Walking, bathing, resting, rising.

Before you buy

Including the parts that don't flatter anybody. Better here than on the doorstep.

• Assembly

  Walkers need assembling when they arrive — handlebars, wheels, hand-tightened knobs. Many reviewers call it easy. Not all: we read reports of knobs working loose, and one from a customer sent the wrong mix of bolts. If the recipient cannot do it, be there on delivery day. Elenker links a PDF manual and a setup video from many of its walker pages, but not all of them, so check for your model before you order.

• Weight limits differ a lot

  Elenker publishes 300 lbs for every walker on this page. But the bath chairs run from 240 to 450, the lifts are 300 and 400, and the beds 400 and 530. These are ratings, not guidelines — read the figure for the exact model before you order.

• Measure the room, not just the person

  The HFK-3146-1 sliding shower chair only suits tub walls under 17 inches. The two beds we read are 83.4 to 84 inches long and 39 to 40.1 wide. The stand-assist lift measures 44" × 30" × 25", so check that against your narrowest doorway. Get a tape measure out first.

• Returns — read this one

  Elenker’s window is 30 days from the date of purchase (only a partial-refund line in the policy mentions delivery) — and with about two business days to process, three over holidays, plus three to twenty in transit, much of it can be gone before the box reaches you. Items must be unused and in original packaging, and return shipping is deducted from your refund unless the item arrived damaged, defective or wrong. A wrong item has to be reported within two days of receipt, and Elenker’s FAQ says change-of-mind returns are charged shipping both ways. Then the clause that matters most: their policy states that only regular-priced items may be refunded, and that sale items cannot be. Every walker, every bed and the HFK-9405 lift on this page shows a sale price, so that clause may apply to all of them. The seven bath products and the JC35M3-1 chair lift are listed at a single price with no strike-through (though the HFK-3146 page advertises an extra $50 off at checkout), which on the face of it keeps them clear of that clause. The same policy also excludes unnamed “health and personal care items” from returns. Exchanges are offered only for items that arrive defective or damaged. Email service@elenker.com and get your return rights confirmed in writing before you order.

• Warranty and support

  Elenker states a one-year warranty on its walkers on its FAQ and returns pages (one line of its refund policy says two years), handled directly by them at service@elenker.com. Once you've bought, your relationship is with Elenker — we can point you at them, but we can't step in.

• Delivery, and freight

  Free within the USA from warehouses in the western and eastern US, though Elenker notes extra charges can apply for islands, restricted zones and no-lift areas: about two business days to process, three over holidays, plus three to twenty in transit. Large items go by truck, and Elenker says oversized shipments can wait up to ten business days for pickup alone.

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