I wanted to add my experience with Amazon to the archives just in case anyone has questions about returning a defective WSM.
I ordered a WSM from Amazon (via Virtual Weber Bullet, of course). It arrived four days later. Upon opening the box, I found that the charcoal bowl was significantly out-of-round and there was a one-inch patch on the lip of the bowl where bare metal was showing. There didn't seem to be damage to the box.
I fitted the bowl to the middle cylinder and saw that there was about a 1/2 inch wide gap. I thought for a few seconds about trying to bend the bowl back into shape. If this had been a $35 ECB I probably would have, but I felt that since I had paid a "premium" price for Weber quality, I deserved to have it perfect right out of the box.
I looked through the manual where it said that if there were any problems that I should phone Weber rather than return the smoker to place of purchase. I phoned the number and the woman who answered told me that "Amazon stands behind their products" and that I should return the smoker to them. I was kind of hoping that they would just send me a replacement bowl. I guess they must handle smokers from Amazon differently from those bought in brick-and-mortar stores.
I connected to Amazon's website. They gave me the option of returning the item for refund or having a replacement sent. I THOUGHT I chose "replacement" (more on this later). They also gave me the option of having UPS come to my house to pick up the smoker or my dropping it off at a UPS facility. Seeing how heavy the box was, I chose to have UPS pick it up. In all cases, there was no shipping charge for returning the defective item.
The next day, the big brown truck stopped by and they took the box. They gave me a tracking number. All-in-all, a painless experience (if you don't count the disappointment in not getting to play with my new toy right away).
I was able to use the tracking number to confirm that the box made it back to Amazon. A few days later, I saw that my Amazon account said the refund was processed on my credit card.
The only problem now was: Where is my new smoker? I e-mailed Amazon about the status of the replacement. They sent back an e-mail saying that my refund had been processed. I sent another e-mail thanking them for the refund, but asking if a replacement was being sent.
They sent an apologetic e-mail which said, basically, that while they were sure I meant to ask for a replacement, their records showed that I has just asked for a refund. They said that if I wanted to re-order the smoker that I could. They also gave me a $10 credit on my next order.
So, I've ordered the smoker again, using the $10 credit. Shipping is free, so the smoker will end up on my doorstep for $169 total.
Another strange thing I noticed is that while the page says that the smoker "usually ships within 24 hours", the estimated ship date on the confirmation page was seven days from now. I seem to recall seeing that the last time I ordered. Even though it said seven days to ship, it arrived at my house four days after placing the order.
The upshot of all this is that I would encourage people to order from Amazon. Things don't always go smoothly, but when problems occur it seems like Amazon tries to make them right. That's pretty much all you can ask from any retailer.
