TLDR version -
Be aware that all of Owl Van's open box items are sold "as-is" with zero warranty and no promise that they even work or match the description under the item. This isn't a complaint about Owl, just a PSA that I hope might prevent others from making the same dumb mistake I did.
Details for anyone who cares about specifics -
I recently bought an "open box" item from Owl. It was a rear storage box and the description said it had some paint scratches. It was about $60 less than an unblemished one and they had pictures of it and it looked fine. On stuff like this, I know I'll be dinging it up during use anyway, so why not save the $60?
What I didn't notice was the language saying all open box items are "as is" and sales are final and you have zero warranty regardless of what they put in the description. That language wasn't on the main display page for the item, but was included on a warranty "tab" you had to click on within the page for that item. I had actually checked under their main warranty page just to make sure blemished items still came with a warranty, but I never saw or clicked on the separate warranty page that was hanging off the item. My bad, but I think they should have better highlighted it.
When the box arrived, it had the paint scratches that I expected, but the entire box body was bent/racked and a couple of the corners dented in from being dropped really hard or crushed. It wouldn't have been that noticeable except the door of the box wasn't bent, so the door and box didn't line up at all. I called Owl and they sent me over the langauge saying "as is, no warranty, no returns". We went back and forth on it a couple times before I actually found the policy on their website and they were cool about it being not so obvious and offered to let me return it (at my cost) and pay the difference for an unblemished unit. I asked if I could just take it to the local Owl install center in Austin (to avoid having to ship back), but they said no. I ended up fixing the box good enough with a sledge hammer and some blocks of wood to take most of the racking out and now the door and box are decently aligned. So, it all worked out, but it wasn't a great experience.
Anyways, I'm not here to complain about owl, I think they actually handled it ok (not great, but not terrible IMO). I do think they need to better highlight the open box policy, but the language was there and it's ultimately bad on me for not finding it I guess. But I assume that others could miss it as well, so I thought I'd post something here to be aware. Their "open box" items are basically a crap shoot and the discounts are tiny compared to the risk you are taking on. There is no way I would have bought the blemished box for only a ~$60 discount if I had known it had zero warranty and no guarantee it even worked or matched the description.
Be aware that all of Owl Van's open box items are sold "as-is" with zero warranty and no promise that they even work or match the description under the item. This isn't a complaint about Owl, just a PSA that I hope might prevent others from making the same dumb mistake I did.
Details for anyone who cares about specifics -
I recently bought an "open box" item from Owl. It was a rear storage box and the description said it had some paint scratches. It was about $60 less than an unblemished one and they had pictures of it and it looked fine. On stuff like this, I know I'll be dinging it up during use anyway, so why not save the $60?
What I didn't notice was the language saying all open box items are "as is" and sales are final and you have zero warranty regardless of what they put in the description. That language wasn't on the main display page for the item, but was included on a warranty "tab" you had to click on within the page for that item. I had actually checked under their main warranty page just to make sure blemished items still came with a warranty, but I never saw or clicked on the separate warranty page that was hanging off the item. My bad, but I think they should have better highlighted it.
When the box arrived, it had the paint scratches that I expected, but the entire box body was bent/racked and a couple of the corners dented in from being dropped really hard or crushed. It wouldn't have been that noticeable except the door of the box wasn't bent, so the door and box didn't line up at all. I called Owl and they sent me over the langauge saying "as is, no warranty, no returns". We went back and forth on it a couple times before I actually found the policy on their website and they were cool about it being not so obvious and offered to let me return it (at my cost) and pay the difference for an unblemished unit. I asked if I could just take it to the local Owl install center in Austin (to avoid having to ship back), but they said no. I ended up fixing the box good enough with a sledge hammer and some blocks of wood to take most of the racking out and now the door and box are decently aligned. So, it all worked out, but it wasn't a great experience.
Anyways, I'm not here to complain about owl, I think they actually handled it ok (not great, but not terrible IMO). I do think they need to better highlight the open box policy, but the language was there and it's ultimately bad on me for not finding it I guess. But I assume that others could miss it as well, so I thought I'd post something here to be aware. Their "open box" items are basically a crap shoot and the discounts are tiny compared to the risk you are taking on. There is no way I would have bought the blemished box for only a ~$60 discount if I had known it had zero warranty and no guarantee it even worked or matched the description.
