shipping them back (they are enamel coated cast iron and weigh a TON) and they might reject one of my pans since it has scorch marks on it (hubby made rice), even though the enamel has chipped only from parts that weren't scorched. Anyway, I read this and decided to give BB&B a try, since that's where the pans were purchased from originally.
Well, I walked in with my pans and they instantly accepted them for exchange. Of course, the store I was in doesn't stock them and they've discontinued my color online, but I found my pans at 2 other nearby stores and will be exchanging them this week!
Definitely not too good to be true! Thanks for posting!
More than likely that is true. Calphalon has a lifetime warranty on them anyway. It would probably be easier to take them back to Bed Bath and Beyond, but if all else fails you could always contact Calphalon themselves. If you go through the company, you would have to pay return shipping, which can be kind of pricey, but they will usually replace your set of pans. I would save yourself the shipping and go back to the store.
My best friend did this with her knife set. No problems for her!
Yep, my friend purchases a lot her stuff through them for that very reason. You might pay a little more, but their return policy is worth it.
Example: she bought one of those stainless steel trash cans from them. Had it for two years and the lid stopped working. She paid good money for it (more then I would have) but she took it back and they replaced it. Most people don't know this but Costco also has a similar policy.
Thanks for sharing! Just wanted to suggest going to stainless steel for your cookware. You'll never have to worry about them going bad or needing to be replaced.
The exact same thing happened to us -same pots & pans and all! My husband packed them up (we didn't even have the original box) and took them back to BB& B - they gave him CASH back- even without the recipt! Crazy! So he bought the stainless steel version which are more expensive, but with one of their coupons, I think we actually made money! I was shocked! You shouldn't have any problems, as long as you have all of the pieces- covers and pots. Good luck!
It's not too good to be true. I only shop there because of the return policy. I received a hand held slicer for last Christmas (not this past Christmas) and it cracked. I brought it back b/c my sister's didn't break. They gave me a new one and said sorry miss for the inconvenience. I also returned a waffle maker that they exchanged after it broke, no questions asked beside why I needed to exchange.
Love them.
It's true!
I bought an electric cookie press one Christmas for a friend of mine. Of course she didn't open it until the NEXT Christmas season and it was awful. The dough got stuck. It was useless. I cleaned it the best I could and brought it back, a full year after purchase. It only had a short warrenty. (Unbelievably, I had the box with the gift receipt on it.)
I prepared to launch into the long explanation, but the clerk said she was so sorry and immediately gave me store credit. She didn't even seem bothered by the dough still stuck in it, where I couldn't get it clean.
Best of luck.
I've had great experiences with their return policy too. I've returned two calphalon non-stick pans (one three months after purchase and one two years later). I got an even exchange for one and the other they gave me cash back and I used it to upgrade to a better pan. I've also returned used towels that started to change color after a few uses. I also love that they take expired coupons and coupons from Buy Buy Baby, and they will allow you to use multiple coupons in a purchase.
