HOUSTON – After a Sugar Land man said he was out $350 after buying a Nintendo Switch he never received on Walmart’s website through a third party, KPRC 2 is sharing some tips on how to protect yourself from falling into the same situation.
Walmart has since resolved the man’s issue by refunding his money.
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KPRC 2′s Rilwan Balogun spoke with Cara Carlin with Better Business Bureau of Little Rock, Arkansas about ways you can protect yourself.
“The important thing to keep in mind is that Walmart.com is now an open marketplace, much like other websites today, and that means those businesses outside of Walmart’s distribution network can sell on the platform,” Carlin said.
She said you really have to pay close attention to the seller’s information.
“Whatever platform you’re on should have that somewhere on the listing,” Carlin said. “You want to know who you’re purchasing from on any platform. Do your research on that seller as well and then read those reviews on the product and on the seller.”
She said if you do encounter this situation, you’ve already purchased the product, you can contact the retailer -- although there may be a back and forth.
“They may tell you to reach back out to the seller. If you get no response then you’re reaching back out to the larger retailer,” Carlin said. “Somethings you can do is you can file fraudulent charges with your financial institution, whether it be your credit card or your bank and then you can always try to lodge your complaint with the Better Business Bureau.”
One other piece of advice-- Carlin said to make sure to brush up your knowledge on fake reviews.
“A lot of time what will happen on a listing for a product, it will be inundated with fake reviews, the platform will come in review those reviews, because they’re not legitimate reviews and by then someone has already purchase a product and it’s too late,” Carlin said. “Again, not saying that’s what happened here. Someone could have just purchased a few things and had a good experience and then here come the people that don’t.”