Avoid Holiday Shopping Headaches: Check Third-Party Seller Policies at Checkout

If you’re shopping online this holiday season, you’re going to want to do a double check when you check out after hearing this woman’s story.

Deborah Taylor reached out to our NBC Responds team near Washington, D.C. when she couldn’t get a refund for a treadmill.

Taylor bought the treadmill on Walmart.com after she recently had both of her knees replaced.

Taylor says the treadmill did the trick for the first few months, until it stopped working.

Taylor contacted Walmart customer service to start a return, thinking it would be a breeze.

“I had dealt with Walmart before and I really haven’t had any problems before with Walmart,” she said.

But this time was different.

“I thought I was dealing with Walmart, but come to find out I wasn’t dealing with Walmart. I was dealing with another party,” she said.

She was dealing with a third party.

So, here’s what happened.

Taylor bought the treadmill on Walmart.com, but what she bought was sold and shipped by a company in China.

Did you know Walmart allows third-party sellers to sell their products directly to customers?

And those companies might have their own refund and return policies and you have to contact them directly

Taylor said she did that, four times, and heard nothing.

“I called them, they asked me to write them a letter, email them a letter. I did. No response, then I called them back again, they said they never received it.”

So, Taylor reached out to NBC Responds.

When the third-party company didn’t respond to us, NBC reached out to Walmart, which did give Taylor a full refund.

“You solved it, just like that,” said Taylor.  

Walmart isn’t the only major online retailer that uses third-party sellers. Target, Amazon, and Overstock do too.

So, as you’re shopping this holiday season, before you buy an item, check out who the seller is, read their company and product reviews, and review their return policy too.

Walmart.com has a page dedicated to purchases through third-party sellers.

The company does let you know at checkout whether they’re fulfilling the order or someone else is, but not all major retailers make it clear, so be cautious.

As for Taylor, she will be using her refund to buy another treadmill.

But this time, she says she’ll be going to a brick-and-mortar store to buy one in person.

“I never got a response from this company until you notified them, and I want to say thank you very much,” said Taylor.

If you do find yourself in Taylor’s predicament, make sure to write a review about your experience.

This won’t just help other shoppers, but a major online retailer might also pull that seller from its site if it sees a pattern of problems.

Susan Hogan and Ambar Rodriguez contributed to this article.