Customers Are Shipped Broken Amazon Fire TVs After Purchasing Them On Prime Day

Prime Day

Amazon’s (NASDAQ:$AMZN) most recent product, the Amazon Fire TV Edition – an Element brand TV which runs Amazon’s Fire TV interface, allowing customers to access Amazon Prime Video – was one of the most popular products bought on Prime Day. Typically priced at $650, the Fire TV was only $400 during Prime Day.

Despite strong sales, however, it looks like Amazon might be running into some trouble with the distribution of its latest product. A number of customers seem to have received a broken TV set after purchasing the item on Amazon’s biggest shopping event of the year, according to several verified user reviews on the Element Fire TV’s Amazon page.

Of more than 30 customers, a majority said that their TV came with the screen cracked. Some noted that, while the TV was broken, the package that it was in was undamaged. “TV arrived completely smashed and broken,” read a review from user Justin M. “Started the return process within minutes of it arriving.”

Another user named Brett wrote a review saying, “Joining in on the Prime Day disappointment with a crushed screen in an undamaged box. Curious to see what the replacement looks like.”

To ensure that the reviews were reliable, Business Insider analyzed the reviews through Fakespot and ReviewMeta to see if there were potential fakes. Both Fakespot and ReviewMeta passed the reviews, meaning they weren’t fake.

Most reviews on the page about receiving a broken TV were about the 55-inch Fire TV, as that was the only model that was on sale during Prime Day. Both Amazon and Element have since then acknowledged the damaged TVs and ensured their customers that a replacement will soon be provided for those who received broken TVs. The companies addressed the situation in a statement to Business Insider, “We are aware that some Element TVs shipped to customers have arrived damaged. We have taken steps to resolve the issue for existing and future customers, and are in contact with affected customers in order to replace any damaged units.”

Amazon began distributing its Fire TV- enabled through Element’s model – during June of this year. Element’s sister brand, Westinghouse, followed closely and began selling models that run Amazon’s Fire TV in early July.

Amazon’s Fire TV Edition series has been noted to be a competitor against Roku’s (traded privately) popular Roku TVs. Roku, a media company based in Los Angeles, is said to have pioneered affordable TVs that are already equipped with video-streaming. However, the Fire TVs are mostly geared towards consumers who already hold Prime memberships, as they are equipped with Amazon’s video-streaming interface which is only accessible through a Prime membership.

Despite the fact that there were no issues with TVs that were shipped out prior to Prime Day and that the Fire TV is a pretty acceptable 4K TV, Amazon could experience some difficulty succeeding in reaching its goals in the smart TV industry and getting more Amazon products into people’s homes.

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About the author: Grace is currently studying at UBC to achieve her BA in Computer Science. She is due to graduate in 2020. As a content creator, Grace has written financial analysis, stock market news, and informational investing articles. She also worked as an editor with her university publication 'UBC Undergraduate Journal of Art History'.