Caveat Emptor
Posted: Tue Jul 18, 2006 8:48 pm
It was one of those DOH! Moments. Apologies in advance for a long post.
Greetings all. Thank you for a great and informative site kman.
Being a South Florida native and having worked in local media (Television), I have always known the value of preparing for the eventual hurricane. As an adult and survivor of Hurricane Andrew, every year, I have always purchased the standard hurricane supplies, cans of food and bottles of water and snacks. This method has always served me well. This year, after running through all of my stash the past couple of years, I decided to try something different.
For Hurricane Season 2006, I decided to buy MREs as my standard hurricane/emergency food supply. I did what I thought was thorough research on the Web and quizzing of my friends in uniform and decided to buy some MREs locally and not to chance it on ebay. I guess I missed this site’s page on Where/ How to Buy MREs.
Locally, cases of “12-Full Meal” MREs are going for $75 - $80 a case and after checking ebay late last week, I figured buying a random case from a far away seller wasn’t as good as buying a case from a well known, local and reputable shop. I called the shop, asked if they sold MREs and headed down there with a grin. The boxes looked legit and I brought them home to a suspicious fiancé.
Upon opening them both, at home, I discovered that they weren’t authentic MREs. In fact, I had been sold a bunch of “custom made” MREs with parts and pieces from various other MRE packages. According to the date codes on the main entrée (which is all I received, no beverage, no desert, but I did get two energy bars, a packet of accessories, a spoon and crackers with a jelly packet similar to the kind kids get at school), they are all made in late 2005 or early 2006.
I called the shop and was told that since I opened the boxes (though not the individual clear plastic bags), there were no refunds or credits. First because it was considered a storm supply (they don’t refund those) and second, because I had opened the boxes. Fine I thought, now I have pseudo-MREs to snack on, but they’re not the real deal.
I have since learned my lesson and have become a true fan of this Website. I am now searching ebay for two more cases as I’d like to have enough food on hand for at least 6-days of food for myself and my wife to be in case of another major storm. Perhaps we can start a list of eBay sellers that have sold items to those in this group? It would help enormously, as it will allow us to check the quality of a seller quickly…just an idea.
Many thanks everyone for your insight and to kman for a Website that I think will become more popular in the coming months. MREs are a smart, efficient and cost effective way to prepare for emergencies. Now, all I need are my 48 gallons of water and I’ll be set.
In the end, the buyer beware, but this site has done a wonderful job of educating me on what to look for in the future so I can avoid the doh! feeling. Hopefully, this will prevent someone else from making my mistake.
Cheers!
-George
Greetings all. Thank you for a great and informative site kman.
Being a South Florida native and having worked in local media (Television), I have always known the value of preparing for the eventual hurricane. As an adult and survivor of Hurricane Andrew, every year, I have always purchased the standard hurricane supplies, cans of food and bottles of water and snacks. This method has always served me well. This year, after running through all of my stash the past couple of years, I decided to try something different.
For Hurricane Season 2006, I decided to buy MREs as my standard hurricane/emergency food supply. I did what I thought was thorough research on the Web and quizzing of my friends in uniform and decided to buy some MREs locally and not to chance it on ebay. I guess I missed this site’s page on Where/ How to Buy MREs.
Locally, cases of “12-Full Meal” MREs are going for $75 - $80 a case and after checking ebay late last week, I figured buying a random case from a far away seller wasn’t as good as buying a case from a well known, local and reputable shop. I called the shop, asked if they sold MREs and headed down there with a grin. The boxes looked legit and I brought them home to a suspicious fiancé.
Upon opening them both, at home, I discovered that they weren’t authentic MREs. In fact, I had been sold a bunch of “custom made” MREs with parts and pieces from various other MRE packages. According to the date codes on the main entrée (which is all I received, no beverage, no desert, but I did get two energy bars, a packet of accessories, a spoon and crackers with a jelly packet similar to the kind kids get at school), they are all made in late 2005 or early 2006.
I called the shop and was told that since I opened the boxes (though not the individual clear plastic bags), there were no refunds or credits. First because it was considered a storm supply (they don’t refund those) and second, because I had opened the boxes. Fine I thought, now I have pseudo-MREs to snack on, but they’re not the real deal.
I have since learned my lesson and have become a true fan of this Website. I am now searching ebay for two more cases as I’d like to have enough food on hand for at least 6-days of food for myself and my wife to be in case of another major storm. Perhaps we can start a list of eBay sellers that have sold items to those in this group? It would help enormously, as it will allow us to check the quality of a seller quickly…just an idea.
Many thanks everyone for your insight and to kman for a Website that I think will become more popular in the coming months. MREs are a smart, efficient and cost effective way to prepare for emergencies. Now, all I need are my 48 gallons of water and I’ll be set.
In the end, the buyer beware, but this site has done a wonderful job of educating me on what to look for in the future so I can avoid the doh! feeling. Hopefully, this will prevent someone else from making my mistake.
Cheers!
-George