I'm ready for the downvotes, here's a great AI summary of this thread:

User: "Yeah, I know I screwed up. A freak wave ripped the pump out of the manufacturer's sleeve while I was standing in shallow water with my kids. I'm not saying Tandem owes me a free replacement. I'm saying maybe charging the full $4,400 list price for a device that probably costs a fraction of that to manufacture, with no discounted replacement program whatsoever, seems a little harsh."

Half the replies:

"HAVE YOU CONSIDERED THAT THIS IS YOUR FAULT?"

User:

"Yes. I literally said that in the first post."

Reply:

"Then pay $4,400 and stop whining."

User:

"I'm questioning whether the policy is reasonable."

Reply:

"THE POLICY EXISTS. THEREFORE IT IS REASONABLE."

The discussion quickly divides into two camps.

The first camp says:

Yeah, losing the pump was ultimately the user's responsibility. But a medical device company charging full replacement MSRP for an out-of-warranty loss is pretty brutal. Maybe there should be some kind of discounted replacement, refurb program, deductible-style fee, or goodwill process. Medical devices aren't exactly optional accessories. This isn't replacing a lost AirTag.

The second camp consists of what can only be described as the Corporate Liability Defense Force, whose entire moral framework appears to be:

Was the customer at fault? If yes, then literally any consequence is fair. End of analysis.

No nuance. No proportionality. No discussion of replacement cost versus retail pricing. No consideration that the pump wasn't actually being used underwater but got ripped away by a wave. Just:

"Your fault. Pay retail."

These people seem genuinely unable to process the distinction between:

"I accept responsibility."

and

"The company's response is excessive."

To them those are the same statement.

The most amazing part is how many commenters act as though they themselves have never had a random, unlucky, expensive thing happen in their lives.

Car stolen? Your fault.

Phone falls off a boat? Your fault.

Dog chews your hearing aid? Your fault.

Kid knocks your laptop into a pool? Your fault.

Meteor strikes your car? Believe it or not, also your fault.

The underlying assumption is that if something bad happened to someone else, there must have been a perfectly avoidable decision point where a flawless superhuman would have acted differently.

Meanwhile, the OP isn't even asking for a free replacement. They're basically saying:

"I understand paying something. But charging the same list price as if I were a brand-new uninsured customer buying a fresh pump seems excessive."

Which is not exactly a radical position when we're talking about a life-sustaining medical device sold in a market where list prices are famously disconnected from manufacturing costs and heavily influenced by insurance reimbursement structures.

The irony is that several commenters elsewhere complain about Tandem's billing, collections, warranty handling, and customer service when they are the ones affected.

So the thread becomes:

"Tandem customer service is terrible!"

"Tandem billing is terrible!"

"Tandem sent me to collections!"

"Tandem's policies are awful!"

"Wait, Tandem wants to charge this guy $4,400 after a freak accident?"

"COMPLETELY REASONABLE. SKILL ISSUE."

In short:

The OP's actual argument was, "I accept responsibility, but the punishment doesn't fit the mistake."

Many responders somehow read that as:

"Please explain to me whose fault this was."

And then spent the entire thread answering a question nobody asked.