Broken Baseball Or Softball Bat? Here's What To Do

Breaking your favorite baseball or softball bat is no fun. However, we're here to talk you through the process of replacing your freshly broken bat. Following these easy prompts and you'll be well on your way towards replacing your broken bat. To help you get started with the warranty replacement process for your baseball bat or softball bat, we need to answer five easy questions:

1. Did you buy your bat from JustBats?
2. If you did not (it's okay), where did you buy your bat, and are they an authorized retailer? 
3. Do you have your original receipt or email confirmation of purchase?
4. Did your bat come with a manufacturer's warranty, and are you still within the warranty period? 
5. Have you called your respective manufacturer? ie. DeMarini, Easton, Marucci, etc.

Don't feel like answering all the questions? Call our friendly Bat Experts at 866-321-BATS (2287), and they will be able to assist you with your warranty replacement process. Now, let's go over these five questions and answer them together so that we can get your son or daughter's bat rolling with the warranty replacement process (if applicable). 

First off, did you buy your defective bat from us here at JustBats?

If so, you're at the perfect place. If you did not, don't worry and keep reading! We are still more than happy to help you along the way. If you did not buy your bat from JustBats, you will need to call the retailer that you made your purchase from and clarify if they are an authorized retailer or not. If you did buy your bat from us, thank you. We are an authorized retailer of all the products we sell. This means that if your bat is within the warranty period, the respective manufacturer will honor a replacement.

Secondly, do you have your original receipt?

If yes, fantastic! If not, don't worry. For those of you who purchased your bat from JustBats, you can use our Order Lookup to obtain a copy of your receipt (we keep these on file for up to five years). You will need either your order number and shipping zip code or your email address. If, for any reason, this does not work or you are unable to remember all three of those fields, please give our Bat Experts a call. Again, they are more than happy to help! For those of you who purchased your bat elsewhere,  you will again need to call your respective retailer and see if they have a copy of your receipt they can either mail or email you. All manufacturers will require proof of purchase for warranty replacements. 

The next thing we need to do is to establish whether or not your bat came with a manufacturer's warranty. 

If it did, we then need to figure out whether or not you are within that warranty period. Warranties may vary, but most bats have a full twelve (12) month manufacturer's warranty from the date of purchase. How do we find out whether or not your bat did, in fact, come with a warranty? If you know the model number for your bat, JustBats will include the length of the warranty for each individual bat within the features section on the respective product page. Unfortunately, there is a chance that your bat did not come with a warranty or you are outside of your warranty period. If that is the case, sorry. Please take this time to check out our baseball bats or softball bats!

One more thing...the RA Number.

Now that we’ve established you bought your bat from an authorized retailer, that you have your original receipt, and that you are within the warranty period, let’s talk about what you need to do next. To clarify, all defective bats that are covered by a warranty must be returned directly to the manufacturer, as they are the one who honors the replacement. Before you send your defective bat off to a manufacturer, you must first call them and ask for a Return Authorization (RA) Number. We would like to emphasize the importance of this step! If you return your defective bat to a manufacturer without an RA number, it will essentially just sit in a warehouse and not get attended to, as they will have no idea who and why it was sent to them. To find the number for your manufacturer's warranty department, please go to our Bat Vendors page and click on the logo of your baseball bat or softball bat. Once you have reached out and acquired a Return Authorization number, you will need to include that number in with your bat (or on the outside of the box you ship it in), along with the receipt when you ship it off. 

We know what you're thinking. "I have to pay for shipping to send this off for a replacement?" If you purchased your defective bat from JustBats, no, you do not! We offer free shipping BOTH WAYS. All you will need to do is go to our Returns Page with your order number and shipping zip code. Enter your information, and you will be able to print off a free UPS shipping label that will cover your cost of shipping. Keep in mind if you are returning a defective item, all warranties are handled through the manufacturer, and your item will be forwarded to the manufacturer for replacement. To simplify, follow these five steps.

RETURN INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Fill out the online returns form.
2. Print off the UPS label.
3. Make sure all other shipping labels, barcodes, and stickers are covered or removed and then place your UPS label on the outside of your box.
4. Place your bat in a box (with the receipt and RA number) and drop it off at the nearest UPS store or any affiliate that ships via UPS.
5. To find the closest UPS location, visit www.ups.com/content/us/en/index.jsx and select Drop Off. 

We hope this helps. To reiterate, if at any time during this process, you aren't sure what to do next, please give our Bat Experts a call at (866-321-2287). Or, you can go to our Bat Vendors page and click on the manufacturer of your defective bat for more warranty information. If you would rather shop for a new bat, we've got you covered there as well. Remember, we're here for you from Click To Hit!