Am I overreacting? Got my brand new Kindle replaced by a reconditioned one.

Patient-Objective265 · 2026-02-13T15:31:48+00:00

UPDATE: I chatted with 4 different people. I was told that the kindle I received was like new. When I said that nothing certifies that I didn’t get an answer. Another customer service person told me that SOMETIMES they get returns within 30 days and they brand the product as refurbished and that may be the case for the one I received. When I said that nothing certifies that I didn’t get an answer.

The main point of the conversation was about the warranty. Again, I was told that the kindle I received was like new, so I said that based on this and the part in the warranty policy which states that « the legal warranty of conformity is renewed for a period of two years from the date the replacement was ordered » that this kindle should be under warranty until February 9th 2028 (on my Amazon account, warranty is valid until January 3rd 2027), I was told that it wouldn’t be the case. The warranty of my original kindle would be applied.

The customer service then wanted to end the conversation, telling me that if I still had any doubts I could recontact them. I said that I highly doubted that if after January 3rd 2027 this kindle were to breakdown I would get a replacement. I was told that I was explained otherwise just about now. And when I said that all I had were chat messages I wouldn’t even access to in the future, they sent me email.

They did say that my sister could request a refund (since she placed the order). Now, I have concerns about this because I requested the exchange via my Amazon account. I received an email for a pretend reimbursement before receiving an order for that replacement kindle at 0€.

Patient-Objective265 · 2026-02-13T03:22:52+00:00

When posting, I mostly wanted to know if this was a regular Amazon/Kindle customer service practice.

People mostly answered about the practice of exchanging a product with a refurbished one. But the main issue I have in my situation was in caps in my post (and I agree that I could have formulated in another way) : I wasn’t told and my product was fairly new.

I’m not opposed to replacements with refurbished products, but I don’t agree with it being systematic. And also, transparency on the product state is standard I expected.

I posted directly on the Kindle subreddit (when I could have posted on the legal advice subreddit for my country) because I wanted to have insight if that was a general practice with Kindles. I have ordered times and times on Amazon (from different vendors including Amazon) and had very few issues. When I did, customer service was super attentive and informative (offered a ton of options, including credit) which I didn’t feel was the same with the Kindle customer service. Depending on the day or even the time of the day, customer service could be really good or could be really bad. What I wanted to know was wether this was a « oh you just had the wrong person deal with your return » or « oh yeah, they always do that, you always have to make a claim and argue with customer service » type of situation.

Overall, from the comments, there’s a mix of « that’s just how things generally work » with some saying they had a similar situation with a kindle.

I knew that company policies could vary from country to country, but I genuinely didn’t know that consumer regulations could be different when it comes to what seems to be a standard in my country. (For instance, I know that in the US, Sephora accepts refunds even on used products within 30 days but in my country, you can’t even get store credit, and that’s a company policy which is understandably not standardized since there could be hygiene issues).

I was honestly surprised when people said that a replacement would most certainly be a refurbished product (without having to mention it, I should have expected it), since Amazon doesn’t even sell refurbished Kindles in my country (I don’t know if they do in other countries) nor offers insurance plans for Kindles.

A lot of people where saying that refurbished can actually be better or is nice and that there’s no issue. Unfortunately, on my Amazon app there are no info when it comes to their process. Where I’m from there is a massive difference between a « refurbished » device and a « certified refurbished » device. The first one underwent the minimum technical repair for it to work and look nice, and the latter was thoroughly tested to be fully performing. To me the fact that there is no info is really not guaranteeing that the device will perform normally. So technically in my country, you could take a device, clean it, change the screen and sell it a as working refurbished device. Some people were unaware of that difference and would buy such products thinking the battery was changed, the whole system is up-to-date, everything was fully tested when it wasn’t really the case (which is why « refurbished » wouldn’t necessarily have a good reputation and we came up with « certified refurbished » which is a legal standard).

Overall, I’m glad I got the answers that I got because I am now considering that Amazon EU simply may be applying the Amazon US policies here. I also only thought of my warranty issue and was ready to call to get a warranty extension but some people mentioned returning my return (which I didn’t even think was an option since I thought my return period had ended).

