Christmas Shopping - Know Your Rights

That was before kids, a house, nursery school fees and the expansion of my family to include my in-laws. Now that my expendable income is laughably small and my free time is non-existent, shopping in July for Christmas is ridiculously out of the question. I’m lucky if I am prepared for Monday morning, let alone Christmas morning!

Unfortunately, now that I live in Bermuda, where selection is a bit more limited than a major city in Canada, preparation is more important than ever to ensure that I’ve found what I want for gifts. Like most Bermudians, I try to buy what I can on-Island to support local retailers, but inevitably I complete a portion of my shopping overseas or online.

There are, however, significant risks to this cosmopolitan strategy. Should one bring or ship something in, the consumer then has limited to no rights concerning warranties or returns of these products. Local retailers are not obligated to service products purchased overseas, even if they are the authorized distributor of that product in Bermuda. And if one plans to return the product, warranties are usually nullified the minute the product leaves the country. Since Consumer Affairs does not have jurisdiction over purchases bought overseas, we can’t step in to help the consumer.

The shipping process has its own associated headaches. If products arrive damaged, the key is to determine when the item was damaged and thus who is responsible for the remedy, whether that is refund, replacement, or credit. But obtaining a remedy may be a burdensome process.

Even if the product arrives intact and working, the shipping fee may be outrageous. Shipping can be quite costly- that’s because shipping rates can be based on the actual weight of the package or its dimensional weight. Dimensional weight is measured by length x height x width divided by 166. If the dimensional weight exceeds the actual weight you will be charged for the higher weight. In other words, a large, light product is more likely to be weighed by its dimensions than weight.

And that’s not even including duty! There is a reason that products are usually more costly on the shelves in Bermuda- the sticker price already includes both duty and shipping costs. Since retailers usually fill a crate, they get a reduced price. Bringing something in yourself can be exorbitant.

Finally, there’s the big issue of when you’ll actually get your shipment. Every year a good percentage of consumers are outraged that they haven’t received their orders in time for Christmas and there is absolutely no one who they can blame or get to fix their problem.

Bah humbug, right? Well, it’s not that consumers should be put off gift-giving and all the merriment associated with it. It’s just that we need to be aware of our rights (or lack thereof) before we make a purchase. So, read the fine print regarding shipping, duty, warranties and repairs. Failing that, try out my original approach and start stuffing your closets in July. Sure, you’re unlikely to find sweaters with a dancing reindeer design mid-summer, but perhaps that’s not such a bad thing!