Zach O.

UPDATE: I definitely still wouldn't recommend potentially putting yourself through all this, but a higher up rep got involved, was understanding, and did what she could within her constraints. I was refunded for the damaged desk. The bed that I purchased in the wrong size, I ended up just keeping because it made more sense to me than paying $260 to return. They claim that, by the time I called, the order had already been dropped off at FedEx, and I just don't believe that's true, but it doesn't matter at this point. Again, I found that competitors like Wayfair have a better returns process, and similar (if not identical) items.

~~ Original Post Below ~~

I've ordered various items through Houzz before, and never had a reason to call customer service. Just last week, however, we purchased a bed and a home office desk, and despite how much I like the site layout and articles, I will never purchase anything from Houzz again.

The short version: I mistakenly ordered the wrong size bed, notified them 24 hours later, and was told I could only make changes within 30 minutes of submitting the order, and that it would now cost me over 1/3 the price of the item to ship it back. The desk arrived damaged, and after a week of countless emails, I still haven't been told what they are going to do. The rep's response time also continues to get worse and worse (it's been three emails from me over 2 days and I've heard nothing).

The longer version: The day after purchasing, I noticed I had made a mistake and ordered a queen, rather than a king bed. This is obviously 100% my fault. The bed had not been dropped off at FedEx yet though (the desk was), so I called and tried to cancel, which is when I was immediately told I have a laughable 30 minute window to change an order. After that, Houzz makes no promises, but the rep said he'd try to get in touch with the seller. I called again that same day, and a different rep said there were no notes regarding my first call (despite him explicitly saying that he had done so... he brought it up, not me). The bed still didn't show at this point that it had shipped, so I was hoping it could still be resolved. Instead, at the end of the phone call, I got a return label for $260... that's about 1/3 the price of the bed (or at least it was 1/3 the price that I paid... I notice it's forty-some dollars cheaper now, yet doesn't say anything about being on sale or marked down, so this may be the new price a week later). Despite the second rep saying she was going to do all she could to stop delivery, she was unable, and said that it had already shipped... that may be true at that point, but it wasn't the case when I originally called. So then, she said she would try rerouting the bed so that it would cost less to return, and that was the last I heard from her before it was on my doorstep a two days later. I have yet to hear from the rep again regarding my options with this.

The second item (the office desk) also arrived at the same time, and it was immediately evident that this thing took a hard fall on its side, as the box was completely torn and smashed on its edge. The tear was taped with about 3 pounds of tape, though, so you would think that means the seller took a look at it, saw everything was ok, then did this ridiculous tape job and sent it on its way... except they didn't look at it. Every piece along that smashed edge was damaged, with the most damage, of course, being done to the top of the table. The return process - even for items delivered damaged - should get these people thrown in jail, at least for one night. They want me to unpack everything, take pictures... and I actually have no idea what else, because I've done that, but have yet to hear back from anyone after two days and three emails.

For what it's worth, I've also checked competitor policies to see if at least I would have needed to deal with something similar anywhere, and Wayfair offers free returns for 30 days (as long as you're ok with getting store credit).