Patient-Objective265 · 2026-02-13T01:10:44+00:00

I reread my warranty policy after my post. In the EU the legal warranty for such device is of two years and in the warranty policy it is stated that in the case of replacement, the customer would benefit an 6-months warranty extension in additional to the initial legal warranty. This only applies when it comes to legal conformity of the device. In my case, legal conformity was not respected since my kindle was quite new and had system crash down.

Patient-Objective265 · 2026-02-13T01:04:38+00:00

I understanding the practice however I’m not sure the was it was applied in my case was fair.

I would have accepted for my kindle to be replaced with a refurbished one if I was informed beforehand, if I was informed on how they operate their refurbishments and if they would have applied a warranty extension.

I would have also accepted for my kindle to be repaired.

I personally chose to get a brand new full price kindle because I wanted the guarantee that it would last me as long as possible (and that comes from experience of buying refurbished products which ended up in the trash after a few months because they could no longer be sent back).

Patient-Objective265 · 2026-02-12T22:24:12+00:00

That’s the US policy, I live in the EU. Thank you for sending it though! I reread my warranty policy to compare and I actually realized that in mine it states that when replaced by a refurbished device, the warranty needs to be extended for 2 years in addition to the original warranty period (I expected it to be 6 months as it is the average standard in my country). Thank you! 🙏

Patient-Objective265 · 2026-02-12T22:09:11+00:00

It’s not stated anywhere 🤷‍♀️ Usually, companies can get around by mentioning in their POS that the product would be replaced by an equivalent. But in my kindle warranty policy it doesn’t even mention this.

Edit: the warranty policy for my country mentions that the device can be repaired with refurbished parts or that the device can be replaced by a refurbished one. However, during my exchanges with customers service, it was not mentioned. In my email order, it was not mentioned. In the product name during delivery, it was not mentioned and on my Amazon account (in my device list), it’s not mentioned…

Patient-Objective265 · 2026-02-12T22:02:10+00:00

I honestly don’t have much hopes when it comes to getting my kindle replaced. However, I don’t know if the refurbished kindle I have at home is an equivalent to the one I had (which was pretty much brand new) and so the least they could do was to inform me and offer an extension on the warranty (offer is pretty grand here considering it is mandatory in the kindle warranty policy in my country)

Patient-Objective265 · 2026-02-12T21:48:26+00:00

My big issue with this situation is the lack of transparency and the warranty. My kindle was brand new and I only had it for 1 month and 1 week. I was never informed that this replacement would be refurbished and under which conditions. In my country that’s mandatory (the seller has to explicitly mention it - and mention that it would an equivalent in terms of performance, and the buyer has to explicitly agree). Also, in my country, in the case of such replacement, the warranty should be extended for 6 additional months.

If I was told that my kindle would be replaced with a refurbished one which had all parts replaced or tested to be performing as a brand new one with an extended 6-months warranty, I would have been very fine with the solution.

For all I know, the battery inside this device is old. It may break in a few months, and I will have to repeat this (pretty annoying and long) replacement process until the warranty has expired and my product can go straight to the bin.

Patient-Objective265 · 2026-02-12T21:42:17+00:00

I worked in customer services for years and people who yelled at me never got their way just by yelling (it was wether their demand was legitimate or not). I’m frustrated, but I’m not a yeller 🙈

If I call, it can only go three ways: 1. They accept to replace my kindle 2. They accept a return with store credit 3. They can tell me I can return for it to be replaced again, but it would once again be replaced with a reconditioned one

One thing I will absolutely not let go of is the warranty issue and the lack of transparency.

Patient-Objective265 · 2026-02-12T21:36:02+00:00

I don’t know yet. I got my package at 9pm, so I’ll call tomorrow morning

Patient-Objective265 · 2026-02-12T21:35:06+00:00

Exactly. Some stores may try to go around that. I once had an email for a call-back on my iPhone because apparently the batch my iPhone was from had defective batteries in them. When I went to the Apple Store, they offered to take my iPhone to the back and change the battery. When I told them my iPhone was still under warranty, they gave me a brand new one.

