What is the Ella's Bubbles return policy on walk-in tubs?

Ella's Bubbles accepts returns of brand new, uninstalled walk-in tubs in their original packaging within 30 days of delivery, unless your invoice stipulates otherwise. A restocking fee applies, the customer pays the return shipping, and a tub that has been installed cannot be returned or exchanged under any circumstances. The published policy has no separate exchange path, so a swap for another model or door side works as a return followed by a new order, as laid out in Can I Exchange an Uninstalled Walk-In Tub for Another Model or Door Side?.

The Four Conditions Every Return Must Meet

The policy is short, and each condition is a hard line rather than a guideline. A return that misses any one of them is not accepted, so read them against your own situation before you contact anyone.

• Within the window. The published window is 30 days, but it is stated as 30 days unless otherwise stipulated in your invoice. Your invoice is the controlling document, so check it before you count on the standard window.
• Brand new and uninstalled. The tub must never have been set, plumbed or wired. Installed products cannot be returned or exchanged, so if you have any doubt about the configuration, leave the tub in its crate until the doubt is resolved.
• In original packaging. The crate, the inserts and every piece of hardware need to go back with the tub. Missing or damaged items found at inspection reduce the refund.
• Authorized before it ships. Nothing goes back without authorization from where you purchased. A tub shipped back on your own initiative has no return to attach to.

One point catches customers who buy ahead of a remodel: the window starts at delivery and does not pause while the tub waits in storage. If you take delivery months before your installer is ready, the return window will very likely close before the tub goes in, so decide on any return early rather than late.

What a Return Costs and How the Refund Is Figured

The published policy states: "The restocking fee is 25% of the original order amount, less taxes and shipping costs." The customer is responsible for the cost of shipping the return. Your refund is the purchase amount less the restocking fee and less any deductions for damaged or missing parts found when the warehouse inspects the crate, and it is reflected on your account within 5 to 7 business days after the return is processed.

Because the deductions depend on what arrives at the warehouse and on the terms of your particular invoice, the exact refund is confirmed by the team for your specific order once the return has been inspected. No one can quote it for you before the crate is opened, so treat any figure you calculate yourself as an estimate.

How to Start a Return, Step by Step

1. Read your invoice for the return terms and the window that applies to your order.
2. Contact where you purchased. If you bought from Ella or an Ella dealer, open a ticket at ellasbubbles.com/support or call (800) 480-6850 with your order number and the reason for the return.
3. Wait for authorization. Do not ship anything until you have it.
4. Pack the tub with every insert and piece of hardware in the original crate, and photograph the packed crate before it is sealed. Those photos protect you if a question comes up at inspection.
5. Ship the crate as instructed in your authorization. Return shipping is at your cost.
6. The warehouse inspects the return within 24 to 48 hours of receiving it. Missing or damaged items reduce the refund.
7. The refund posts to your account within 5 to 7 business days after processing.

Three Checks That Often Make a Return Unnecessary

A good share of return requests come from tubs that are exactly what was ordered, so run these checks before you start the process. Each one is quicker than a return and costs nothing.

Confirm the side is actually wrong. On an Ella walk-in tub the side is named as you face the tub, ready to step in, and a right-hand door always means left-hand drains. The door and seat sit at one end and the faucet and drains sit at the other, so a tub read from the wrong position can look reversed when it is not. The Wrong Drain Side Was Shipped. How Do I Return It? walks through that comparison in order, and the team confirms a true mismatch from photos.

Ask your installer whether the drains connect as delivered. There is roughly 3 inches of clearance beneath the frame for a 2 inch PVC line, and the four-port drain body connects from either side with the unused ports capped. A house drain on the other side of the alcove is usually solved under the tub rather than with a different tub.

Consider the panels before assuming the tub faces the wrong way. Every Ella walk-in tub comes with one reversible end panel that can be placed on either side, and any tub shorter than 60 inches comes with an extension panel that can go on the right or the left so the tub fits a standard 60 inch alcove.

If your order has not shipped yet, the picture is different again. Every Ella tub is assembled and tested to order, so contact the team right away with your order number. An order that has not left the warehouse can be pulled from the schedule and canceled, you receive a receipt confirming the cancellation, your refund is arranged, and any lender on a financed order is notified so the loan does not proceed. You then place the corrected order with your Ella dealer or the team.

Situations the Return Policy Does Not Cover

Freight damage is a claim, not a return. If the tub arrives damaged, do not start a return. File a freight damage claim within 48 hours of receipt, keep all packaging including the crate, and inspect both visually and operationally before the window closes. In most cases the damaged part is replaced rather than the whole tub. My order arrived damaged, how do I file a freight damage claim? covers the photos and paperwork the claim needs.

Retailer orders return through the retailer. On an order placed through Home Depot or another retailer, the retailer holds the order, issues the return and any credit or refund, and Ella does not provide return authorizations. You place a new order for the correct product through the retailer, and Ella expedites it once it appears in its system. My Home Depot or Retailer Order Arrived Damaged, Will Ella Replace It? explains that path.

Installed and used tubs cannot come back. Once a tub is installed it is never returnable, and Ella does not list, broker, appraise or resell a customer's tub, even a brand new one still in its packaging. Staff point owners to an online marketplace such as Facebook Marketplace, and support can supply the spec sheet so the listing is accurate. Will Ella Sell, Appraise or Help Me Resell a Used or Uninstalled Walk-In Tub? also explains that the Lifetime Limited Warranty covers the first purchaser only and does not transfer to a buyer.

Related Guides

• Canceling a Walk-In Tub Order Before or After It Ships
• What happens if I refuse the walk-in tub freight delivery at my door?
• Preparing a Returned Walk-In Tub for Carrier Pickup: Packing, the Return Bill of Lading and Why a Driver May Refuse It

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