What is "Bulk Packaging"

It maybe a dumb question but I have no clue. I had a 8 GB SanDisk compact Flash Card go bad and I contacted them about it. They were all set to replace the card and then I received and e-mail today stating,

"We appreciate your continued response, we are sorry to inform you that while reviewing the information provided by you, we have found your card to be delivered in bulk packaging and as per the SanDisk end user warranty policy, only the products delivered/purchased in a SanDisk original retail packaging are covered under warranty, hence, we would request you to contact the manufacturer for the replacement of this card."

So are they saying that someone else makes the cards, brands it with their name and all of their product info, but it is a different card? As for the EUWA I can not find it even after doing a search for it. I never seem to have to much luck but I dug around for 45 minutes with negative results.

It was bought off of Amazon a year ago. Has anyone else had a similar issue?

Kevin

My guess is that it means this was intended to be included with a camera or other device.

Bulk packaging is when a supplier ships 100s of items in none oem packaging to places that tend to split the items up and either sell individually or package with other items to get you to buy from them ... when items are bulk packaged they usually come in a standard package or say just a plastic bag or normal no branded box..

Basically you didn't buy it in the blister pack like you would get off the peg at, say, WalMart. It came in a little baggie or plain cardboard box or something - probably Amazon Frustration Free Packaging in this case. I think they meant retailer when they said manufacturer though, as they're still the manufacturer of bulk packaged legitimate cards.

"Bulk packaging" or not, the manufacturer of the card must still honour a warranty claim.

Thanks all.

It's like John said. My guess is this purchase was not from Amazon and Amazon fulfilled. The rule I always follow: buy from Amazon, not their vendors. Amazon won't purchase and break up this type of lot. It's usually actually against manufacturer's rules to do so. My business used to build and sell PC's. I would buy parts in bulk from distributors. I could order 50 memory cards at once. I didn't care about them being in pretty boxes or with 50 copies of the instruction manuals and warranty cards...because they were going into a computer, which would be sold with overall service/warranty. If something in the computer broke then the customer came to me for warranty or repair. Sure I could wrap a single card in bubble tape and sell it on Ebay. But that could get you into trouble -- with the vendor and the buyer.

Richard, the manufacturer may not be obligated if the parts were sold in a lot. It depends on the manufacturer. Think about it like this. If the key pad on a phone goes bad, can you go directly to the manufacturer who made that particular part for key pad warranty service? Probably not. You have to go back to the reseller or vender from where the phone was purchased.

Richard is in the UK. OP is in the United States. Consumer protection laws vary.

Here is SanDisk reply as of today about the whole thing even after asking to where it states this at.

We apologize for the inconvenience caused to you and we are sorry to inform you that due to a miscommunication we informed you that you need to contact the manufacturer to check the warranty status of your card, however, you need to contact the place of purchase for the same as the SanDisk warranty policy only covers the new retail products purchased in standard retail packaging, as your card has been purchased in bulk packaging, we would not be able to replace it under warranty, hence, we request you to kindly check with the place of purchase regarding the warranty cover on this card.

Amazon was contacted and was given the run around about it also. Just beware when buying anything in "Bulk Packaging."

I bought all my DVD and some hard drives bulk pack it's just OEM with no software and no warranty but that's the price you pay to save 25% or more over retail. Don't blame Sandisk since almost every OEM or Bulk, Bubble pack deal is the same way. This is how they get rid of excessive stock when an item is not moving fast enough and yet they don't want to sink retail prices.

CactusJuice wrote in post #15175227
Richard, the manufacturer may not be obligated if the parts were sold in a lot. It depends on the manufacturer. Think about it like this. If the key pad on a phone goes bad, can you go directly to the manufacturer who made that particular part for key pad warranty service? Probably not. You have to go back to the reseller or vender from where the phone was purchased.

I see. Here in the UK the retailer would be our first call in the event of a problem anyway, so maybe not as different as it seems. But here we could in theory go directly to your key manufacturer if we got no joy out of the retailer - for example if it was a market trader or door to door salesman.

isoMorphic wrote in post #15189156
I bought all my DVD and some hard drives bulk pack it's just OEM with no software and no warranty but that's the price you pay to save 25% or more over retail. Don't blame Sandisk since almost every OEM or Bulk, Bubble pack deal is the same way. This is how they get rid of excessive stock when an item is not moving fast enough and yet they don't want to sink retail prices.

I don't think it's about getting rid of excess stock. Probably more of buying in bulk and not having to deal with retail packages and paying a higher price.