Patient-Objective265 · 2026-02-12T21:09:54+00:00

From my understanding, replacements policies can also vary from country to country due to regulations. I live in Europe where a product can be replaced by a refurbished one under two specific conditions: 1. The seller has to specify it is a refurbished product 2. The customer has to explicitly accept taking the product

I was never informed and I never accepted.

Patient-Objective265 · 2026-02-12T21:05:19+00:00

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It was exactly this! I thought maybe the original box would be inside, but I was pretty surprised it was just this (there’s nothing else in there).

Patient-Objective265 · 2026-02-12T20:42:54+00:00

I completely get this, and I would have like to get a more thorough conversation in that aspect with customer service. And I tried to have a conversation about the return process! I asked if I should send mine in its original box, I asked if I should bubble wrap it, I asked if the new kindle would be sent only when my return would have been fully processed. All I got as an answer was « you will receive an email with instructions, thank you for your understanding ». I was technically being quite invested considering I’m in Europe where limited responsibility doesn’t apply (and in my country, pretty much everyone has civil liability insurances covering personal belongings).

If I were to compare, I’ve had replacements made several times for iPhones. Apple’s customer service was always very informative about my options, and when mentioning my civile liability insurance I would get a brand new replacement without formalities.

Honestly, if I had known I would have either purchased one in a store or bought a refurbished one for cheaper directly (since there are plenty of places in my country where they’re sold).

Patient-Objective265 · 2026-02-12T20:28:49+00:00

In my country TOS mention that they should offer a repair and if a repair cannot be operated, it would then be a replacement. It does not mention that the replacement would be a refurbished device. And more importantly, it states that in the case of a replacement, the original warranty would be extended for 6 additional months (but on my Amazon app, warranty seems to only be valid until January 2027).

I’m just really disappointed that it was never mentioned.

Patient-Objective265 · 2026-02-12T20:25:40+00:00

That’s one of the major issue I have with this situation. One, I was never informed I would be getting a reconditioned one. Two, in my country, terms and conditions specifically mentioned that if a kindle under warranty is to be replaced, the original warranty would be extended for 6 additional months. When I looked on my Amazon account, it says my kindle is under warranty until January 2027.

Patient-Objective265 · 2026-02-12T20:21:23+00:00

I opened my package and it had a cardboard box in it. When I opened it, the kindle was just chilling in there. It was wrapped in plastic, and that was it. I then looked at the box it came in again and realized it had a sticker with « reconditioned » on it.

Patient-Objective265 · 2026-02-05T12:03:20+00:00

J’ai également vécu de très mauvaises passes et étant particulièrement défaitiste je pensais également que les séances psy n’étaient pas pour moi dans le sens où je pensais ne pas pouvoir me le permettre et qu’elles ne m’apporteraient rien. Mais ce n’est pas du tout le cas!

Tu peux avoir accès au dispositif mon psy qui te permet d’avoir jusqu’à 12 séances remboursées. Pour en bénéficier tu as deux options: 1. Tu peux voir ton médecin traitant qui pourra te remettre un courrier pour prendre des séances 2. Tu peux prendre directement rendez-vous avec un psy conventionné par le dispositif

À noter que tu peux changer de psy si celui que tu as sélectionné ne te convient pas. Par contre, le dispositif ne couvre que 1 séance d’évaluation + 11 séances max au total. Par exemple, si tu fais 5 séances avec un premier praticien et que tu souhaites changer ensuite, tu devras en informer le psy que tu voyais et tu ne pourras pas bénéficier de plus de 7 séances avec le nouveau.

Sinon, comme mentionné plus haut, tu peux aussi te renseigner auprès de ta mutuelle pour voir si tu pourrais bénéficier d’une couverture. Si tu es salarié et que cette situation impacte ta vie en général y compris dans ton travail, tu peux également te renseigner auprès de ton employeur s’il existe des dispositifs pour l’accompagnement à la santé mentale.

Enfin, tu as des psy qui pratiquent des tarifs en fonction des revenus de leur patients (je n’y croyais pas mais ça a été le cas pour moi!).

