In June I bought a really cute covered casserole dish from Overstock.com. I am horribly addicted to Overstock.com and have purchased much rad stuff from them! Unfortunately, on December 21st when I was hosting a huge dinner party, I removed this cute casserole dish from its safe haven in my cupboard, filled it up with chopped carrots, yams, beets, celery, and potatoes, drizzled it with oil, tamari, and balsamic vinegar, and then impetuously lifted it from the counter to put it in my oven not four feet away. That was when this cute red casserole dish crumbled to pieces in my hands:

...and slashed a hole in my brand-new bronze linen peasant skirt:

And also, horribly, my KNEE:

I was preparing dinner for Winter Solstice, and the party MUST go on, so Moxley bandaged it crudely, and I changed into AWESOME clothing brought as a gift by my friends:

My friend insisted that it needed to be cleaned and properly bandaged, and I gave in:

Oh what a coincidence, just the day before I had made this *enormous* focal pendant for the same friend who ended up taping my nasty slash. All hail meat!

I got online and chatted up Overstock.com live help:

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29101453

Chat InformationWelcome to Overstock.com's Customer Service Live Chat! You will be joined with a chat representative as quickly as possible. (2 to 5 minutes)
Chat InformationWelcome to Overstock.com Customer Service, you are now chatting with Warner.
Warner: Thanks for visiting Overstock.com, my name is Warner, how can I help you?
you: Hi, in June I bought this item: 423828, a red covered casserole dish. Last night I filled it with vegetables, picked it up to put in the oven, and it fell apart in my hands
you: It literally broke in midair.
Warner: I'm sorry to heat about that.
you: It hit my leg on the way down and cut right through my linen skirt, and slashed my knee open
Warner: *hear
you: My sister saw it happen. It was wierd, I've never seen anything like it.
you: I am going to the doctor today to have it looked at
you: I need to know the manufacturer's contact information
Warner: I'm sorry to hear that you have had a hard time last time.
Warner: I will be glad to check and help you with that.
you: Thank you
Warner: You are welcome.
Warner: To help you better may I please your order number or email address?
you: Yes, the order number is 29101453
Warner: Thank you.
Warner: For security purposes, can you please verify the name and billing address on the account?
you: (my name and address)
Warner: Thank you.
Warner: I have checked and I see that you have placed the order 29101453 on 06-03-2006. Correct?
you: Yes, that is it
Warner: Thank you, are you referring to the 'Red Ceramic 2.5-qt. Casserole Dish with Lid' for just $16.99?
you: Yes, that is the one
Warner: Okay, I have checked and I'm sorry to tell you that we do not have the manufacture info, however, let me forward this issue to our research team, they will back to you within one business days, they will surely resolve this issue.Ok?
you: OK, thank you!
Warner: You are most welcome. Is there anything else that I can help you with?
you: No, that is all
you: I appreciate your time
Warner: Thanks for your visit, have a great day. Merry Christmas.
you: You too!
http://www.overstock.com/cgi-bin/d2.cgi?page=product&prod_id=1427654
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Later that day I went to the doctor, who looked at my cut and assured me that my friend had done a good job taping it.

I was happy and secure with the knowledge that Overstock.com, a company I have spent thousands of dollars with, would happily replace a $17 casserole dish, and maybe, just maybe, offer me a credit to compensate me for my brand-new linen skirt that happened to be a hard-to-find color.

And so, awesomely, today I received an email from overstock.com:

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Discussion:
Agent Reply (Virginia S.) 12/27/2006 10:12 PM
Dear Ms. Weaselpanties,

Thank you for contacting Overstock.com. We are sorry to hear that you need to return your Red Ceramic 2.5-qt. Casserole Dish with Lid because it fell apart. Unfortunately, we are unable to accept the return on this item because we are outside the terms of our return policy. We do not have any manufacturer information available.

Since our business revolves around liquidating products, we must have items returned within 30 days of the delivery date so we are able to send the item back to the vendor. This process allows us to continue to provide the lowest possible prices on our wide selection of brand-name merchandise.

If we may be of further assistance, please let us know. We appreciate your business and hope you will shop with us again soon.

Sincerely,

Virginia S.
Customer Care
Overstock.com
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Oh, dear. So I get a broken casserole dish, a bloody slashed-up knee, a ruined skirt, AND two pounds of wasted chopped vegetables with seasonings, and they give me a "sorry, too bad so sad"?

I don't want to "return" the damn thing; it was faulty, it broke, it cut my knee open, it ruined my clothing, and it wasted my dinner! I want a new casserole dish and a new skirt! And what do they mean, they don't have any manufacturer's information? Is that even LEGAL when it comes to selling cookware or servingware? I don't think it is! What if it had lead glaze? What if it had illegal levels of selenium? Are they for real? I've worked in customer service for SO many years, largely in places that sold cookware and servingware, and I've never heard of being able to sell random cookware in the US without manufacturers info before! So anyway, now I think I am going to ask my lawyer for a recommendation for a personal injury lawyer. I don't want much, I just want a casserole dish and a skirt. Is that REALLY unreasonable?