Did Meraki screw us over and do I have any options?

[IT_Magician]

I am going to stick to the facts, and maybe someone can tell me if I have any options.

1. On 3/28/2025 the MS120 series switches went end of sale.
2. But on 8/31/2025 my team ordered a MS120-48 switches instead of MS130-48P.
3. On 9/1/2025 Cisco would not cancel the order because they said it was shipping within 45 days (internal policy).
4. But on day 46, it still had not shipped, customer couldn't wait any longer, and we ordered everything again with correct models.
5. And 79 days later on 11/17/2025 it shipped, and now I am stuck with this equipment I cannot return, and the SMB regional manager at Cisco did nothing to help a partner.

My take aways from this process:

1. There was no partnership here and Cisco made their emotionless decision.
2. They don't follow their own terms and conditions, apparently end of sale is meaningless.
3. The entire "the order cannot be cancelled within 45 days of shipping" is also meaningless, because they can simply say the estimated ship day is tomorrow when in reality it could be months out.
4. Never have I felt less like a partner with anyone we resale, the feeling sucks.

With that said does anyone have any ideas on how we can return this?

[alemabrahao]

Cisco has programs for excess or misordered inventory, often handled through distributors. If you purchased through a distributor (Ingram, Tech Data, etc.), they may have a stock rotation policy that allows returns or credits.

If you feel the partnership was not honored, escalate to Cisco Global Partner Organization or Customer Advocacy. Sometimes higher-level escalation gets results.

[ConnorL]

Hey @IT_Magician,

Sorry to hear this, I'll drop you a DM now to get the order number and review what actions can be done here.

[PhilipDAth]

I'm sorry to be the disenter, but it was you that screwed your customer over.  I'm sorry to say that.  I don't want to be mean, but you need to do some introspection rather than looking for others to blame.  This was your fault.

If you are a Cisco partner, then prior to quoting up a solution or placing an order, you should have known what the best fit was for the customer.  Not knowing about an imminent EOS notice is bad.  Your team needs more training.

As a Cisco partner, you should know about order cancellation policies.  You should know about all Cisco policies that relate to your business and your customers.

Cisco offers a lot of free partner training.  Has your team been through the Black Belt courses?

As a positive takeaway, this is a wake-up call about your team's capabilities.  Do not be one of those "order takers" who treat this business as transactional.  Be a Cisco partner who knows their customers, provides solutions (not parts) and adds value.

Once again, I'm sorry.  I don't want to be mean, but you need to take accountability for this one.

[IT_Magician]

Let’s agree to disagree. I know the rules, we made a mistake, and we paid for it. Customer never knew the difference, and we did right by our customer at our cost. We don’t need extra training, we’ve fixed the issue. 

But right from wrong or rules or not, we for the first time asked our “partner” for help and was told to kick rocks. I don’t treat our customers like that and now know where we stand with Cisco.