Online retailers often fail to post warranty information, survey finds

Cautious consumers want to know about warranty coverage before they buy an expensive product. But a survey by ConsumerWorld.org finds that information's not easy to come by if you're shopping online.

The non-profit consumer site checked 20 major online retailers and found that they failed to post warranty information for four out of five items checked. Nor was there any information about how the consumer could read the warranty in advance.

This, it so happens, is contrary to Federal Trade Commission rules that require online sellers, on or near the product description of items over $15, to either post the actual warranty or tell customers how to obtain a free copy from the seller.

"One of the most basic protections shoppers have is the product warranty, so to not disclose it right there on the website or make it hard to obtain is inexcusable," said Consumer World founder Edgar Dworsky.

None whatsoever

Two-thirds of the sellers surveyed posted no warranties whatsoever for any of the items checked. And only three online stores -- Home Depot, Sears, and Kmart -- excelled at full disclosure. They displayed the actual warranty for 80% of the items evaluated. 

Instead of posting the actual warranty, 90% of sellers improperly referred shoppers to the manufacturer or provided no instructions at all on how to obtain the warranty for some or all of the items checked.

Only a quarter of e-tailers properly directed shoppers to call, email, or write to the seller itself to obtain a copy of the warranty if it wasn't posted, as allowed by law. 

Neither the warranty itself nor how to obtain it was disclosed on any product description pages checked at Bed, Bath & Beyond, Best Buy, BJ's Wholesale Club, Office Depot/Office Max, Staples, Toys-R-Us, Walmart, and Wayfair.   Some sellers improperly provided information on obtaining warranties in help sections not referenced on the product page.

"Unfortunate result"

The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act and FTC rules require the pre-sale availability of warranties.  In 2011, 36 years after the enactment of the law, the FTC undertook a review of its regulations.  It published its findings last month, reaffirming its earlier interpretation that the law applied to online sellers, and not just to brick-and-mortar stores and mail order firms.

However, despite preferring that online retailers make the actual warranty available on their websites, just the way brick and mortar stores are required to have copies available on the premises for shoppers to review, the FTC declined to amend the rules to mandate it.

"The unfortunate result of the FTC's inaction is that the vast majority of online shoppers will be forced to buy products blindly because most stores don't provide warranties online, and few consumers are going to take the time to write or call the company and then wait a week or two to get it in the mail," said Dworsky. "Irrespective of the law, e-tailers should, as a customer service, simply put links to product warranties right next to each item they sell. Online space is essentially free and unlimited after all."

Study details

The Consumer World spot check, conducted online between June 1 and 10, checked 100 warrantied items (five per store), such as TVs, major appliances, toaster ovens, blenders, cameras, printers, etc. from 20 online retailers (Amazon, Bed, Bath & Beyond, Best Buy, BJ's Wholesale Club, Costco, Frys, Home Depot, J.C. Penney, Kmart, Lowe's, Macy's, Newegg, Office Depot/OfficeMax, Sears, Staples, Target, Tiger Direct, Toys-R-Us, Walmart, and Wayfair).  

The site noted that the small sample of items checked may not accurately reflect a store's actual compliance with its warranty disclosure obligations overall.