Graf Canada runs a shady business

[goblue9280 33]

Its likely those skates have been sitting for ages in a warehouse at HM and could very well have been rusting on the shelves.

+1... those skates (and the other Graf t-blades) have been on clearance on HM for at least the last 4 years that I've looked at the HM site.

Seems that your anger should be aimed at HM not Graf in this case.

Couldn't agree more. I know HM has an "all sales final" policy with regards to their clearance items... but when they clearly sell a damaged/defective item, they should make it right. OP should never of had to even call Graf.

[ahbroody 1]

I had been looking at a pair they had also. Guess I wont be bothering. To scary to think this might happen to me. Pita.

[bolt91 31]

Couldn't agree more. I know HM has an "all sales final" policy with regards to their clearance items... but when they clearly sell a damaged/defective item, they should make it right. OP should never of had to even call Graf.

HM contacted Graf for me. The only correspondence I had was with HM. However, HM told me Graf could only send the replacement screws, etc.

[nystromshairstylist 14]

HM contacted Graf for me. The only correspondence I had was with HM. However, HM told me Graf could only send the replacement screws, etc.

If HM sold you the product as "new and unused", then they are obligated to take the product back for repair/replacement. HM is solely responsible at this point, not Graf. As for retailers knowingly selling defective product at a discount without advertising as such, I'd have to be very skeptical about that.

[ahbroody 1]

Acapt91. I forgot to ask. How long have you had the skates for? It still just seems crazy HM would do this if you just got them.

As others have said regardless of clearence they should replace if new.

A while back they replaced a pair of clearence gloves that had bad stitching.

[halfmoonyote 0]

I've never had anything but positive experiences with HM's customer service. They go out of their way for their customers.

That said, not that the OP did anything wrong at all, but these are the perils of buying at deep discounts online. HM in particular have put themselves on a slippery slope by conditioning their customers to expect a discount every time they buy something. Take a look at their Facebook page. It's post after post of people begging for a discount on (insert item here). On top of that, people want everything discounted, then they want the moon for service.

@ahbroody - Your posts in this thread in particular reflect exactly what I am talking about. If you don't want the *pita* (your words), then buy the skates at full retail at your local hockey shop.

EDIT: And I still can't connect the dots if the screws were rusted directly out of the box upon receiving, or if they rusted after use.

[jsykes 35]

HM contacted Graf for me. The only correspondence I had was with HM. However, HM told me Graf could only send the replacement screws, etc.

Well, thats good they did that for you, but I still do not see why the anger at Graf. What did you want Graf to do, send a tech along with the screws to do the repair?

As a dealer, if I had this same issue, Graf (or virtually any other manufactuer) would likely do the same. Supply me with new parts to fix the issue. They cant issue a replacement skate as that skate hasnt been in their inventory for years, all they can do is send parts to fix it.

HM should have given you some options. Have the parts sent to you so you could fix it (probably the fastest and cheapest way), allow you to return the skates to them and offer to fix them for you (the best way to do things and what I'd have done at my shop, offer to fix for the customer), or allow you to return them for a refund even if clearance because they did not give you what you agreed to purchase, a new and undamaged skate.

So still, Graf really isnt the issue here, its how HM decided to handle you, the customer. They should have been doing more than just calling and should be fixing the issue for you.

Good luck with the repair though. It sucks to have something like this happen, but there really isnt a whole lot more that Graf could be doing in this situation.

[bolt91 31]

If HM sold you the product as "new and unused", then they are obligated to take the product back for repair/replacement. HM is solely responsible at this point, not Graf. As for retailers knowingly selling defective product at a discount without advertising as such, I'd have to be very skeptical about that.

The skates were sold as "new and unused".

Acapt91. I forgot to ask. How long have you had the skates for? It still just seems crazy HM would do this if you just got them.

As others have said regardless of clearence they should replace if new.

I had the skates for about a week when I contacted them initially. HM would not replace them and only gave me the option for replacement screws etc.

EDIT: And I still can't connect the dots if the screws were rusted directly out of the box upon receiving, or if they rusted after use.

Screws were rusted directly out of the box upon receiving.

Well, thats good they did that for you, but I still do not see why the anger at Graf. What did you want Graf to do, send a tech along with the screws to do the repair?

As a dealer, if I had this same issue, Graf (or virtually any other manufactuer) would likely do the same. Supply me with new parts to fix the issue. They cant issue a replacement skate as that skate hasnt been in their inventory for years, all they can do is send parts to fix it.

HM should have given you some options. Have the parts sent to you so you could fix it (probably the fastest and cheapest way), allow you to return the skates to them and offer to fix them for you (the best way to do things and what I'd have done at my shop, offer to fix for the customer), or allow you to return them for a refund even if clearance because they did not give you what you agreed to purchase, a new and undamaged skate.

So still, Graf really isnt the issue here, its how HM decided to handle you, the customer. They should have been doing more than just calling and should be fixing the issue for you.

Good luck with the repair though. It sucks to have something like this happen, but there really isnt a whole lot more that Graf could be doing in this situation.

You are correct. I did not know that these were an older model skate. I now see that Graf could not do much in the situation and HM could've done much more. It does suck but now I know better. Thank you to everyone for the replies.

[ahbroody 1]

Crazy. HM thats just dirty.

[DarkStar50 679]

HM - where there is smoke, there is fire.

[hockeymass 11]

HM is good for stuff like sticks and protective gear. Would never buy skates from them.

[nystromshairstylist 14]

To be fair to HM, they would not have achieved such a large size by badly treating customers. There are literally tens of thousands of hockey stores across the country, and there are how many national ones, like monkey, giant, etc.? The aggrieved needs to escalate this issue up the chain at HM; even if the item was sold as clearance with no exchanges/returns, this would not apply to damaged goods. The purchaser needs to press HM for further support.

[goaliemanshark 6]

Every single transaction I have had with hockey monkey has been negative in one way or another. I only buy from them because they stock a lot of clearance stuff.

They fail quite often...