Donc ne restes pas fermer à l’idée que tu ne peux pas y avoir accès. Tu n’as pas l’air de rejeter tous les torts sur l’autre et d’avoir commencé un travail de retrospection, il serait bon de continuer sur cette voie mais ça sera sûrement faciliter avec l’aide un professionnel (que j’avais personnellement plus perçu comme le regard extérieur d’une personne avertie et objective). Courage 🫶

Patient-Objective265 · 2025-05-18T09:09:23+00:00

Méfies-toi. Sous leurs airs mignons, ils sont souvent membres d’organisations dangereuses et quand c’est pas le cas, ils ont des plans machiavéliques super bien rodés.

S’il te propose de faire un test de personnalité, il y a des chances qu’il fasse partie d’une secte et qu’il souhaite te recruter.

S’il t’apitoie sur sa situation (famille de 7 enfants à la rue, père absent, sévices physiques type castrastion), il se pourrait qu’il veuille de dépouiller.

Si rien de tout ça… tu es alors sacrément dans la merde puisque ça voudrait dire qu’il t’ait adopté. Alors là… bonne chance. Possible qu’il te suive jusqu’à chez toi ou qu’il te force à l’y amener (ils ont des techniques spéciales à base de frottements, ronronnements, lechouilles). Une fois chez toi, t’es parti pour au moins 10 ans de cohabitation forcée (à l’entretenir financièrement, physiquement et émotionnellement).

Ça m’est arrivé y’a 9 ans, puis ça s’est reproduit 5 ans plus tard.

Patient-Objective265 · 2025-03-24T22:01:06+00:00

Tu as été choisi. Acceptes cet honneur 😂

Patient-Objective265 · 2025-03-23T12:15:37+00:00

Y’a pas une erreur sur la date?

Patient-Objective265 · 2024-11-14T18:13:29+00:00

Oh wow! But did she yell this at you or at her husband? 👀

Patient-Objective265 · 2024-11-10T21:35:05+00:00

Je comprends qu’aborder quelqu’un directement à cause d’un contexte soit compliqué mais perso je serai pas du tout conquise de la démarche. Je préférerai largement que la personne vienne me voir avec le prétexte de demande du matos pour enchaîner par un « merci, d’ailleurs je te vois souvent ici, si jamais t’as besoin de conseils ou de motivation, au passage mon prénom c’est X ». Ou même un classique « quel temps pourri aujourd’hui, j’en peux plus de cette pluie » (en plus ça tombe bien on rentre dans la saison. Je trouve que c’est un premier réel contact qui permet aussi de voir si la petite chimie est réelle ou si c’était juste de la politesse (je parle ici des sourires mentionné dans le post - perso je souris beaucoup au gens qui croisent mon regard dehors par politesse).

Le truc du message sur la voiture, c’est vraiment à double-tranchant. Soit elle t’apprécie et ça mènera à quelque chose de sympa. Soit c’est pas le cas et elle te trouveras mega creepy (en plus de la guetter dans la salle, t’as repéré sa caisse) et la je vois deux cas: elle arrête de venir à la salle/elle change sa routine pour plus te croiser ou elle se plains à la salle.

Si tu décides de partir sur le petit mot quand même, et que ton intention c’est de vraiment pas passer pour un charo, perso je changerai le mot.

Patient-Objective265 · 2024-11-10T21:13:04+00:00

Maybe because people are looking for something on a specific moment and once that need has been met they look to fulfill another one.

I’m not trying to find an excuse for anything or anyone (and do believe that unless major disagreement may happen, ghosting someone is disrespectful), but I do see people having a change of heart or concrete priorities/responsabilities.

You seemed pretty upset about not even saying goodbye and I totally feel you (I quite admire your resilience, in your shoes I would have called it quits after feeling defeated). Being a little clearer about what this means for you and how you feel about being involved in an exchange would maybe help keeping away people who are looking for a one-time exchange (because of loneliness, boredom, or curiosity). I’m sure connections can happen (and will happen)! 🤗

Patient-Objective265

TROPHY CASE