In fact, Overstock.com's return policy specifically excludes swimming suits, undergarments, body jewelry, software, media products, gourmet foods, flowers, and factory-sealed sports collectible sets. This policy does not say there is an exception for items that are damaged or defective. If a DVD I purchased happens to show up cracked, am I stuck with it? If a bathing suit has a defect will you be stuck repairing that hole in the seam?
Even if that allowance is made, in my case the item took fourteen days to get to me. That leaves a window of only six days to initiate a return. I must pay shipping fees to return it to them, and the restocking fee.
The scenario is like this: I buy a DVD for $16.99. There is a $1.40 shipping fee, so my order total is $18.39. The DVD arrives and is cracked. If I manage to beg and plead my case and they accept a return, I must now pay a shipping fee. I can't take the chance on media mail to get it back to them in under 30 days, so my shipping fees will probably around $2. Then there is the $4.95 restocking fee, and no refund of the original shipping fees. The only refund I will see from Overstock.com is $12.04. Of that, I have spent $2 sending it back to them. It has now cost me $8.35 and I have nothing to show for it.
In the case of other items, the same scenario applies. There is nothing in the policy about sending a replacement for defective items, so it sounds like you'd have to place a second order, paying the shipping charges once again, to get the merchandise.
I don't think I'll make a purchase at Overstock.com again, despite seeing a certain toaster oven I'd like there at a great price. Their return policy just makes purchasing something from them too much of a gamble. I'd rather pay a few extra dollars and know that I have some recourse in the case of defective or damaged merchandise.