Memory foam is a nifty product—it allows companies to compress products out of it in relatively smaller, oftentimes vacuum-sealed packaging. These items usually expand to their true sizes once they’ve been freed from their plastic-wrapped prisons, left to “air out” for a few hours, and then can be fully enjoyed a few hours later.
However, much like toothpaste that’s been dispersed from a tube, putting these memory foam items back in the packaging in which they’ve been shipped can prove to be problematic, if not entirely fruitless.
This is something that TikToker @brownieproteinshake experienced first-hand after purchasing a mattress topper from Amazon she wanted to return. The young woman posted about her tribulations in attempting to re-package the mattress topper in a viral clip that’s accumulated over 2.3 million views as of Saturday.
@brownieproteinshake Help
♬ original sound – Wheeler Walker Jr.
The TikToker stares into the camera with a bemused expression on her face. A text overlay in the video reads, “Amazon how tf am I supposed to return this.”
The item in question? A mattress topper. The product appears to be made from an expanding memory foam that, once removed from its packaging, blows up in size.
However, as @brownieproteinshake demonstrates in her clip, putting the topper back in its box seems like a feat that’s easier said than done. She flips the camera around to show just a small portion of the topper jutting out of the box in an apparent attempt to shove it in there.
A viewer who responded to her video didn’t seem to think she would have much difficulty in processing the refund.
“I was working at amazon returns at kohls one day and some guy returned an entire door,” they shared. “I think you’ll be alright.”
Another person offered another solution, suggesting that she didn’t need to necessarily put the topper in its original packaging. Judging from their remark, it seemed like anything she placed the item in could work for a return.
“Used to work at ups. Some people just did those heavy duty trash bags and called it a day,” they said. “Cheap and effective.”
One TikToker recommended contacting Amazon support to let them know about the dilemma, mentioning that it shouldn’t be an issue to follow through on the return.
“Just call them! They’ll sometimes let ‘big’ items not be returned (u only get to do it like once)& you can keep it or donate it and still get refunded,” the user wrote.
Amazon’s official return policy, however, delineates return protocols that seem to vary greatly from the claims made by some of the above-mentioned TikTok users. The retailer’s website states, “All product packaging (boxes, manuals, warranty cards, etc.) and certificates of authenticity, grading, and appraisal must be returned with the item. Any items returned without original documentation will be rejected.”
But there’s also information posted by Amazon that appears to contradict this return policy, at least when it comes to processing refunds through stores that offer Amazon drop-off returns. Customers don’t need to package the returns or apply shipping labels to them either—they just need to bring the item to the return section/counter/kiosk, and a store associate will do the rest after scanning a return code on a shopper’s smartphone. Many Whole Foods markets offer this incentive for shoppers, as well as Kohl’s stores, which will often hand out Kohl’s cash rewards points for processing the return.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Amazon via email and @brownieproteinshake via TikTok comment.
