Electric Fireplace Heater, 17 Inch (Open Box)

So I’ve always wanted a fireplace, i love the warm and coziness of the view of a fireplace in fall and winter. But I’ve never had the pleasure of having one. So i was excited to see this! It was the perfect size and color to fit right in front of my console. The first day it arrived it was absolutely beautiful. Though it was still quite warm even in Illinois at that time, when I came home from work I would turn on the flame and sound for the vibe and leave the heat off. I didn’t use it everyday, just a few days each week in the evening. But before long I started noticing it wasn’t as brightly lit as it was the first day i turned it on. Then before long the flame feature was completely gone. Hasn’t even taken a month off light to medium usage. So i contacted the seller (I believe in contacting the seller before leaving bad reviews), showed them these exact photos, and they offered a 30% refund. I refused it because without the flame feature. This is just a regular space heater. And a 30% refund isn’t even enough to buy regular space heater. I chucked the $180+ out because i specifically wanted the flame feature. I already have plenty of space heaters at home. So they offered to send me a new heater with the working flame. I accepted hoping that the initial one that i got was just a fluke. They delivered it, but i wasn’t able to really use it to test it out again because I traveled for 5 weeks. Came back in the middle of winter and turned it on. It’s been about 3 weeks again of light usage, and yet again. The flame feature is practically gone. A huge waste of money. It literally last like 2 weeks of light use. By week 3 you start seeing the dimming, and by week 4, there is no flame. Right when the return window closes. Save your money, or take your chances, up to you to decide. Now I’ve got to figure out where to dump this disappointment.